Assemble a date
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Year | Month | Day |
| 2 | 2024 | 3 | 15 |
Formula: E2: =DATE(A2,B2,C2)
Result: 3/15/2024
Three separate numbers become the single date March 15, 2024.
Google Sheets function
DATE in Google Sheets
Google Sheets counts date serial numbers from 30 December 1899, so serial 0 is that day, while Excel shows its serial 0 as 0 January 1900.
Syntax (same in Google Sheets)
DATE(year, month, day)For dates after February 1900 both programs give the same serial number, so only very early dates differ.
For a fuller explanation of the arguments and common errors, see the DATE Excel guide.
Worked examples in Google Sheets
First day of the next month
| A | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Date |
| 2 | 3/9/2024 |
Formula: C2: =DATE(YEAR(A2),MONTH(A2)+1,1)
Result: 4/1/2024
Adding 1 to the month and fixing the day at 1 jumps to April 1.
Last day of February
| A | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Year |
| 2 | 2024 |
Formula: C2: =DATE(A2,3,0)
Result: 2/29/2024
Day 0 of March is the day before March 1, which is February 29 in a leap year.
Try it
A tiny spreadsheet with example data. Edit the formula or any number and see the result.
Formula in F2: =DATE(2026,3,15)
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start | End | Holiday | Time | Result | |
| 2 | 3/15/2026 | 6/20/2026 | 5/1/2026 | 14:45 | 3/15/2026 | |
| 3 | 1/31/2026 | 2/28/2026 | 5/9/2026 | 09:30 | ||
| 4 | 12/24/2025 | 1/9/2026 |
Result in F2: 3/15/2026
Frequently asked questions
- Do date serial numbers from DATE match between Excel and Google Sheets?
- For any date from March 1900 onward, yes. The two origins differ, but Excel’s 1900 leap-year quirk cancels the gap, so only dates in January and February 1900 disagree.
Google Sheets is used here only as a descriptive product name. FormulaCamp is not affiliated with Google.