Excel IFERROR Function

IFERROR returns one result when a formula works and a fallback result when that formula returns an error.

Use it to keep reports readable when formulas may divide by zero, miss a lookup match, reference unavailable data, or hit another expected error state.

Evaluate a formula Excel calculates the main value

Check for errors Errors trigger the fallback

Return a clean result Either the value or replacement

IFERROR syntax & arguments

Syntax

=IFERROR(value, value_if_error)

Required Optional

1

value
Required

The formula, expression, or value Excel should evaluate first.
2

value_if_error
Required

The fallback result to return when value evaluates to an error.

Example

=IFERROR(A2/B2, 0)

Return A2 divided by B2, or 0 if the division produces an error.

IFERROR caveats

It catches every Excel error type

IFERROR handles errors such as #N/A, #VALUE!, #DIV/0!, #REF!, and #NAME?.
It can hide broken logic

A fallback value can make a report look clean while masking a typo, missing reference, or invalid calculation.
Blank fallbacks can be ambiguous

Returning "" keeps a cell visually blank, but it can make real missing data harder to distinguish from valid blanks.