How to Use VLOOKUP or HLOOKUP to

find an exact match

Summary

The VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP functions contain an argument called

range_lookup that allows you to find an exact match to your lookup
value without sorting the lookup table.

Note It is not necessary to sort the lookup table if you use the
range_lookup argument correctly.

More Information

The syntax of these functions are defined as follows.

VLOOKUP Function

=VLOOKUP(lookup_value,table_array,col_in
dex_num,range_lookup)

where:

Argument Definition of argument

--------------------------------------------------------

lookup_value The value to be found in the first column o

table_array The table of information in which data is l

col_index The column number in the table_array for wh

 matching value should be returned.

range_lookup It is a logical value that specifies whethe

you want to find an exact match or an appro
If TRUE or omitted, an approximate match is
other words, if an exact match is not found
largest value that is less than the lookup_
returned. If FALSE, VLOOKUP finds an exact
exact match is not found, the #N/A error va

Note If range_lookup is TRUE or omitted (for an approximate match),

the values in the first column of table_array must be sorted in
ascending order. If range_lookup is FALSE (for an exact match), the
table_array does not need to be sorted.

Example That Uses FALSE as the Range_lookup

Argument

The following list contains some fruits and their respective colors.
Notice that the first column is not sorted:

A1: Fruit B1: Color

A2: Kiwi B2: Green
A3: Banana B3: Yellow
A4: Grape B4: Purple
A5: Apple B5: Red

The following formula finds the color (Red) that corresponds to the
fruit Apple. You can type the formula in any cell on the worksheet:

=VLOOKUP("Apple",A2:B5,2,FALSE)

Notice that if you change the range_lookup argument to TRUE, Excel

returns the #N/A error, because the first column is not sorted.
HLOOKUP Function

=HLOOKUP(lookup_value,table_array,row_index
_num,range_lookup)

where:

Argument Definition of argument

--------------------------------------------------------

lookup_value The value to be found in the first column o

table_array The table of information in which data is l

row_index The row number in the table_array for which

matching value should be returned.

range_lookup It is a logical value that specifies whethe

you want to find an exact match or an appro
If TRUE or omitted, an approximate match is
other words, if an exact match is not found
largest value that is less than the lookup_
returned. If FALSE, VLOOKUP finds an exact
If an exact match is not found, the #N/A er
returned.

Note If range_lookup is TRUE or omitted (for an approximate match),

the values in the first row of table_array must be sorted in ascending
order. If range_lookup is FALSE (for an exact match), the table_array
does not need to be sorted.

Example That Uses FALSE as the Range_lookup

Argument

The following list contains some fruits and their respective colors.
Notice that the first column is not sorted:
 A1: Fruit B1: Color
A2: Kiwi B2: Green
A3: Banana B3: Yellow
A4: Grape B4: Purple
A5: Apple B5: Red

The following formula finds the Color column, and returns the third
item (-1) for the heading Yellow. You can type the formula in any cell
on the worksheet:

=HLOOKUP("Color",A1:B5,3,FALSE)

Notice that if you change the range_lookup argument to TRUE, Excel

returns the #N/A error, because the first column is not sorted.

References

For additional information about how to use LOOKUP functions in

Microsoft Excel, click the article numbers below to view the articles in
the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

181212 XL: Performing a Lookup with Unsorted Data in Excel

214264 XL: How to Perform a Case-Sensitive Lookup

214069 XL: How to Return the First or Last Match in an Array

181201 XL: HLOOKUP, VLOOKUP, LOOKUP Return Incorrect

Values

213476 XL: Unexpected Results with Mixed Text and Numbers in

Lookup Table

280094 XL: Sample User-Defined Function to Hide Formula

Errors
For more information about the HLOOKUP function, click Microsoft
Excel Help on the
Help menu, type HLOOKUP worksheet function in the Office
 Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the
topic.

For more information about the VLOOKUP function, click Microsoft

Excel Help on the
Help menu, type VLOOKUP worksheet function in the Office
Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the
topic.

Properties

Article ID: 181213 - Last Review: Sep 23, 2015 - Revision: 1

Applies to
Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition, Microsoft Excel 2000 Standard
Edition, Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition, Microsoft Office Excel 2003,
Microsoft Excel 2010, Microsoft Office Excel 2007, Excel 2016, Excel 2013