Excel Dates Not Sorting Correctly? How to Fix Date Format Issues

Understanding Excel Dates

Real Excel dates are numbers. January 1, 2026 is stored as 46023 (days since January 1, 1900). If you can't do math on your “date,” it's text.

Test: Select a cell with a date and look at the formula bar. If you see 1/15/2026, format it as a number. A real date shows as 46038 (or similar).

Problem: Dates Are Text

Most common issue. Dates imported from other systems often come in as text.

Fix with DATEVALUE: =DATEVALUE(A1) converts text dates to real dates.

Fix with Text to Columns: Select column → Data → Text to Columns → Finish. Excel often recognizes dates during this process.

Problem: Day/Month Swapped

Is 01/02/2026 January 2nd or February 1st? Regional settings affect interpretation.

If dates before the 13th look right but later dates are wrong, this is your problem.

Fix: Use DATE() to rebuild: =DATE(year_part, month_part, day_part) using MID/LEFT/RIGHT to extract pieces.

Problem: Two-Digit Years

Excel interprets two-digit years: 00-29 become 2000-2029, 30-99 become 1930-1999.

Fix: Always use four-digit years in source data. Convert existing data with DATE function if needed.

Problem: Mixed Formats in Column

Some cells are real dates, some are text. Sorting produces weird results.

Find text dates: =ISTEXT(A1) returns TRUE for text dates.

Fix: Create a helper column: =IF(ISTEXT(A1), DATEVALUE(A1), A1)

Problem: Dates Display as Numbers

You see 46023 instead of 1/1/2026. The date is correct but formatted as a number.

Fix: Select cells → Ctrl+1 → Number → Date → choose format.

Problem: Date Serial Number Out of Range

Excel dates can only range from January 1, 1900 to December 31, 9999. Numbers outside this range won't display as dates.

Check: Valid date numbers are roughly 1 to 2,958,465.

Official Resources

• DATEVALUE function — convert text to dates
• Convert text dates — Microsoft's guide