ERROR.TYPE in Google Sheets: Classify Worksheet Errors

• Introduced: first introduction date is not established by the official history reviewed; no desktop release number is inferred.
• Availability: documented in the rolling Google Sheets service; these examples use the web worksheet workflow.
• Checked: October 14, 2026; official ERROR.TYPE reference. Documentation and independent models, with no native Google Sheets execution or wider client certification.

=ERROR.TYPE(reference)

The argument can refer to a cell with an error or supply an error expression directly. Google lists:

The dedicated text does not explicitly establish what an error-free argument returns. The practical report below tests ISERROR first rather than borrowing another spreadsheet’s no-error behavior.

Put =9/0 in A2 and =NA() in A3. Use:

=ERROR.TYPE(A2)
=ERROR.TYPE(A3)

Expected codes are 2 and 7. The division has no valid numeric result; the explicit NA expression creates the unavailable-value error. These numbers classify the errors rather than repairing the calculations.

The text expression ="#N/A" is not an actual #N/A error. Use a genuine error-producing expression when building the control instead of typing an error label as ordinary text.

Enter this complete A2:A7 dataset:

In B2 use and fill:

=IF(ISERROR(A2),ERROR.TYPE(A2),0)

Expected codes are 2,7,0,0,2,7. Zero is the report’s deliberately chosen sentinel for an error-free source; it is not stated as a native ERROR.TYPE return value. The conditional keeps the unneeded no-error call out of these scalar controls.

In C2 use =IF(B2=0,"OK",IF(B2=2,"Check divisor",IF(B2=7,"Unavailable value","Other error class"))) and fill down. Expected labels are Check divisor, Unavailable value, OK, OK, Check divisor, Unavailable value.

For B2:B7:

=COUNTIF(B2:B7,2)
=COUNTIF(B2:B7,7)
=COUNTIF(B2:B7,0)

Expected counts are 2,2,2. There are four error rows and two error-free rows in the defined fixture. Retain the original formulas beside the report so a reader can inspect which calculation produced each code.

A code column should not replace a measurement column in a business total. Adding codes 2 and 7 would not recover the missing measurements; it would add arbitrary category identifiers.

The two NA() rows both have code 7. In a real worksheet, an absent lookup key or a matched source cell containing #N/A could also lead to that class. ERROR.TYPE alone cannot prove which cause occurred.

Similarly, code 2 says a division-related error reached the expression, not which denominator is wrong in a long nested formula. Inspect the component inputs in helper cells before choosing a fallback. A blanket IFERROR returning zero can make a chart or total look complete while hiding missing data.

Google’s reference groups other errors under code 8. This guide does not create an intentionally malformed formula or certify every transient, array-expansion or newly added error subtype. Treat the documented category as a classification rule, while retaining the actual source error display when debugging.

Use ISERROR for a Boolean check, ISNA for #N/A specifically, and IFERROR only when a chosen fallback is appropriate. The ordinary-value behavior of bare ERROR.TYPE and a complete native error-generation matrix remain explicitly unverified.

• Google ERROR.TYPE reference.
• Editorial testing standards.

Examples use fictional inputs, English function names and comma argument separators. Expected outputs are independently modeled from the cited rules, not native Sheets captures. Check the spreadsheet locale when reproducing punctuation-sensitive formulas.