NORMDIST Function (LibreOffice Calc)

• Introduced: First release not established. This name is documented in the LibreOffice 3.3 function appendix; that establishes historical presence, not introduction.
• Supported in: LibreOffice 26.8.1.1. No final supported release has been established.
• Scope: Desktop Calc. These examples use English function names, semicolon separators and decimal points.
• Checked: October 14, 2026. Official source/documentation and independent mathematical examples checked; LibreOffice Calc was not run for this guide.

A normal model is described by its mean and positive standard deviation. The cumulative distribution function, or CDF, gives the area under the curve to the left of the requested value. The probability density is the curve’s height. A density is not a probability assigned to one exact measurement, and its units are the inverse of the measurement units. Official reference.

For z=(x−mean)/SD, the density is exp(−z²/2)/(SD×√(2π)); the cumulative probability is Φ(z). A narrow distribution can have a density above 1 without violating any probability rule. Its total area, not its maximum height, is 1.

=NORMDIST(Number; Mean; StDev [; Cumulative])

The first three arguments are required. StDev must be strictly positive. Use 0 for density and 1 for cumulative probability. The pinned evaluator accepts three or four arguments and defaults to cumulative probability when the fourth is omitted. Therefore =NORMDIST(10;10;2) returns 0.5, not the density at the mean.

The current Help explicitly marks the fourth argument optional. NORM.DIST is a separate spelling with its own argument contract; do not infer its optionality from NORMDIST.

Enter each formula in a separate numeric cell. Expected values are independently calculated and rounded to twelve decimal places for display.

Put 12 in A2, 10 in B2 and 2 in C2. In D2 enter =NORMDIST(A2;B2;C2;1). The expected result is 0.841344746069, or about 84.13% after percentage formatting. In E2 enter =1-D2 for the ordinary upper-tail probability, approximately 0.158655253931.

Keep x, the mean and SD in the same measurement units. If x is in millimeters and the model parameters are in centimeters, the formula may calculate normally while answering the wrong question. The function evaluates supplied parameters; it does not estimate them or establish that a normal model fits your observations.

For limits 8 and 12, use =NORMDIST(12;10;2;1)-NORMDIST(8;10;2;1). The expected probability is approximately 0.682689492137. Both calls must use the same mean and SD, and the upper limit belongs first. A continuous distribution assigns zero probability to an exact endpoint, so including or excluding either single boundary does not change this model probability.

To check an inverse calculation, =NORMDIST(NORMINV(0.9;10;2);10;2;1) should recover approximately 0.9. Keep the unrounded inner result; retyping a two-decimal cutoff changes the probability.

The release rejects zero or negative SD as an invalid argument. There is no valid zero-SD normal density for this function. A negative Number or Mean, however, can be perfectly valid. Diagnose which parameter is invalid rather than rejecting all negative values.

Subtracting a CDF extremely close to 1 can lose a tiny upper tail to rounding. The ordinary-range examples do not certify extreme-tail accuracy or every text/Boolean coercion path. Check stored numeric types, parameter units and the cumulative selector before relying on a result.

• NORMDIST function documentation
• LibreOffice 26.8.1.1 argument handling and calculation