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Quick Answer

REGEXMATCH Function

REGEXMATCH returns TRUE if the text matches a regular expression pattern, otherwise FALSE.

✓ Excel✓ Google SheetsExcel Google Sheets only

Syntax

REGEXMATCH
(text, regular_expression)

Parameters

ParameterDescriptionRequired
textThe text to test against the regular expression.Required
regular_expressionThe RE2 regular expression pattern to match. Some metacharacters need escaping.Required

Basic Example

Check if an email address looks valid

=REGEXMATCH(A2, '^[A-Za-z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Za-z0-9.-]+\.[A-Za-z]{2,}$')
ResultTRUE or FALSE

The pattern checks for a typical email format. It returns TRUE if A2 matches.

Advanced Examples

Example 1: Check for a phone number pattern

Data validation

Detect if a cell contains a 10-digit US phone number

=REGEXMATCH(A2, '\d{3}-\d{3}-\d{4}')
Result: TRUE if a phone number is found
The pattern looks for three digits, a hyphen, three digits, a hyphen, and four digits.

Example 2: Match whole column with ARRAYFORMULA

Bulk validation

Check every cell in a column for a valid code format

=ARRAYFORMULA(REGEXMATCH(A2:A100, '^CODE-[0-9]{4}$'))
Result: Column of TRUE/FALSE values
ARRAYFORMULA applies REGEXMATCH to each row.

How REGEXMATCH Works

REGEXMATCH evaluates the text against a regular expression using the RE2 syntax. It returns TRUE if the text contains a match anywhere (unless anchored), and FALSE otherwise. The pattern is case-sensitive by default.

1
Write the text or reference
Select the cell containing the text to test.
2
Build the regex pattern
Create a regular expression that describes the pattern you want to match.
3
Enter the formula
Type =REGEXMATCH(text, 'pattern').
4
Use with IF or FILTER
Wrap with IF to return custom messages, or use FILTER to extract matching rows.

Important Notes & Limitations

  • REGEXMATCH is Google Sheets only. Excel uses ISNUMBER(SEARCH(...)) or VBA/User-Defined Functions for regex.

  • It uses RE2 syntax, which does not support all features of PCRE or .NET regex.

  • Lookahead and lookbehind assertions are not supported in RE2.

  • The pattern is case-sensitive; use character classes like [A-Za-z] for case-insensitive matching.

Common Errors & Fixes

#VALUE! errorThe regular expression is invalid or uses unsupported syntax.

Fix: Test the pattern in a regex tester and ensure it uses RE2-compatible syntax.

Unexpected matchThe pattern matches part of the text because it is not anchored.

Fix: Add ^ at the start and $ at the end to match the entire string.

Case-sensitive mismatchREGEXMATCH is case-sensitive.

Fix: Use character classes like [A-Za-z] or convert the text with LOWER/UPPER first.

Download Practice File

Practice REGEXMATCH with Real Data

Download a sample CSV file with pre-populated data and practice exercises for the REGEXMATCH function. Works in both Excel and Google Sheets.

Works in Google SheetsCompatible with ExcelIncludes exercises

File format: CSV (comma-separated values) - opens in Excel, Google Sheets, and all spreadsheet apps

Related Tutorials

COUNTIF with Wildcard: Count Cells by Text Pattern

COUNTIF with wildcard patterns counts cells by prefix, suffix or length. Learn the * and ? rules, how to escape a literal asterisk, and where numbers fail.

Google Sheets REGEXEXTRACT: Extract Text by Pattern

Learn Google Sheets REGEXEXTRACT with RE2 patterns: capture groups, case-insensitive flags, error handling and how to extract all matches from a string.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can REGEXMATCH return the matched text?
No, it returns only TRUE or FALSE. Use REGEXEXTRACT to capture matched text.
Is REGEXMATCH case-sensitive?
Yes. Use [A-Za-z] or LOWER/UPPER to handle case.
Can I use REGEXMATCH in Excel?
Excel does not have a built-in REGEXMATCH function. You can use VBA or Office Scripts.
Does it support capture groups?
No, REGEXMATCH only checks for a match. Use REGEXEXTRACT for capture groups.