Excel NOW Function: Syntax, Examples and Tips

Part of the free Module 5: Excel Formulas and Functions · Function 65 of 105 · Full Excel course

The Excel NOW function returns the current date and time from your computer’s clock as a single serial number, with the date in the whole-number part and the time in the decimal part. It takes no arguments and is volatile: it recalculates every time the worksheet calculates, so it is used for live clocks, elapsed-time calculations and “last updated” labels rather than fixed timestamps.

Table of Contents

Syntax

=NOW()

Arguments

Argument	Required / Optional	Meaning
(none)	–	NOW has no arguments, but the parentheses are required. Typing =NOW without them returns #NAME?.

How NOW works

At 4 September 2026 15:30 the function returns 46269.6458, where 46269 is the date serial and 0.6458 is 15:30 expressed as a fraction of a day. Excel normally applies a date-time format automatically. The value updates whenever any cell is edited, F9 is pressed or the workbook is opened; it does not tick every second on its own. NOW reads the local system clock, so two users in different time zones see different results in the same file. To freeze the current time as a value, press Ctrl+Shift+; (semicolon) instead of using a formula.

Step-by-step example: elapsed time since a task started

In A2 enter the start timestamp of a task, for example 04/09/2026 09:15, or press Ctrl+; then a space then Ctrl+Shift+; to stamp the current date and time.
In B2 enter =NOW()-A2.
Format B2 with the custom format [h]:mm. The square brackets allow totals above 24 hours.
Press F9 to recalculate and watch the elapsed time update. Copy the formula down for other tasks.

Practical use cases

1. Report header with refresh time

="Last refreshed: "&TEXT(NOW(),"dd-mmm-yyyy hh:mm")

2. Countdown to a deadline in hours

=(Deadline-NOW())*24

3. Greeting that changes with the time of day

=IF(HOUR(NOW())<12,"Good morning",IF(HOUR(NOW())<17,"Good afternoon","Good evening"))

4. Current time only, without the date

=MOD(NOW(),1)

MOD strips the whole-number date and leaves the time fraction. Format the cell as h:mm:ss.

5. Time in another zone

=NOW()+5.5/24

Adds five and a half hours, for example to show India Standard Time from a UTC clock.

Common mistakes and tips

Expecting a fixed timestamp: NOW changes constantly. For a permanent entry time use Ctrl+Shift+;, a VBA event, or Power Query’s DateTime.LocalNow at refresh.
Result shows a decimal: the cell is in General format. Apply a date-time format such as dd/mm/yyyy h:mm.
Date-only comparisons fail: NOW includes the time, so =NOW()=A2 is rarely TRUE. Use TODAY or INT(NOW()) for dates.
Performance: thousands of NOW formulas force recalculation of everything that depends on them. Put NOW in one cell and reference it.
Not a live clock: the display refreshes only on recalculation; a running clock needs VBA.

NOW compared with TODAY, timestamp shortcuts and Power Query

TODAY returns only the current date and is the correct choice for ageing reports, due-date checks and anything compared against whole dates. NOW is for calculations that need the time of day: elapsed hours, shift status and refresh labels. Both are volatile, which is why neither should be used to record when a row was entered; the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+; for the date and Ctrl+Shift+; for the time paste static values that never change. In automated workflows, Power Query can add a fixed load timestamp with DateTime.LocalNow() during refresh, and VBA can write Now into a cell when a neighbouring cell changes. Excel has no built-in non-volatile timestamp function, so choose the method that matches how the workbook is updated.