Combine a Date With Text in Excel (Without Numbers)

To combine date and text in Excel and still see a real date, wrap the date in the TEXT function before you join it. A formula like ="Due "&TEXT(B2,"d mmm yyyy") gives Due 15 Mar 2024, while ="Due "&B2 gives Due 45366. This guide explains why that happens and shows the format codes you need for labels, report titles and email lines.

Why does a date turn into a number when you join it?#

Excel stores dates as serial numbers, and joining uses the stored number, not what you see. Day 1 is 1 January 1900, and every day after adds one. So 15 March 2024 is stored as 45366. The cell only looks like a date because of its number format.

When you join a date with &, CONCAT or TEXTJOIN, Excel drops the cell's format and uses the raw value:

The fix is always the same: convert the date to formatted text yourself, with TEXT, before joining. If the idea of dates as numbers is new, the guide to TEXT and VALUE explains how Excel moves between text and numbers.

How to combine a date and text with TEXT#

Use TEXT(date, format_code) inside the join. The format code is a pattern in double quotes that says how the date should look:

="Due "&TEXT(B2,"d mmm yyyy")

Step by step:

1. "Due " is the text, with a space at the end so the words don't touch.
2. & joins the two parts.
3. TEXT(B2,"d mmm yyyy") turns the date into text like 15 Mar 2024.

The same pattern works at the start, middle or end of a sentence:

=A2&" joined on "&TEXT(B2,"mmmm d, yyyy")

If A2 is Priya and B2 is 15 March 2024, the result is Priya joined on March 15, 2024. For a refresher on joining with & and spaces, see how to combine text from several cells.

Date format codes for TEXT#

Build the date from d, m and y codes. The number of letters controls the style:

Mix them with spaces, slashes, commas or dashes:

To pull out just one part, such as the month, see how to get the month name from a date. The TEXT function guide covers number codes too, such as currency and percentages.

How to combine a date and time#

Add the time to the date for a real date-time value, or use two TEXT calls for a label. If A2 holds a date and B2 a time:

=TEXT(A2,"d mmm yyyy")&" at "&TEXT(B2,"h:mm AM/PM")

This returns something like 15 Mar 2024 at 2:30 PM.

Watch the letter m. In TEXT codes, m right after h (or right before ss) means minutes, not months. So "h:mm" is hours and minutes, while "mm" alone is a month. If your time shows a month number where the minutes should be, check the code.

If you want a value you can still calculate with, don't join text at all. Use =A2+B2 and format the cell with a date-and-time format.

How to add today's date to a title#

Use TODAY inside TEXT to build a title that always shows the current date. This is common at the top of a report:

="Sales report as of "&TEXT(TODAY(),"d mmmm yyyy")

On 1 November 2026 this shows Sales report as of 1 November 2026, and it updates by itself each day you open the file. TODAY takes no arguments, but it still needs the empty brackets.

The same trick works for a period label. If B2 holds the first day of a month, ="Sales for "&TEXT(B2,"mmmm yyyy") gives Sales for March 2024. A label like this updates whenever the date in B2 changes, so you never have to retype the title for a new month. You can also count forward: ="Due by "&TEXT(B2+30,"d mmm") adds 30 days before formatting.

Using CONCAT and TEXTJOIN with dates#

CONCAT and TEXTJOIN join the serial number too, so they need TEXT around the date as well:

=CONCAT("Invoice date: ",TEXT(B2,"dd mmm yyyy"))
=TEXTJOIN(" | ",TRUE,A2,TEXT(B2,"d mmm"),C2)

The second formula joins a name, a short date and a status with | between them, skipping empty cells. CONCAT and TEXTJOIN need Excel 2019, Excel 2021 or Microsoft 365. In older versions, use & or CONCATENATE with the same TEXT wrapping.

Common mistakes when combining dates and text#

Most errors come from the format code or from the date itself. Check these:

1. The date is already text. If B2 holds text like 15.03.2024, TEXT can't reformat it and returns it unchanged. Convert it first: see how to convert text to dates.
2. Region settings. Format codes follow the language of your Excel. In some languages the codes use other letters, so a shared file may show odd results on another computer.
3. Missing spaces. ="Due"&TEXT(...) gives Due15 Mar 2024. Put the space inside the quotes.
4. Using the label for maths. The result is text. Keep the real date in its own column for sorting, filtering and date calculations, and use the joined label only for display.

Practise it#

Joining a date to text is a classic job-test task, because it checks whether you know dates are numbers. Practise TEXT and VALUE in a live spreadsheet, then practise joining text with & and CONCAT. Each lesson checks your formula instantly. Or try the exercise on this page first.