Table of Contents
To remove the last three characters from a string in Excel, you can use the “LEFT” function. This function allows you to specify the number of characters you want to extract from the beginning of a string. By using a combination of the “LEFT” function and the “LEN” function to determine the length of the string, you can easily remove the last three characters from a string in Excel. This method is useful for cleaning up data or extracting specific information from a longer string.
Excel: Remove Last 3 Characters from String
Often you may want to remove the last 3 characters from a string in Excel.
You can use the LEFT function combined with the LEN function to do so:
=LEFT(A2,LEN(A2)-3)
This particular formula removes the last 3 characters from the string in cell A2.
The following example shows how to use this formula in practice.
Example: Remove Last 3 Characters from String in Excel
Suppose we have the following list of basketball team names:

Suppose we would like to remove the last three characters from each team name.
We can type the following formula into cell B2 to do so:
=LEFT(A2,LEN(A2)-3)
We can then click and drag this formula down to each remaining cell in column B:

Column B now displays the team names in column A with the last three characters removed from each team name.
How This Formula Works
The LEFT() function in Excel extracts a specific number of characters from the left side of a string.
The LEN() function in Excel is used to find the length of a string.
Thus, our formula displays the entire string with the last three characters removed.
Note: Blank spaces in a string count as characters. You may need to first remove blank spaces to get your desired result.
The following tutorials explain how to perform other common tasks in Excel:
Excel: A Formula for MID From Right
Excel: How to Use MID Function for Variable Length Strings
Cite this article
stats writer (2024). How can I remove the last three characters from a string in Excel?. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Retrieved from https://scales.arabpsychology.com/stats/how-can-i-remove-the-last-three-characters-from-a-string-in-excel/
stats writer. "How can I remove the last three characters from a string in Excel?." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 23 Jun. 2024, https://scales.arabpsychology.com/stats/how-can-i-remove-the-last-three-characters-from-a-string-in-excel/.
stats writer. "How can I remove the last three characters from a string in Excel?." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2024. https://scales.arabpsychology.com/stats/how-can-i-remove-the-last-three-characters-from-a-string-in-excel/.
stats writer (2024) 'How can I remove the last three characters from a string in Excel?', PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Available at: https://scales.arabpsychology.com/stats/how-can-i-remove-the-last-three-characters-from-a-string-in-excel/.
[1] stats writer, "How can I remove the last three characters from a string in Excel?," PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, vol. X, no. Y, ص Z-Z, June, 2024.
stats writer. How can I remove the last three characters from a string in Excel?. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. 2024;vol(issue):pages.
