How to Remove Special Characters in Excel
Strip symbols and punctuation from a column — keep only letters and digits, only numbers, or just the specific characters you don't want.
Last updated: August 2026
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| #INV-2024/07 * | → | INV202407 |
| $1,234.50 | → | 1234.50 |
Method 1 — Find & Replace (per symbol)
- Select the range and press Ctrl + H.
- Type the symbol in Find what, leave Replace with empty, and click Replace All.
- Repeat for each symbol. Fine for one or two, tedious for many.
Method 2 — Nested SUBSTITUTE
- Strip several at once:
=SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"$",""),"%",""), adding a layer per character. - Copy down, then Paste Special → Values. It gets unwieldy past a few characters.
The 1-click way — Tellsheet's Remove Characters
Select the range, click Remove Characters, and choose: strip symbols & punctuation, keep only digits, keep only letters & digits, or remove specific characters you type. One pass over the whole selection, previewed and revertable. Remove Characters is one of Tellsheet's free tools.
Frequently asked questions
How do I remove all special characters at once?
There's no single built-in function — you'd nest SUBSTITUTE or run Find & Replace repeatedly. Tellsheet's Remove Characters strips all symbols, or everything except letters and digits, in one click.
How do I keep only numbers in a cell?
Use Remove Characters in "everything except digits" mode, or Extract Text in numbers mode, to keep just the numeric characters.
How do I remove non-printable characters?
=CLEAN(A2) removes control characters; for non-breaking spaces and other invisibles too, use Tellsheet's Clean.
Related Excel guides
Strip special characters in one click
Remove Characters is free in Tellsheet — install it and clean symbols, spaces, and junk right inside Excel.
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