Excel #NULL! Error: Space Instead of a Range

By Szabó Gergő · Updated Aug 31, 2026

#NULL! means two ranges were written with a space and they do not overlap. You usually meant a comma or a plus sign.

Syntax and arguments

=SUM(B2:B20,D2:D20)

range1: First block to add or reference.
range2: Second block. Separate with a comma, not a space, unless you want the overlap.

Sum two columns

The formula was =SUM(B2:B20 D2:D20).

=SUM(B2:B20,D2:D20)

A comma lists both ranges. A space asked for their intersection, which is empty.

Union of two areas

Need both blocks as one reference.

=SUM((B2:B20,D2:D20))

The comma is the union operator inside the extra parentheses.

Real intersection

Named ranges RowEast and ColAmount overlap on one cell.

=RowEast ColAmount

A space is legal when the ranges share a cell. #NULL! means they do not.

Pasting from a locale that uses spaces as list separators
US Excel uses commas between arguments. Check the formula bar after paste.
Confusing #NULL! with #REF!
#REF! is a deleted address. #NULL! is an empty intersection of two live ranges.
Hiding it with IFERROR
Put the comma back. The formula was never adding both columns.

As the intersection operator between two ranges that overlap, or inside quoted text.

Sheets is less likely to use space intersection. A stray space more often becomes a parse error.

Less common than #NAME? or #N/A. It still appears after copy-paste from another locale or a broken SUM list.