How to Make a Checklist in Excel

To make a checklist in Excel, type your tasks in one column, select the empty cells beside them, and choose Insert > Checkbox. Each cell gets a box you can check with a click or the Spacebar. If your version of Excel has no Checkbox button, a status column or a Form Controls check box does the same job.

Applies to: Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows and Mac and Excel for the web (in-cell checkboxes); Excel 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016 for Windows (status column and Form Controls methods). Checked against Microsoft Support on October 7, 2026.

Which checklist method fits your version of Excel

Excel offers three practical ways to build a checklist. Pick one before you start, because they behave differently when you sort, share or print the list.

Method	Where it works	Best for
In-cell checkboxes (Insert > Checkbox)	Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel for Microsoft 365 for Mac, Excel for the web	Most checklists. The box lives inside the cell, so it moves with its row.
Status column with a drop-down list	Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016	Lists shared with people on older versions, or lists that need more than two states, such as Open, In progress and Done.
Form Controls check box (Developer tab)	Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016 on Windows. Not usable in Excel for the web.	Short lists in desktop versions that have no in-cell checkbox.

Make a checklist with in-cell checkboxes

This is the shortest route in Microsoft 365. An in-cell checkbox is a cell format laid over a TRUE or FALSE value: Microsoft documents that a checked box has the value TRUE and an unchecked box has the value FALSE. That detail matters later, because formulas and formatting rules can read it.

1. Open a blank worksheet. In cell A1 type Task, and in cell B1 type Done. These headings make the list readable even where checkboxes are not displayed.
2. Type one task per row in column A, starting in A2. For a ten-item list, your tasks fill A2 through A11.
3. Select the cells in column B that sit beside your tasks, for example B2 through B11. Select only the rows that have tasks so you do not leave stray boxes below the list.
4. Select Insert > Checkbox. An empty checkbox appears in every selected cell.
5. Click a checkbox to check it. To use the keyboard instead, select one or more checkbox cells and press the Spacebar. Selecting several cells first lets you check or clear a whole block at once.
6. Save the workbook. The checked and unchecked states are stored as cell values, so they are saved with the file like any other data.

To add tasks later, type the new task in the next row of column A, select the cell beside it in column B, and use Insert > Checkbox again. Microsoft’s instructions are on its Using checkboxes in Excel page. If you only need a box or two rather than a full list, our guide on how to add a checkbox in Excel covers that narrower task.

Cross out tasks automatically when you check them

A conditional formatting rule can strike through a task as soon as its box is checked. Conditional formatting changes how a cell looks when a condition you set is true; it does not change the cell’s contents. The steps below use the Excel desktop app and the example range A2 through A11.

1. Select the task cells, A2 through A11. Start the selection at A2 so the formula in step 4 lines up with the first row.
2. Select Home > Conditional Formatting > New Rule.
3. Under Select a Rule Type, choose Use a formula to determine which cells to format.
4. In the Format values where this formula is true box, type =$B2=TRUE. The dollar sign keeps the rule looking at column B, while the row number is left free so each task checks its own row.
5. Select Format. In the Format Cells dialog, select Strikethrough, and pick a gray font color if you want finished tasks to fade.
6. Select OK to close each dialog. Check any box in column B and the task beside it is crossed out; clear the box and the formatting disappears.

The formula must begin with an equal sign and return TRUE or FALSE, which is why a checkbox cell works so well as the test. Microsoft covers formula rules in Use conditional formatting to highlight information in Excel. If you would rather cross out items by hand, see how to add a strikethrough in Excel. If the strikethrough option is not offered where you are working, choose a fill color in the same rule instead; the list is just as easy to scan.

Show how many tasks are finished

A small counter turns a checklist into a progress tracker. Because Microsoft documents that formulas can read a checkbox cell, with the example =IF(A1,”Checked”,”Unchecked”), you can convert each box into a word and then count the words.

1. In cell C1 type Status. In C2 type =IF(B2,”Done”,”Open”) and press Enter. The cell shows Done when the box in B2 is checked and Open when it is not.
2. Copy C2 down to C11 so every task has a status.
3. In an empty cell, such as E1, type =COUNTIF(C2:C11,”Done”). COUNTIF counts the cells in a range that match a condition, so this returns the number of finished tasks.
4. In E2 type =COUNTA(A2:A11). COUNTA counts cells that are not empty, so this returns the total number of tasks.
5. In E3 type =E1/E2 to get the completed share, and format that cell as a percentage if you prefer.

If you add tasks below row 11, widen the ranges in the formulas to match, or the new rows will not be counted.

Alternative: a status column with a drop-down list

Use this method when the people opening the workbook may be on Excel 2016, 2019, 2021 or 2024, or when a task can be in more than two states. Instead of a box, each task gets a cell where you pick a status from a list.

1. Type your tasks in column A as before, with Task in A1 and Status in B1.
2. In a spare area of the workbook, type the statuses you want, one per cell, for example Open, In progress and Done.
3. Select the status cells beside your tasks, B2 through B11.
4. Go to the Data tab and select Data Validation.
5. On the Settings tab, in the Allow box, choose List.
6. Click in the Source box and select the cells that hold your statuses. Make sure In-cell dropdown is checked, then select OK.
7. Click any status cell. An arrow appears; choose a status from the list.

The automatic cross-out rule works here too. Follow the conditional formatting steps above, but use the formula =$B2=”Done”. To count finished tasks, use =COUNTIF(B2:B11,”Done”) directly on the status column; no helper column is needed.

Alternative: Form Controls check boxes in older desktop versions

Excel 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024 for Windows do not appear in Microsoft’s list of versions with the in-cell Checkbox command, but they do have a check box control on the Developer tab. This kind of check box is an object that sits on top of the worksheet rather than inside a cell, and Microsoft notes that you can add only one at a time. That makes it reasonable for a short list and tedious for a long one.

1. Show the Developer tab if it is hidden: on the File tab, go to Options > Customize Ribbon, and under Main Tabs select the Developer check box. Select OK. The tab stays visible until you clear that check box.
2. Select the Developer tab, select Insert, and under Form Controls select the check box icon.
3. Click in the cell where you want the check box, such as B2. A check box with default text appears.
4. Select the control and edit or delete its default text, since your task name is already in column A.
5. To add the next one faster, right-click the first check box, select Copy, and then paste it beside the next task. Repeat for each row.
6. Optional: right-click a check box and select Format Control. On the Control tab you can set it to Checked or Unchecked and enter a cell reference in the Cell link box, which makes that cell hold the control’s current state so formulas can use it.

Microsoft’s page on adding a check box or option button (Form controls) states that these controls currently cannot be used in Excel for the web. If anyone will open the checklist in a browser, use in-cell checkboxes or a status column instead.

How to clear, reset or remove the checkboxes

These steps apply to in-cell checkboxes.

• Reset the list for reuse: select the checkbox cells and press Delete. Checked boxes become unchecked. This is the quick way to reuse a weekly or packing checklist.
• Remove the boxes completely: with the same cells selected, press Delete again. Microsoft documents that when every selected box is already unchecked, the Delete key removes them.
• Keep the values but drop the boxes: select the cells and choose Home > Clear > Clear Formats. The checkbox display goes away and the cells show their TRUE or FALSE values.
• Remove the cross-out rule: select the task cells and choose Home > Conditional Formatting > Clear Rules > Clear Rules from Selected Cells. To review or edit rules instead, choose Manage Rules from the same menu.

Troubleshooting an Excel checklist

There is no Checkbox button on the Insert tab

Microsoft lists in-cell checkboxes for Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel for Microsoft 365 for Mac and Excel for the web. If you use a one-time-purchase version such as Excel 2021, or a Microsoft 365 installation that has not received the feature, the button will not be there. Install pending Office updates if you are on Microsoft 365. On a work or school computer, updates are often controlled by the organization, so ask your IT administrator. In the meantime, the status column method gives you the same checklist.

The cells show TRUE and FALSE instead of boxes

The checkbox formatting has been removed, which is what Clear Formats does, or the workbook is open somewhere that does not display in-cell checkboxes. Your data is intact. Select the cells and choose Insert > Checkbox to bring the boxes back in a supported version.

The whole list is crossed out, or the wrong rows are

The rule’s formula and its range are out of step. Open Home > Conditional Formatting > Manage Rules and compare the two: if the rule applies to cells starting at A2, the formula must refer to row 2, as in =$B2=TRUE. A dollar sign in front of the row number, as in $B$2, makes every task follow the first checkbox.

The check boxes do not respond in the browser

They are Form Controls check boxes, which cannot be used in Excel for the web. Open the workbook in the desktop app, or rebuild the list with in-cell checkboxes.

The counter does not include new tasks

The COUNTIF and COUNTA ranges stop at the old last row. Edit each formula so the range reaches the new last task, and copy the Status formula down to the new rows.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make a checklist in Excel without the Developer tab?

Yes. In Microsoft 365 and Excel for the web, Insert > Checkbox needs no extra setup. In any version, a status column with a drop-down list also avoids the Developer tab.

How do I check several boxes at once?

Select all the checkbox cells you want to change and press the Spacebar.

Does checking a box change the cell’s value?

Yes. A checked in-cell checkbox has the value TRUE and an unchecked one has the value FALSE. That is what allows formulas such as =IF(B2,”Done”,”Open”) and conditional formatting rules to react to it.

Can I use the checklist in Excel for the web?

In-cell checkboxes are listed by Microsoft for Excel for the web, so a checklist built with Insert > Checkbox can be used there. Form Controls check boxes cannot.

What is the difference between a checklist and a to-do list in Excel?

A checklist records whether each item is done. A to-do list usually adds planning columns such as due date and priority. If that is closer to what you need, see how to make a to-do list in Excel.

Once your boxes are in place, add the cross-out rule and the counter; together they show your progress without any extra work each time you check a task.