Second() Function

January 23, 2021
Date Function

The Excel SECOND function returns the second component of a time as a number between 0-59. For example, with a time of 9:10:15 AM, second will return 15. You can use the SECOND function to extract the second into a cell, or feed the result into another formula, like the TIME function.

 

Syntax

The syntax for the SECOND function in Microsoft Excel is:

=SECOND( serial_number )

Parameters or Arguments

serial_number

The time value to extract the second from. This may be supplied to the function as either:

  • A decimal (serial number) representation of an Excel time;
  • A text representation of a time;
  • A reference to a cell containing a time;
  • A time value returned from another Excel function or formula.

Note that, if the serial_number argument is composed of a date and time, the date part of the argument is ignored by the Second function.

 

Returns

The SECOND function returns a numeric value between 0 and 59.

 

Second Function Examples

Four examples of the Excel Second function are shown in column B of the following spreadsheet.

Formulas:

Results:

 

Second Function Error

If you get an error from the Excel Second Function, this is likely to be the #VALUE! error:

#VALUE! – Occurs if the supplied serial_number is not a valid Excel time.