Excel EDATE Function

EDATE returns a date a specified number of whole months before or after a starting date.

Use it for renewals, expiration dates, monthly milestones, subscription schedules, and comparisons that must move by calendar months rather than a fixed number of days.

Start with a date and offset Positive or negative months set direction

Move by calendar months The day number is preserved when possible

Return the shifted date If the day number doesn't exist, use month-end

EDATE syntax & arguments

Syntax

=EDATE(start_date, months)

Required Optional

1

start_date
Required

The starting date to move from. This should be a real Excel date value, cell reference, or formula result.
2

months
Required

The number of whole months to move. Positive values move forward, negative values move backward, and zero returns the start date.

Example

=EDATE(B2, 3)

Return the date three months after the date in B2.

EDATE caveats

Short months clamp the day

If the target month does not contain the starting day number, EDATE returns that month's final day. For example, one month after January 31 is February 28 for a standard year and February 29 for a leap year.
Month offsets are truncated

If months is not an integer, Excel discards its decimal portion before shifting the date.
The start value should be a real date

Use a date cell, date serial number, or a value built with DATE rather than ambiguous date text.
The result may look like a number

EDATE returns an Excel date serial. Apply a date number format when the cell displays the underlying serial instead of a calendar date.