How-To

How to Insert a Checkbox in Microsoft Excel

By Brian Burgess

Updated April 19, 2024

A checkbox is a useful way to add yes or no answers to a form or list. If you want to insert a checkbox in Excel, follow this guide.

Got a list, checking it twice? A useful way to keep track of the yes and no answers on a list is to use a checkbox. Checkboxes don’t need much introduction—a tick means yes (of some kind). If you want to insert a checkbox in Microsoft Excel, however, you’ll need to look into how.

There isn’t a straightforward way to insert checkboxes in Excel. By default, the app hides the feature. If you want to know how to insert a checkbox in Microsoft Excel, follow our steps below.

How to Enable Developer Tools in Excel

Before you can insert a checkbox in Excel, you need to enable the Developer tab. This is where you’ll find the feature for checkboxes in Excel.

1. Open your Excel spreadsheet.
2. From the ribbon, select the File option.
3. In the File menu, click on Options at the bottom of the left panel.
4. In the Excel Options menu, click Customize the Ribbon on the left.
5. On the right, make sure the Customize the Ribbon dropdown is set to Main Tabs.
6. Select the checkbox next to the Developer option.
7. Click OK.
8. Once you’ve done this, you’ll see the Developer tab in the Excel ribbon.

How to Insert Checkboxes in Excel

Now that the Developer tab is available to you, adding a checkbox in Excel should be a straightforward process.

1. Open your Excel spreadsheet.
2. Move to the correct worksheet.
3. From the Developer tab, select Insert > Form Controls and select the Check Box option.
4. The cursor will turn into a crosshair symbol—drag and draw where you want the check box.
5. Now that you have your check box, you can drag it anywhere on the screen.
6. Once you have it in the cell you want, click it a second time and rename it.
7. After that, you can check or uncheck the box with the cursor.

That’s all you need to do to insert a checkbox in Microsoft Excel. However, once you get the box inserted, you might want to format it and make it look better.

How to Format an Excel Checkbox

Formatting a checkbox in Excel is also straightforward. To get started:

1. Right-click the checkbox and select Format Control from the menu.
2. From the Format Control window, select the Control tab at the top.
3. Select the value for the checkbox, such as checked, unchecked, or mixed (which means it’ll be grayed out).
4. If you want a 3D checkbox, click the 3-D shading box and click OK.
5. After you finish, you’ll have a nice-looking checkbox in your Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

Using Checkboxes in Excel

Wanted to create a form in your spreadsheet? Inserting checkboxes in Excel is a great way to get started. Once you enable the Developer tab, you’ll be able to access the tools you need to add and format checkboxes in your spreadsheet.