How to Remove Blank Rows in Excel (2026)
A few blank rows scattered through a dataset break sorting, filtering, and formulas. The reliable way to clear them is Go To Special — much safer than deleting by hand. Here are three methods, from fastest to most controlled.
1. Go To Special > Blanks (Fastest)
- Select the range (or a single column that’s blank wherever the row is empty).
- Press F5 (or Ctrl+G) > Special.
- Choose Blanks and click OK — every empty cell in the selection is now highlighted.
- On the Home tab, click Delete > Delete Sheet Rows.
The blank rows collapse out and your data closes up.
Caution: This selects all blank cells. If you select a range where some data rows have an empty cell, deleting sheet rows will remove those too. Select a column that is empty only on the rows you actually want gone.
2. Filter Out the Blanks
This is the safest method for messy data because you can review before deleting:
- Select your data and click Data > Filter.
- Open the filter arrow on a key column and uncheck everything except (Blanks).
- The blank rows are now isolated — select them and Delete > Delete Sheet Rows.
- Clear the filter to bring back the rest of your data, now blank-free.
3. Sort the Blanks to the Bottom
If row order doesn’t matter:
- Select the data, then Data > Sort on a column that’s always filled.
- Blank rows drop to the bottom of the range.
- Select and delete them in one block.
4. Watch for “Empty” Rows That Aren’t
Some rows look blank but contain a space, an apostrophe, or a formula returning "". Go To Special won’t catch those. To clean them, run a Find & Replace for stray spaces, or add a helper column with =TRIM(A2) and check for true blanks.
5. Troubleshooting
Go To Special deleted data rows too
The selection included data rows that had one empty cell. Undo (Ctrl+Z), then select a single column that’s blank only on the rows you want removed, and try again.
”No cells were found”
Your selection had no truly empty cells — the blanks likely contain spaces or empty-string formula results. Use the Find & Replace or TRIM approach above.
The blank rows came back after refresh
If the data comes from a query or external source, the blanks are in the source. Clean them there, or add a step in Power Query to remove blank rows.
Related Excel guides: How to remove duplicates · How to unhide columns · How to use conditional formatting · How to wrap text · How to merge cells
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