How to Remove Duplicates in Excel But Keep One (First/Last Occurrence)
Learn how to remove duplicate rows in Excel while keeping one copy - either the first or last occurrence. Complete guide with examples.
Table of Contents
📋Overview
When removing duplicates in Excel, you often want to keep one copy of each duplicate. This guide shows you how to control which duplicate to keep.
1Default Behavior (Keep First)
Excel's built-in Remove Duplicates feature keeps the first occurrence by default.
Sort Data if Needed
Sort your data to control which row appears first for each duplicate group.
💡 Tips
- •Sort by date to keep newest/oldest
- •Sort by ID to keep highest/lowest
Apply Remove Duplicates
Use Data > Remove Duplicates to keep the first occurrence of each duplicate.
Pros
- ✓Simple and fast
- ✓Built into Excel
- ✓No formulas needed
Cons
- ✗Always keeps first occurrence
- ✗Limited control
❓Frequently Asked Questions
QDoes Excel remove duplicates keep the first or last occurrence?
Excel's Remove Duplicates feature always keeps the first occurrence and deletes subsequent duplicates. To keep the last occurrence, sort your data in descending order first.
Need an Online Tool?
If you need to quickly process Excel files, try our online duplicate removal tool
Use Online Tool