How to Add a Drop-Down List in Google Sheets

You want people to pick a status such as Open, In progress, or Done from a list instead of typing it a different way on every row. A drop-down keeps the entries consistent and makes them faster to enter.

Select the cells that should get the drop-down

Click a single cell, or drag across a range such as C2:C50 so every row in the column gets the same list.

Open Data, Data validation and add a rule

Go to Data, Data validation. A panel opens on the right side of the screen. Click Add rule. The Apply to range box at the top shows the cells you selected.

Choose Dropdown and type each option

Under Criteria, pick Dropdown. Two empty option boxes appear. Type one option in each, for example Open and In progress, then click Add another item and type Done. Each option has a small color swatch next to it that you can change so the chip in the cell is color coded.

Point the drop-down at a range instead, if the options already exist

If the list of options is already typed somewhere, choose Dropdown (from a range) instead and enter the range, for example F2:F10 if the options are typed in column F. The range can also point at another sheet in the same file. When those cells change, the drop-down updates on its own.

Click Done

The selected cells now show a rounded chip with a small arrow. Click the arrow to open the list and pick an option. To edit the list later, click the cell and then the pencil icon that appears on the chip, or return to Data, Data validation and click the rule.

To block anything that is not in the list. Open Advanced options inside the rule and choose Reject the input under the setting for invalid data. With the default Show a warning, a typed value that is not on the list is kept and only flagged with a small red triangle in the corner of the cell.

Shortcut. Insert, Dropdown creates the same rule in the selected cells and opens the same panel, skipping the Add rule step.