The Excel NORMSINV Function
Standard Normal Cumulative Distribution
The Standard Normal Distribution is a simplified version of the Normal Distribution Function which arises when the mean of the distribution is 0 and the standard deviation is 1.
Therefore, the Excel Normsinv function is the same as the Norminv function with the mean and standard_dev arguments set to 0 and 1 respectively.
The Standard Normal Cumulative Distribution function and the Inverse of this function are shown in the graphs below:
Standard normal cumulative distribution function
Inverse cumulative distribution function
NORMSINV & NORM.S.INV Functions
In Excel 2010, the NORMSINV function has been replaced by the NORM.S.INV function, which has improved accuracy. However, the Normsinv function is still available in Excel 2010 (stored in the list of compatibility functions), to allow compatibility with earlier versions of Excel.
Function Description
The Excel NORMSINV function calculates the inverse of the Standard Normal Cumulative Distribution Function for a supplied probability value.
The syntax of the function is:
NORMSINV( probability )
Where the supplied probability is the probability value (between 0 and 1), at which you want to calculate the inverse of the standard normal cumulative distribution function.
Note that Excel uses an iterative method to calculate the Normsinv function and seeks to find a result, z, such that NORMSDIST( z ) = probability.
Normsinv Function Examples
In the spreadsheet below, the Excel Normsinv Function is used to calculate the inverse of the Standard Normal Cumulative Distribution Function for 3 different probability values.
The formulas are shown in the spreadsheet on the left and the results are shown in the spreadsheet on the right.
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Formulas:
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Results:
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For further information and examples of the Excel Normsinv function, see the Microsoft Office website.
Normsinv Function Errors
If you get an error from your Excel Normsinv function this is likely to be one of the following:
Common Errors
| #NUM! | - | Occurs if the supplied probability argument is ≤ 0 or ≥ 1. |
| #VALUE! | - | Occurs if the supplied probability argument is non-numeric. |