How to Fix Microsoft Excel Stuck on Verifying

Q: Will deleting Excel’s preference and container files erase my spreadsheets?

A: No. Those files store Excel’s saved app state, not your workbook content. Your spreadsheets stay in their normal file locations, including OneDrive, iCloud Drive, Documents, or any custom folder you use. You are only clearing the launch data that keeps Excel stuck on verifying, not deleting the actual app data you work on.

Q: How do I undo the quarantine flag fix if I need to?

A: You do not need to undo it for normal use. Removing the quarantine attribute only tells macOS to stop treating Microsoft Excel as a newly downloaded or untrusted app. It does not change your files or settings. If Excel was launched from a fresh reinstall, the app remains fully usable after the flag is cleared.

Q: What if Excel still hangs after reinstalling it cleanly?

A: If a clean reinstall does not change anything, stop focusing on the app itself and test the Mac account. Create a new user account and open Microsoft Excel there. If it works in the new account, your original profile has damaged preferences or permissions. If it fails there too, the issue sits deeper in the system install. Check Office Repair Options

Q: Do I need to remove add-ins before trying the Shift startup test?

A: No, you do not need to remove them first. Holding Shift simply bypasses startup components so you can confirm whether an add-in is responsible. If Excel opens this way, then remove the most recent or suspicious add-ins from Tools > Excel Add-ins after launch. That isolates the problem without deleting anything up front.

Q: Is this a Microsoft 365 problem or a Mac problem?

A: The verification loop is a macOS launch check, so it is not limited to Microsoft 365. It can affect the App Store version and installer-based versions of Microsoft Excel as well. The difference is where the corruption sits: app state, quarantine data, permissions, or the Office installation itself. Fix Office on Mac

Microsoft Excel is stuck on verifying, and the app never finishes launching. You click the icon, wait through the “verifying” screen, and Excel sits there instead of opening your spreadsheet. This article shows you the fastest fix first, then walks through the exact steps that clear the bad startup state and get Excel opening normally again.

Quick fix

The most reliable fix is to remove Excel’s cached app state and reopen it from a clean launch. On a Mac, quit Excel, then open Finder, hold Option and click Go in the menu bar, choose Library, and delete Excel’s preference and container files from ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel and ~/Library/Preferences. Then restart your Mac and open Excel again. If Excel launches, the verification loop was caused by corrupted startup data.

Why this happens

Excel gets stuck on verifying when macOS is rechecking the app because a preference file, quarantine flag, or saved app container is corrupted. The launcher keeps trying to validate Excel, but Excel never gets past that first check because something in its saved state is broken. A damaged add-in, a bad recent file cache, or an interrupted update can trigger the same loop.

How to fix it

Force quit Excel and restart the Mac.
Open Apple menu > Force Quit, select Microsoft Excel, and click Force Quit. Then restart the Mac from Apple menu > Restart. This clears temporary launch tasks that can trap Excel in the verification screen, and it gives you a clean test before you change anything else.
Remove Excel from the Dock and open it from Applications.
Right-click the Excel icon in the Dock and choose Options > Remove from Dock. Open Finder > Applications and double-click Microsoft Excel there instead. If Excel opens from Applications but not from the Dock, the Dock shortcut is pointing at a bad cached launch state, not the app itself.
Clear Excel’s saved preferences and container files.
Quit Excel completely. In Finder, press Command+Shift+G, type ~/Library, and press Return. Delete Preferences/com.microsoft.Excel.plist and the folder Containers/com.microsoft.Excel. Then empty the Trash and reopen Excel. This removes the files that keep telling macOS to re-verify the same broken state on every launch.
Check for a stuck quarantine flag on Excel.
Open Terminal from Applications > Utilities and run this command: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Microsoft\ Excel.app. Press Return, then open Excel again from Applications. If the app was flagged during a download or copy, macOS keeps treating it as untrusted until that attribute is removed.
Start Excel while holding Shift to bypass problematic add-ins and startup files.
Hold Shift and then open Excel from Applications. If Excel launches, the problem is one of your startup components, not the core app. Remove recently added add-ins from Tools > Excel Add-ins once the app opens, because a bad add-in can trigger the verification loop every time Excel starts.
Repair Microsoft Office by reinstalling Excel cleanly.
If the app still hangs, drag Microsoft Excel to the Trash, then reinstall it from your Microsoft 365 installer or the App Store copy you used originally. After reinstalling, restart the Mac before opening Excel. A clean reinstall replaces damaged application files that preference cleanup cannot fix, which is the next step when the launch binary itself is corrupted.

Common error messages

“Microsoft Excel is verifying…”
Excel is being blocked during the launch check and never reaches the workbook window.

“Microsoft Excel can’t be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software.”
macOS is rejecting the app because its security tag or quarantine attribute is still attached.

“The application Microsoft Excel quit unexpectedly.”
The app is crashing during launch, which points to corrupted preferences, a bad add-in, or damaged app files.

“You do not have permission to open the application Microsoft Excel.”
The app file or its permissions are broken, and macOS cannot complete the launch validation.

When this means it’s a bigger problem

If Excel still gets stuck on verifying after you delete the preferences and container files, remove the quarantine flag, and reinstall a fresh copy, the issue is no longer a normal launch glitch. The specific signal is that Excel fails on a clean reinstall in a new Mac user account too, which points to a system-level permission problem or a damaged Office install package. At that point, stop troubleshooting locally and contact Microsoft support or your device administrator.

Helpful answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Will deleting Excel’s preference and container files erase my spreadsheets?

No. Those files store Excel’s saved app state, not your workbook content. Your spreadsheets stay in their normal file locations, including OneDrive, iCloud Drive, Documents, or any custom folder you use. You are only clearing the launch data that keeps Excel stuck on verifying, not deleting the actual app data you work on.

How do I undo the quarantine flag fix if I need to?

You do not need to undo it for normal use. Removing the quarantine attribute only tells macOS to stop treating Microsoft Excel as a newly downloaded or untrusted app. It does not change your files or settings. If Excel was launched from a fresh reinstall, the app remains fully usable after the flag is cleared.

What if Excel still hangs after reinstalling it cleanly?

If a clean reinstall does not change anything, stop focusing on the app itself and test the Mac account. Create a new user account and open Microsoft Excel there. If it works in the new account, your original profile has damaged preferences or permissions. If it fails there too, the issue sits deeper in the system install. Check Office Repair Options

Do I need to remove add-ins before trying the Shift startup test?

No, you do not need to remove them first. Holding Shift simply bypasses startup components so you can confirm whether an add-in is responsible. If Excel opens this way, then remove the most recent or suspicious add-ins from Tools > Excel Add-ins after launch. That isolates the problem without deleting anything up front.

Is this a Microsoft 365 problem or a Mac problem?

The verification loop is a macOS launch check, so it is not limited to Microsoft 365. It can affect the App Store version and installer-based versions of Microsoft Excel as well. The difference is where the corruption sits: app state, quarantine data, permissions, or the Office installation itself. Fix Office on Mac