How to Check Eligibility with Several Rules in Excel

Combine AND, OR and NOT into one eligibility test — age bands, merit-or-need, and an exclusion rule.

You will learn to

• Test a value against a range with AND
• Accept either of two criteria with OR
• Combine AND, OR and NOT into one decision

How it works

Real eligibility rules mix logic: an applicant must be 18–25 (AND), must show either merit or need (OR), and must not already be funded (NOT). Each rule is a small test, and they nest naturally: =AND(B5>=18,B5<=25,OR(C5>=3.5,D5<40000),NOT(E5)).

Build and test each piece in its own cell first, then combine them. Wrapping the final test in IF turns it into a clear "Eligible" / "Not eligible" decision that anyone can read.

=IF(AND(B5>=18,B5<=25,OR(C5>=3.5,D5<40000),NOT(E5)),"Eligible","Not eligible")