EXAMPLES OF VALIDATION RULES

Summary
Review examples of
validation rules for various
types of apps that you can
use and modify for your own
purposes. Validation rules
verify that the data a user
enters in a record meets the
standards you specify before
the user can save the record.

Review examples of validation rules for various types of apps that you can use and modify for your own
purposes. Validation rules verify that the data a user enters in a record meets the standards you specify
before the user can save the record.
Use the following samples for validation rules in Salesforce and Force.com AppExchange apps, including:

Sample Account Address Validation Rules

For more information on any of the formula functions used in these examples, see Formula Operators
and Functions in the Salesforce Help.

Canadian Billing Postal Code

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the account Billing Zip/Postal Code is in the

correct format if Billing Country is Canada.

Formula:

AND(
OR(BillingCountry = "CAN", BillingCountry = "CA",
BillingCountry = "Canada"),
NOT(REGEX(BillingPostalCode,
"((?i)[ABCEGHJKLMNPRSTVXY]\\d[A-Z]?\\s?\\d[A-Z]\\d)?"))
)

Error Message:

Canadian postal code must be in A9A 9A9 format.

Error Location:

Billing Zip/Postal Code

Last updated: January 7, 2016

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Account Address Validation Rules

Billing Zip Code Is in Billing State

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the account Billing Zip/Postal Code is valid

by looking up the first five characters of the value in a custom object
called Zip_Code__c that contains a record for every valid zip code in the
US. If the zip code is not found in the Zip_Code__c object, or the
Billing State does not match the corresponding State_Code__c
in the Zip_Code__c object, an error is displayed.

Formula:

VLOOKUP(
$ObjectType.Zip_Code__c.Fields.City__c ,
$ObjectType.Zip_Code__c.Fields.Name ,
LEFT(BillingPostalCode,5)) <> BillingCity

Error Message:

Billing Zip Code does not exist in specified Billing State.

Error Location:

Billing Zip/Postal Code

US Billing Zip Code

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the account Billing Zip/Postal Code is in 99999

or 99999-9999 format if Billing Country is USA or US.

Formula:

AND(
OR(BillingCountry = "USA", BillingCountry =
"US"),
NOT(REGEX(BillingPostalCode, "\\d{5}(-\\d{4})?"))
)

Note: This example uses the REGEX function; see Shipping Zip
Code if you are not familiar with regular expressions.
Error Message:

Zip code must be in 99999 or 99999-9999 format.

Error Location:

Billing Zip/Postal Code

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Account Address Validation Rules

Shipping Zip Code

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the account Shipping Zip/Postal Code is in 99999 or

99999-9999 format if Shipping Country is USA or blank.

Formula:

AND(
OR(ShippingCountry = "USA",
ISBLANK(ShippingCountry)),
OR(
AND(LEN(ShippingPostalCode) <>5,
LEN(ShippingPostalCode) <> 10),
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
LEFT( ShippingPostalCode, 1))),
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
MID( ShippingPostalCode , 2, 1))),
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
MID( ShippingPostalCode , 3, 1))),
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
MID( ShippingPostalCode , 4, 1))),
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
MID( ShippingPostalCode , 5, 1))),
AND(
LEN(ShippingPostalCode) = 10,
OR(
MID( ShippingPostalCode , 6, 1) <> "-",
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
MID( ShippingPostalCode , 7, 1))),
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
MID( ShippingPostalCode , 8, 1))),
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
MID( ShippingPostalCode , 9, 1))),
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
MID( ShippingPostalCode , 10, 1)))
)
)
)
)

Note: This example interprets a blank country as US. To use this example
with other countries, remove the clause that checks the length of the
country field. Also, validation rule criteria are case sensitive, so this rule
is only enforced when the country is blank or USA in all capital letters.
The rule is not enforced when the country is usa.
Tip: You can also validate zip codes using a regular expression; for an
example of a formula using a regular expression, see REGEX in the
Salesforce Help.
Error Message:

Zip code must be in 99999 or 99999-9999 format.

Error Location:

Shipping Zip/Postal Code

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Account Address Validation Rules

Valid Billing State (US)

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the account Billing State/Province is a valid

two-character abbreviation if Billing Country is US, USA, or
blank.

Formula:

AND (
OR(BillingCountry = "US", BillingCountry="USA",
ISBLANK(BillingCountry)),
OR(
LEN(BillingState) < 2,
NOT(
CONTAINS("AL:AK:AZ:AR:CA:CO:CT:DE:DC:FL:GA:HI:ID:"
&
"IL:IN:IA:KS:KY:LA:ME:MD:MA:MI:MN:MS:MO:MT:NE:NV:NH:"
&
"NJ:NM:NY:NC:ND:OH:OK:OR:PA:RI:SC:SD:TN:TX:UT:VT:VA:"
&
"WA:WV:WI:WY", BillingState)
)))

Note: This example interprets a blank country as US. To use this

example with other countries, remove the clause that checks the
length of the country field. Also, validation rule criteria are case
sensitive, so this rule is only enforced when the country is blank
or USA in all capital letters. The rule is not enforced when the
country is usa.
Error Message:

A valid two-letter state code is required.

Error Location:

Billing State/Province

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Account Address Validation Rules

Valid Billing Province (Canada)

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the account Billing State/Province is a valid two-character

abbreviation if Billing Country is CA or CAN.

Formula:

AND (
OR(BillingCountry = "CA", BillingCountry="CAN"),
OR(
LEN(BillingState) < 2,
NOT(
CONTAINS("AB:BC:MB:NB:NL:NT:NS:NU:ON:PC:QC:SK:YT",
BillingState)
)))

Error Message:

A valid two-letter province code is required.

Error Location:

Billing State/Province

Valid Shipping State

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the account Shipping State/Province is a valid

two-character abbreviation if Shipping Country is US, USA, or blank.

Formula:

AND (
OR(ShippingCountry = "US", ShippingCountry="USA",
ISBLANK(ShippingCountry)),
OR(
LEN(ShippingState) < 2,
NOT(
CONTAINS("AL:AK:AZ:AR:CA:CO:CT:DE:DC:FL:GA:HI:ID:" &
"IL:IN:IA:KS:KY:LA:ME:MD:MA:MI:MN:MS:MO:MT:NE:NV:NH:"
&
"NJ:NM:NY:NC:ND:OH:OK:OR:PA:RI:SC:SD:TN:TX:UT:VT:VA:"
&
"WA:WV:WI:WY", ShippingState)
)))

Note: This example interprets a blank country as US. To use this example
with other countries, remove the clause that checks the length of the country
field. Also, validation rule criteria are case sensitive, so this rule is only enforced
when the country is blank or USA in all capital letters. The rule is not enforced
when the country is usa.
Error Message:

A valid two-letter state abbreviation is required.

Error Location:

Shipping State/Province

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Account Address Validation Rules

Valid Shipping Province (Canada)

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the account Shipping State/Province is a valid

two-character abbreviation, if Billing Country is CA or CAN.

Formula:

AND (
OR(ShippingCountry = "CA", ShippingCountry="CAN"),
OR(
LEN(ShippingState) < 2,
NOT(
CONTAINS("AB:BC:MB:NB:NL:NT:NS:NU:ON:PC:QC:SK:YT",
ShippingState)
)))

Error Message:

A valid two-letter province abbreviation is required.

Error Location:

Shipping State/Province

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Account Validation Rules

Valid Billing Country

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the account Billing Country is a valid ISO 3166 two-letter
code.

Formula:

OR(
LEN(BillingCountry) = 1,
NOT(
CONTAINS(
"AF:AX:AL:DZ:AS:AD:AO:AI:AQ:AG:AR:AM:" &
"AW:AU:AZ:BS:BH:BD:BB:BY:BE:BZ:BJ:BM:BT:BO:" &
"BA:BW:BV:BR:IO:BN:BG:BF:BI:KH:CM:CA:CV:KY:" &
"CF:TD:CL:CN:CX:CC:CO:KM:CG:CD:CK:CR:CI:HR:" &
"CU:CY:CZ:DK:DJ:DM:DO:EC:EG:SV:GQ:ER:EE:ET:FK:" &
"FO:FJ:FI:FR:GF:PF:TF:GA:GM:GE:DE:GH:GI:GR:GL:" &
"GD:GP:GU:GT:GG:GN:GW:GY:HT:HM:VA:HN:HK:HU:" &
"IS:IN:ID:IR:IQ:IE:IM:IL:IT:JM:JP:JE:JO:KZ:KE:KI:" &
"KP:KR:KW:KG:LA:LV:LB:LS:LR:LY:LI:LT:LU:MO:MK:" &
"MG:MW:MY:MV:ML:MT:MH:MQ:MR:MU:YT:MX:FM:MD:MC:" &
"MC:MN:ME:MS:MA:MZ:MM:MA:NR:NP:NL:AN:NC:NZ:NI:" &
"NE:NG:NU:NF:MP:NO:OM:PK:PW:PS:PA:PG:PY:PE:PH:" &
"PN:PL:PT:PR:QA:RE:RO:RU:RW:SH:KN:LC:PM:VC:WS:" &
"SM:ST:SA:SN:RS:SC:SL:SG:SK:SI:SB:SO:ZA:GS:ES:" &
"LK:SD:SR:SJ:SZ:SE:CH:SY:TW:TJ:TZ:TH:TL:TG:TK:" &
"TO:TT:TN:TR:TM:TC:TV:UG:UA:AE:GB:US:UM:UY:UZ:" &
"VU:VE:VN:VG:VI:WF:EH:YE:ZM:ZW",
BillingCountry)))

Error Message:

A valid two-letter country code is required.

Error Location:

Billing Country

Sample Account Validation Rules

For more information on any of the formula functions used in these examples, see Formula Operators
and Functions in the Salesforce Help.

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Account Validation Rules

Account Number Is Numeric

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the Account Number is numeric if not blank.

Formula:

AND(
ISBLANK(AccountNumber),
NOT(ISNUMBER(AccountNumber))
)

Error Message:

Account Number is not numeric.

Error Location:

Account Number

Account Number Length

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the Account Number is exactly seven digits (if it is not
blank). The number seven is simply illustrative. You can change this to
any number you like.

Formula:

AND(
ISBLANK(AccountNumber),
LEN(AccountNumber) <> 7
)

Error Message:

Account Number must be seven digits.

Error Location:

Account Number

Annual Revenue Range

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the account Annual Revenue is not negative and

does not exceed $100 billion. This limit is designed to catch typos.

Formula:

OR(
AnnualRevenue < 0,
AnnualRevenue > 100000000000
)

Error Message:

Annual Revenue cannot exceed 100 billion.

Error Location:

Annual Revenue

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Call Center Validation Rules

Sample Call Center Validation Rules

For more information on any of the formula functions used in these examples, see Formula Operators
and Functions in the Salesforce Help.

Conditionally Require Description When Case Reason is Other

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom field called Other Reason contains a value

if a case has a Case Reason of Other.

Formula:

AND(
ISPICKVAL( Reason, "Other" ),
ISBLANK(Other_Reason__c)
)

Error Message:

Description of Other Reason is required.

Error Location:

Other Reason

Prevent Open Cases from Being Reset to New

Field

Value

Description:

If a case is already open, prevents the Status from being changed

back to New.

Formula:

AND(
ISCHANGED( Status ),
NOT(ISPICKVAL(PRIORVALUE( Status ), "New")),
ISPICKVAL( Status, "New")
)

Error Message:

Open case Status cannot be reset to New.

Error Location:

Status

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Call Center Validation Rules

Restrict Status of Re-Opened Cases

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the case Status is Re-opened when a closed case is

opened again.

Formula:

AND(
ISCHANGED( Status ),
OR(
ISPICKVAL(PRIORVALUE( Status ), "Closed"),
ISPICKVAL(PRIORVALUE( Status ),
"Closed in SSP")),
NOT( ISPICKVAL( Status, "Re-Opened"))
)

Error Message:

Closed case can only be changed to Re-opened.

Error Location:

Status

Prevent Case Milestone Completion After Cases Are Closed

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a milestone's Completion Date can't occur after the

case's Status is Closed.

Formula:

Case.IsClosed

= true

Error Message:

You can't complete a milestone after a case is closed.

Error Location:

Top of Page

Prevent Case Milestone Completion Before Case Creation Dates

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the milestone's Completion Date has occurred after

the case's Date/Time Opened.

Formula:

CompletionDate
CompletionDate

>=
<=

Case.CreatedDate
Case.ClosedDate

&&

Error Message:

The milestone Completion Date must occur after the date the case was
created and before the case was closed.

Error Location:

Top of Page

10

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Community Validation Rules

Sample Community Validation Rules

For more information on any of the formula functions used in these examples, see Formula Operators
and Functions in the Salesforce Help.

Preventing Offensive Language in Questions

Field

Value

Description:

Prevents users from entering offensive language in the Title and

Description fields when asking a question.

Formula:

Error Message:

OR(CONTAINS(Title, 'darn'), CONTAINS(Body,

'darn'))

Question title or description contains offensive language.

Preventing Offensive Language in Replies

Field

Value

Description:

Prevents users from entering offensive language when replying to a

question.

Formula:

Error Message:

OR(CONTAINS(Body, 'darn'), CONTAINS(Body,

'dang'))

Reply contains offensive language.

Preventing Offensive Language in Ideas

Field

Value

Description:

Prevents users from entering offensive language in the Title and

Description fields when posting an idea.

Formula:

Error Message:

OR(CONTAINS(Title, 'darn'), CONTAINS(Body,

'darn'))

Idea title or description contains offensive language.

11

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Contact Validation Rules

Preventing Offensive Language in Idea Comments

Field

Value

Description:

Prevents users from entering offensive language when posting a

comment.

Formula:

Error Message:

OR(CONTAINS(CommentBody , 'darn'),
CONTAINS(CommentBody, 'dang'))

Comment contains offensive language.

Sample Contact Validation Rules

For more information on any of the formula functions used in these examples, see Formula Operators
and Functions in the Salesforce Help.

Mailing Address Fields Are Required

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the contact Mailing Street, Mailing City, and

Mailing Country are provided.

Formula:

OR(
ISBLANK( MailingStreet ),
ISBLANK( MailingCity ),
ISBLANK( MailingCountry )
)

Error Message:

Mailing Street, City, and Country are required.

Error Location:

Top of Page

Mailing Street Is Required

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the contact Mailing Street is provided.

Formula:

ISBLANK( MailingStreet )

Error Message:

Mailing Street is required.

Error Location:

Mailing Street

12

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Contact Validation Rules

Mailing Zip Code

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the contact Mailing Zip/Postal Code is in 99999 or

99999-9999 format if Mailing Country is USA or blank.

Formula:

AND(
OR(MailingCountry = "USA", ISBLANK(MailingCountry)),
OR(
AND(LEN(MailingPostalCode) <>5,
LEN(MailingPostalCode) <> 10),
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
LEFT( MailingPostalCode, 1))),
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
MID( MailingPostalCode , 2, 1))),
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
MID( MailingPostalCode , 3, 1))),
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
MID( MailingPostalCode , 4, 1))),
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
MID( MailingPostalCode , 5, 1))),
AND(
LEN(MailingPostalCode) = 10,
OR(
MID( MailingPostalCode , 6, 1) <> "-",
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
MID( MailingPostalCode , 7, 1))),
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
MID( MailingPostalCode , 8, 1))),
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
MID( MailingPostalCode , 9, 1))),
NOT(CONTAINS("0123456789",
MID( MailingPostalCode , 10, 1)))
)
)
)
)

Note: This example interprets a blank country as US. To use this example
with other countries, remove the clause that checks the length of the
country field. Also, validation rule criteria are case sensitive, so this rule
is only enforced when the country is blank or USA in all capital letters.
The rule is not enforced when the country is usa.
Tip: You can also validate zip codes using a regular expression; for an
example of a formula using a regular expression, see REGEX in the
Salesforce Help.
Error Message:

Zip code must be in 99999 or 99999-9999 format.

Error Location:

Mailing Zip/Postal Code

13

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Cross Object Validation Rules

Phone Number Has International Format

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the Phone number begins with a plus sign (+) for country
code. Note that this validation rule conflicts with the ten-digit rule.

Formula:

LEFT(Phone, 1) <> "+"

Error Message:

Phone number must begin with + (country code).

Error Location:

Phone

US Phone Number Has Ten Digits

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the Phone number is in (999) 999-9999 format. This works
by using the REGEX function to check that the number has ten digits in
the (999) 999-9999 format.

Formula:

NOT(REGEX(Phone, "\\D*?(\\d\\D*?){10}"))

Error Message:

US phone numbers should be in this format: (999) 999-9999.

Error Location:

Phone

Sample Cross Object Validation Rules

For more information on any of the formula functions used in these examples, see Formula Operators
and Functions in the Salesforce Help.

Discounts Must Be Within Range

This example consists of three validation rules on opportunity products. The examples below work together
to help you manage discount amounts for products and require a custom percent field on opportunity
products called Line Discount. The examples below also require you to use price books and
customize the Product Family field to include the following values: Software, Consulting,
and Training.
Software Discounts
Field

Value

Description:

Prevents users from saving software products with

a discount over 10 percent.

14

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Cross Object Validation Rules

Field

Value

Formula:

AND(Line_Discount__c > 0.10,

ISPICKVAL(Product2.Family,
"Software"))

Error Message:

The discount must be 10% or less for software

products.

Error Location:

Line Discount

Consulting Discounts
Field

Value

Description:

Prevents users from saving consulting products

with a discount over 15 percent.

Formula:

AND(Line_Discount__c > 0.15,

ISPICKVAL(Product2.Family,
"Consulting"))

Error Message:

The discount must be 15% or less for consulting

products.

Error Location:

Line Discount

Training Discounts
Field

Value

Description:

Prevents users from saving training products with

a discount over 20 percent.

Formula:

AND(Line_Discount__c > 0.20,

ISPICKVAL(Product2.Family,
"Training"))

Error Message:

The discount must be 20% or less for training

products.

Error Location:

Line Discount

Prevent Changing Opportunity Products on Closed Opportunities

This example consists of two validation rules: one on opportunity products and another on opportunities.

15

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Cross Object Validation Rules

Field

Value

Description:

Prevents users from editing opportunity products

after an opportunity is closed. Create the following
validation rule example on opportunity products.

Formula:

OR(ISPICKVAL(Opportunity.StageName,
"Closed Won"),
ISPICKVAL(Opportunity.StageName,
"Closed Lost"))

Error Message:

Cannot change opportunity products for closed

opportunities.

Error Location:

Top of Page

The following validation rule is on opportunities.

Field

Value

Description:

Prevents users from deleting opportunity products

after an opportunity is closed. Create the following
validation rule example on opportunities. It uses a
custom roll-up summary field on opportunities that
counts the number of opportunity products on an
opportunity.

Formula:

AND(OR(ISPICKVAL(StageName,
"Closed Won"),
ISPICKVAL(StageName, "Closed
Lost")), Number_of_Line_Items__c
<
PRIORVALUE(Number_of_Line_Items__c)
)

Error Message:

Cannot delete opportunity products for closed

opportunities.

Error Location:

Top of Page

Prevent Saving a Case When Account Does Not Have Support

Field

Value

Description:

Prevents users from saving a case for an account

that does not have support. This example assumes
you have a custom checkbox field on accounts
called Allowed Support that tracks if the
account has support.

16

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Date Validation Rules

Field

Value

Formula:

Account.Allowed_Support__c
FALSE

Error Message:

Unable to create cases for this account because it

is not signed up for support.

Error Location:

Top of Page

Prevent Saving a Case When Contact is No Longer with the

Company
Field

Value

Description:

Prevents users from saving an open case associated

with a contact that is no longer with the company.
This example uses a custom checkbox field on
contacts called No Longer With Company.

Formula:

AND(Contact.Not_Longer_With_Company__c,
NOT(IsClosed))

Error Message:

Unable to save this case because the related contact

is no longer with the company. To continue, choose
another contact.

Error Location:

Contact Name

Sample Date Validation Rules

For more information on any of the formula functions used in these examples, see Formula Operators
and Functions in the Salesforce Help.

17

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Date Validation Rules

Date Must Be a Weekday

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the value of a custom date field is a weekday (not Saturday
or Sunday).

Formula:

CASE(MOD( My_Date__c - DATE(1900, 1, 7), 7),

0, 0,
6, 0,
1) = 0

Error Message:

Date must be a weekday.

Error Location:

My Date

Date Must Be a Weekend Day

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the value of a custom date field is a Saturday or Sunday.

Formula:

CASE( MOD( My_Date__c - DATE(1900, 1, 7), 7),

0, 1,
6, 1,
0) = 0

Error Message:

Date must be a weekend day.

Error Location:

My Date

Date Must Be in the Current Month

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom date field contains a date within the current
month and year.

Formula:

OR (
YEAR( My_Date__c ) <> YEAR ( TODAY() ),
MONTH( My_Date__c ) <> MONTH ( TODAY() )
)

Error Message:

Date must be in the current month.

Error Location:

My Date

18

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Date Validation Rules

Date Must Be in the Current Year

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom date field contains a date within the current year.

Formula:

YEAR( My_Date__c ) <> YEAR ( TODAY() )

Error Message:

Date must be in the current year.

Error Location:

My Date

Date Must Be the Last Day of the Month

Field

Value

Description:

Validates whether a custom field called My Date is the last day of the
month. To do this, it determines the date of the first day of the next month
and then subtracts 1 day. It includes special case logic for December.

Formula:

DAY(My_Date__c) <>
IF(Month(My_Date__c)=12, 31,
DAY(DATE(YEAR(My_Date__c),MONTH(My_Date__c)+1,1)
- 1))

Error Message:

Date must be the last day of the month.

Error Location:

My Date

Date Must Be Within One Year of Today

Field

Value

Description:

Validates whether a custom field called Follow-Up Date is within

one year of todays date. This example assumes a 365 day year. (It does
not handle leap years.)

Formula:

Followup_Date__c - TODAY() > 365

Error Message:

Follow-Up Date must be within one year of today.

Error Location:

Follow-Up Date

19

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Number Validation Rules

Day of Month Cannot Be Greater Than 15

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom field called Begin Date contains a date in

the first 15 days of the specified month.

Formula:

DAY( Begin_Date__c ) > 15

Error Message:

Begin Date cannot be after the 15th day of month.

Error Location:

Begin Date

End Date Cannot Be Before Begin Date

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom field called End Date does not come before
another custom field called Begin Date.

Formula:

Begin_Date__c > End_Date__c

Error Message:

End Date cannot be before Begin Date.

Error Location:

Begin Date

Expiration Date Cannot Be Before Close Date

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom field called Expiration Date does not

come before Close Date.

Formula:

Expiration_Date__c < CloseDate

Error Message:

Expiration Date cannot be before Close Date.

Error Location:

Expiration Date

Sample Number Validation Rules

For more information on any of the formula functions used in these examples, see Formula Operators
and Functions in the Salesforce Help.

20

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Number Validation Rules

Time Cards Must Total 40 Hours

Field

Value

Description:

Ensures that users cannot save a time card record with more than 40
hours in a work week. This example requires five custom fields on your
custom object, one for each day of work.

Formula:

Monday_Hours__c +
Tuesday_Hours__c +
Wednesday_Hours__c +
Thursday_Hours__c +
Friday_Hours__c > 40

Error Message:

Your total hours cannot exceed 40.

Error Location:

Top of Page

Number Cannot Be Negative

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom field called Hours Worked is not a negative

number.

Formula:

Hours_Worked__c < 0

Error Message:

Hours Worked cannot be less than zero.

Error Location:

Hours Worked

Number Must Be Even

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom field called Ark Passengers is a

non-negative even number.

Formula:

OR(
Ark_Passengers__c < 0,
MOD( Ark_Passengers__c, 2) <> 0
)

Error Message:

Ark Passengers must be a positive even number.

Error Location:

Ark Passengers

21

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Number Validation Rules

Number Must Be Odd

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom field called Socks Found is a non-negative

odd number.

Formula:

OR(
Socks_Found__c < 0,
MOD( Socks_Found__c, 2) = 0
)

Error Message:

Socks Found must be an odd number.

Error Location:

Socks Found

Number Must Be a Multiple of Five

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom field called Multiple of 5 is a multiple of

five.

Formula:

MOD( Multiple_of_5__c, 5) <> 0

Error Message:

Number must be a multiple of five.

Error Location:

Multiple of 5

Number Must Be an Integer

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom field called My Integer is an integer.

Formula:

FLOOR( My_Integer__c) <> My_Integer__c

Error Message:

This field must be an integer.

Error Location:

My Integer

22

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Opportunity Management Validation Rules

Number Must Be Between -50 and 50

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom field called Volume is between -50 and 50.

Formula:

ABS( Volume__c) > 50

Error Message:

Volume must be between -50 and 50.

Error Location:

Volume

Number Range Validation

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the range between two custom fields, Salary Min and
Salary Max, is no greater than $20,000.

Formula:

(Salary_Max__c - Salary_Min__c) > 20000

Error Message:

Salary range must be within $20,000. Adjust the Salary Max or Salary Min
values.

Error Location:

Salary Max

Percentage Must Be Between Zero and 100

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom field called Mix Pct is between 0 and 100%.
Note that percent fields are expressed divided by 100 in formulas (100%
is expressed as 1; 50% is expressed as 0.5).

Formula:

OR(
Mix_Pct__c > 1.0,
Mix_Pct__c < 0.0
)

Error Message:

Mix Pct must be between 0 and 100%.

Error Location:

Mix Pct

Sample Opportunity Management Validation Rules

For more information on any of the formula functions used in these examples, see Formula Operators
and Functions in the Salesforce Help.

23

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Opportunity Management Validation Rules

Conditionally-Required Field Based on Opportunity Stage

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom field called Delivery Date is provided if an

opportunity has advanced to the Closed Won or Negotiation/Review
stage.

Formula:

AND (
OR (
ISPICKVAL(StageName, "Closed Won"),
ISPICKVAL(StageName, "Negotiation/Review")),
ISBLANK(Delivery_Date__c)
)

Error Message:

Delivery Date is required for this stage.

Error Location:

Delivery Date

Close Date Cannot Be Prior to Current Month

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the Close Date of an opportunity is not within a month

prior to the current month. Note the use of ISNEW and ISCHANGED in
this formula to ensure the condition is only checked when the opportunity
is being created or the Close Date field is modified subsequently.

Formula:

AND(
OR (
ISNEW(),
ISCHANGED( CloseDate )),
CloseDate < DATE( YEAR(TODAY()),
MONTH(TODAY()), 1) )

Error Message:

Close Date cannot be prior to current month.

Error Location:

Close Date

24

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Opportunity Management Validation Rules

Close Date Must Be a Future Date

Field

Value

Description:

Ensures that users do not change the Close Date of an opportunity to a

day in the past.

Formula:

SampleDate < TODAY()

Error Message:

Close Date cannot be a day in the past.

Error Location:

Close Date

Discounts on Opportunities
Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom discount percent field is between 0 and 40%.

Formula:

OR(Discount_Rate__c < 0, Discount_Rate__c > 0.40)

Error Message:

The Discount Rate must not exceed 40%.

Error Location:

Discount Rate

High-Value Opportunity Must Be Approved Before Closed

Field

Value

Description:

Opportunities with amounts greater than $50,000 require that a custom

checkbox field called Approved is checked in order to change the
stage to Closed Won or Closed Lost. To automate this, set field-level
security on the Approved checkbox so that it can only be checked via
a custom approval process (Enterprise Edition, Unlimited Edition, or
Performance Edition).

Formula:

AND(
OR(
ISPICKVAL(StageName,"Closed Won"),
ISPICKVAL(StageName,"Closed Lost")),
(Amount > 50000),
NOT(ISPICKVAL(Approval_Status__c ,"Approved")))

Error Message:

All high-value opportunities must be approved for closure. Click the

Request Close button.

Error Location:

Top of Page

25

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Opportunity Management Validation Rules

Opportunity Amount Cannot Exceed $10 Million

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that opportunity Amount is positive and no more than $10

million. This limit is designed to catch typos.

Formula:

OR(
Amount < 0,
Amount > 10000000
)

Error Message:

Amount cannot exceed $10 million.

Error Location:

Amount

Opportunity Check for Products

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that an opportunity has at least one opportunity product before users
can save a change to an opportunity.

Formula:

NOT(OR(ISNEW(),HasOpportunityLineItem))

Error Message:

You must add products to this opportunity before saving.

Error Location:

Top of Page

26

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Opportunity Management Validation Rules

Opportunity Must Have Products if Beyond Needs Analysis Stage

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that an opportunity has opportunity products before the Stage

can move beyond Needs Analysis.

Formula:

AND (
CASE( StageName,
"Value Proposition", 1,
"Id. Decision Makers", 1,
"Perception Analysis", 1,
"Proposal/Price Quote", 1,
"Negotiation/Review", 1,
"Closed Won", 1,
0) = 1,
NOT(HasOpportunityLineItem)
)

Error Message:

Opportunity products are required to advance beyond the Needs Analysis

stage.

Error Location:

Top of Page

Opportunity Name Format

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that an opportunity contains a hyphen as a way of enforcing

an [Account] - [Amount] opportunity naming convention.

Formula:

FIND( " - ", Name ) = 0

Error Message:

Opportunity Name should use [Account] - [Amount] format.

Error Location:

Opportunity Name

27

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Opportunity Management Validation Rules

Prevent Sales Reps from Moving Opportunity Stage Backwards

Field

Value

Description:

Prevent sales reps from changing opportunity Stage backwards to

specific values, once they have accepted the opportunity via a custom
approval process. The approval process sets the custom Accepted
Flag checkbox to True.

Formula:

AND(
Accepted_Flag__c,
OR ( ISPICKVAL( StageName, "Stage 1"),
ISPICKVAL( StageName, "Stage 2"))
)

Error Message:

Invalid stage for accepted opportunity.

Error Location:

Stage

Probability Must Be 100% for Won Opportunities

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the probability of a won opportunity is properly set to 100%.

This is useful for data cleanliness and reporting purposes.

Formula:

AND (
ISPICKVAL( StageName, "Closed Won"),
Probability <> 1)

Error Message:

Probability must be 100% for won opportunities.

Error Location:

Probability

Probability Must Be Zero for Lost Opportunities

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the probability of a lost opportunity is properly set to zero.

This is useful for data cleanliness and reporting purposes.

Formula:

AND (
ISPICKVAL( StageName, "Closed Lost"),
Probability <> 0)

Error Message:

Probability must be 0% for lost opportunities.

Error Location:

Probability

28

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample Quote Validation Rules

Project Start Date

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a field is conditionally required based on the values of other fields.
Use this validation formula to ensure that users include a Project Start
Date for an opportunity that is closed/won.

Formula:

AND(ISPICKVAL(StageName, "Closed Won"),

ISNULL(Project_Start_Date__c))

Error Message:

Project start date is required for won opportunities.

Error Location:

Project Start Date

Sample Quote Validation Rules

For more information on any of the formula functions used in these examples, see Formula Operators
and Functions in the Salesforce Help.

Display Error if Quote Line Item Discount Exceeds 40%

Field

Value

Description:

Shows an error if a quote line item's discount exceeds 40%.

Formula:

Discount > .40

Error Message:

The discount on this quote line item cannot exceed 40%.

Error Location:

Discount on quote

Sample User, Role, and Profile Validation Rules

For more information on any of the formula functions used in these examples, see Formula Operators
and Functions in the Salesforce Help.

29

Examples of Validation Rules

Sample User, Role, and Profile Validation Rules

Discount Percent Does Not Exceed Role-Based Limit

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom field on opportunities called Discount

Percent does not exceed a maximum value that varies depending on
the users role. The default maximum is 15%.

Formula:

Discount_Percent__c >
VLOOKUP($ObjectType.Role_Limits__c.Fields.Limit__c,

$ObjectType.Role_Limits__c.Fields.Name,
$UserRole.Name)

Error Message:

Discount (%) exceeds limit allowed for your role.

Error Location:

Discount Percent

Expense Amount Does Not Exceed User's Max Allowed Expense

Field

Value

Description:

Validates a custom field called Expense Amount against a custom

user field called Max Allowed Expense.

Formula:

Expense_Amount__c > $User.Max_Allowed_Expense__c

Error Message:

Amount cannot exceed your maximum allowed expense.

Error Location:

Expense Amount

Only Record Owner Can Change Field

Field

Value

Description:

Ensures that only the record owner can make changes to a custom field
called Personal Goal.

Formula:

AND(
ISCHANGED( Personal_Goal__c ),
Owner <> $User.Id
)

Error Message:

Only record owner can change Personal Goal.

Error Location:

Personal Goal

30

Examples of Validation Rules

Miscellaneous Sample Validation Rules

Only Record Owner or Administrator Can Change Field

Field

Value

Description:

Ensures that a user can make changes to a custom field called

Personal Goal only if the user is the record owner or has a custom
profile of Custom: System Admin.

Formula:

AND( ISCHANGED( Personal_Goal__c ), Owner <>

$User.Id, $Profile.Name <>
"Custom: System Admin" )

Note: $Profile merge fields are only available in Enterprise,

Unlimited, Performance, and Developer Editions.
Error Message:

Only record owner or administrator can change Personal Goal.

Error Location:

Personal Goal

Opportunity Close Date Can Only Be Back-Dated by Administrator

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that the Close Date of an opportunity does not fall prior
to the current month, except for users who have a custom profile called
Custom: System Admin.

Formula:

AND(
OR (
ISNEW(),
ISCHANGED( CloseDate )),
CloseDate < DATE( YEAR(TODAY()),
MONTH(TODAY()), 1),
$Profile.Name <> "Custom: System Admin"
)

Note: $Profile merge fields are only available in Enterprise,

Unlimited, Performance, and Developer Editions.
Error Message:

Close Date cannot be prior to current month.

Error Location:

Close Date

Miscellaneous Sample Validation Rules

For more information on any of the formula functions used in these examples, see Formula Operators
and Functions in the Salesforce Help.

31

Examples of Validation Rules

Miscellaneous Sample Validation Rules

Allow Number to Be Increased but Not Decreased

Field

Value

Description:

Allows a custom field called Commit Amount to be increased but not

decreased after initial creation. This rule uses the PRIORVALUE() function
to compare the updated value of the field to its value prior to update.

Formula:

PRIORVALUE(Commit_Amount__c) > Commit_Amount__c

Error Message:

Commit Amount cannot be decreased.

Error Location:

Commit Amount

California Driver's License

Field

Value

Description:

Ensures that a custom field called Drivers License is in the correct

A9999999 format when the Mailing State is CA.

Formula:

AND(
MailingState = "CA",
NOT(REGEX(Drivers_License__c, "([A-Z]\\d{7})?"))
)

Error Message:

Invalid California driver's license format.

Error Location:

Drivers License

Force Users to Check I Accept Terms to Enter Certain Values

Field

Value

Description:

Uses a checkbox labeled I accept terms to force the user to select a

checkbox in order to enter a value called Number of Days that
exceeds their Paid Time Off (PTO) balance available.

Formula:

AND(
NOT( I_accept_terms__c ),
Number_of_Days__c > $User.PTO_Balance__c
)

Error Message:

Request will cause a negative PTO balance. You must accept Negative
PTO Balance terms.

Error Location:

I accept terms

32

Examples of Validation Rules

Miscellaneous Sample Validation Rules

Prohibit Changes to a Field After It Has Been Saved

Field

Value

Description:

Prevents users from changing a custom field called Guaranteed

Rate after it has been saved initially.

Formula:

AND(
NOT( ISNEW() ),
ISCHANGED( Guaranteed_Rate__c )
)

Error Message:

Guaranteed Rate cannot be changed.

Error Location:

Guaranteed Rate

Social Security Number Format

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom text field called SSN is formatted in 999-99-9999

number format (if it is not blank). The pattern specifies:
Three single digits (0-9):\\d{3}
A dash
Two single digits (0-9):\\d{2}
A dash
Four single digits (0-9):\\d{4}

Formula:

NOT(
OR(
ISBLANK(Social_Security_Number__c),
REGEX( Social_Security_Number__c ,
"[0-9]{3}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{4}")
)
)

Error Message:

SSN must be in this format: 999-99-9999.

Error Location:

SSN

33

Examples of Validation Rules

Miscellaneous Sample Validation Rules

Valid Currency
Field

Value

Description:

Validates selected currency against an explicit subset of active currencies

in your organization using the Currency picklist. Use this example if
you only allow some of the active currencies in your organization to be
applied to certain types of records.

Formula:

CASE(CurrencyIsoCode,
"USD", 1,
"EUR", 1,
"GBP", 1,
"JPY", 1,
0) = 0

Error Message:

Currency must be USD, EUR, GBP, or JPY.

Error Location:

Currency

Valid Credit Card Number

Field

Value

Description:

Validates that a custom text field called Credit_Card_Number is

formatted in 9999-9999-9999-9999 or 9999999999999999 number format
when it is not blank. The pattern specifies:
Four digits (0-9) followed by a dash: \\d{4} The aforementioned pattern is repeated three times by wrapping it
in () {3}
Four digits (0-9)
The OR character (|) allows an alternative pattern of 16 digits of zero
through nine with no dashes: \\d{16}

Formula:

NOT( REGEX( Credit_Card_Number__c ,

"(((\\d{4}-){3}\\d{4})|\\d{16})?"))

Error Message:

Credit Card Number must be in this format: 9999-9999-9999-9999 or

9999999999999999.

Error Location:

Credit Card Number

34

Examples of Validation Rules

Miscellaneous Sample Validation Rules

Valid IP Address
Field

Value

Description:

Ensures that a custom field called IP Address is in the correct format,

four 3-digit numbers (0-255) separated by periods.

Formula:

NOT(
REGEX( IP_Address__c,
"^((25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-9]|[01]?[0-9][0-9]?)\\.)
{3}(25[0-5]|2[0-4][0-9]|[01]?[0-9][0-9]?)$" ))

Error Message:

Error: IP Address must be in form 999.999.999.999 where each part is

between 0 and 255.

Error Location:

IP Address

Website Extension
Field

Value

Description:

Validates a custom field called Web Site to ensure its last four
characters are in an explicit set of valid website extensions.

Formula:

AND(
RIGHT(
RIGHT(
RIGHT(
RIGHT(
RIGHT(
RIGHT(
RIGHT(
RIGHT(
)

Web_Site__c,
Web_Site__c,
Web_Site__c,
Web_Site__c,
Web_Site__c,
Web_Site__c,
Web_Site__c,
Web_Site__c,

4)
4)
4)
4)
4)
4)
6)
6)

<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>
<>

".COM",
".com",
".ORG",
".org",
".NET",
".net",
".CO.UK",
".co.uk"

Error Message:

Web Site must have an extension of .com, .org, .net, or .co.uk.

Error Location:

Web Site

35