How to Freeze the First Two Rows in Excel While Scrolling

To keep the first two rows visible while you scroll in Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, select cell A3, then choose View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Panes. Excel freezes the rows above the selected cell, so rows 1 and 2 stay on screen while the rest of the worksheet moves. Make sure you choose the general Freeze Panes command, not Freeze Top Row, which locks only row 1.

What You’ll Need

A workbook open in Excel for Microsoft 365. The same basic method is available in recent desktop versions and Excel for the web.
A worksheet with at least two rows. If the worksheet already has a freeze-pane setting, you may need to clear it before applying a new one.
Nothing needs to be selected or edited in the data first. Freezing panes changes how the sheet is displayed; it does not change cell contents.

Step-by-Step

Open the worksheet you want to adjust. Click its sheet tab at the bottom of the Excel window. Freeze settings apply to the active worksheet, not automatically to every sheet in the workbook. If you want the same view on several tabs, repeat these steps on each one.
Check whether panes are already frozen. Open the View tab and look at the Freeze Panes menu. If the menu offers Unfreeze Panes, a freeze is already in effect. Choose Unfreeze Panes before setting the two-row freeze. This clears the existing freeze so your new selection can define the layout cleanly.
Select cell A3. Click the cell at the intersection of column A and row 3. The selected cell is the key to the result: Excel freezes all rows above it and all columns to its left. Because A is the first column, there are no columns to its left to freeze; because row 3 is below rows 1 and 2, those are the two rows that will remain visible.
Open the Freeze Panes command. On the ribbon, choose View > Freeze Panes. In the menu, select Freeze Panes again. Do not choose Freeze Top Row, because that option freezes just the first row, regardless of the selected cell. In the same way, Freeze First Column locks column A rather than the first two rows.
Confirm that the freeze is in place. A horizontal boundary should appear below row 2. Scroll down with the mouse wheel, scrollbar, or keyboard and check that rows 1 and 2 remain visible while row 3 and the rows below it move. If you cannot see the boundary immediately, scroll down a little and look for the line separating the fixed area from the scrolling area.
Save the workbook if you want to keep this view. Use File > Save or press Ctrl+S on Windows. Saving preserves the workbook and its current view settings. If the file is shared, other people may see the saved view when they open it, depending on how they access the workbook.

That is the complete setup: the selected cell determines the freeze boundary, and A3 is the right starting point when you want only the first two rows fixed. If you select a different cell, Excel may freeze columns too, so check both the row and column position before choosing the command.

Common Mistakes

Choosing Freeze Top Row. This is the most common mix-up. It is a one-click option for locking only row 1; it does not take the currently selected row into account. To keep two rows visible, select A3 and use the general Freeze Panes command.
Selecting A2 instead of A3. Excel freezes rows above the active cell, not the row the cell is in. Selecting A2 therefore freezes only row 1. For two rows, the active cell must be in row 3.
Selecting a cell in another column unintentionally. For example, selecting C3 and using Freeze Panes freezes rows 1 and 2 plus columns A and B. That may be useful if you also want to keep identifying columns visible, but it is not a rows-only freeze. Select A3 to avoid freezing columns.
Leaving an old freeze in place. If the worksheet already has frozen panes, a new setting may not produce the boundary you expect. Choose View > Freeze Panes > Unfreeze Panes first, then select A3 and freeze again.
Expecting the first two rows to move together with the data. Frozen rows are meant to remain stationary as you scroll. If you want all rows to move, unfreeze them. Also remember that freezing is a display setting, not a way to protect headers from editing.

Tips

Keep headings in the frozen area. A common layout is a title or reporting period in row 1 and column headings in row 2. Freezing both lets you keep that context visible while viewing many records. If your headings are in row 1 only, use Freeze Top Row instead.
Freeze rows and a column together when useful. If you want rows 1 and 2 and column A to stay visible, select B3 before choosing View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Panes. Excel freezes the rows above B3 and the columns to its left. Select the cell one row below and one column to the right of the area you want to keep fixed.
Use the boundary as a quick visual check. The line below row 2 marks the edge of the frozen area. A vertical boundary can also appear if you froze columns. This is a helpful way to tell whether an accidental column freeze was included.
Apply the setting separately to each worksheet. If a workbook has several tabs, freezing the first two rows on one tab does not necessarily configure the others. Click each worksheet tab and repeat the selection and menu steps where needed.
Consider the viewing window. Freezing rows takes up screen space. On a small display, two fixed rows reduce the portion of the sheet available for scrolling, but they can still be worthwhile when column headings would otherwise disappear. You can zoom out or hide nonessential interface space if you need more room.
Remember that filtering is separate. Freeze Panes does not add filters or keep a heading row specially attached to a filtered range. If you need filter controls, use Excel’s filter tools separately; freezing only keeps the selected rows visible during scrolling.

Troubleshooting

Only row 1 stays visible. The likely cause is that Freeze Top Row was selected. Choose View > Freeze Panes > Unfreeze Panes, click A3, then choose View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Panes. Scroll down to verify that row 2 remains visible too.

Columns are frozen as well. Check which cell was active when you selected the command. Any columns to the left of that cell are included. Unfreeze the current layout, select A3, and apply Freeze Panes again. If you intended to freeze a column as well, choose the cell that is one column to its right and one row below the intended fixed area.

The menu shows Unfreeze Panes instead of Freeze Panes. This means a pane is currently frozen. Select Unfreeze Panes first. Then click A3 and repeat the process. If the result still looks wrong, confirm that the active worksheet tab is the one you meant to change and that the selected cell is A3 rather than another cell.

The boundary is hard to spot or scrolling seems unchanged. Look for a thin line beneath row 2, then scroll using the vertical scrollbar or mouse wheel. If the worksheet has only a few populated rows, there may be little content to scroll through, but the setting can still be active. You can also inspect the Freeze Panes menu for the Unfreeze Panes option as a clue that a freeze is applied.

You are using Excel for Mac or Excel for the web. In current versions, select A3 and use the View tab’s Freeze Panes menu, then choose the general Freeze Panes command. Menu placement can vary slightly by interface version. In Excel for the web, make sure you are in the worksheet view and not just viewing a read-only preview; if a command is unavailable, check whether you have editing access or open the workbook in the desktop app.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I freeze exactly the first two rows?
Yes. Select A3 and choose View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Panes. Excel keeps rows 1 and 2 visible and lets the rows beneath them scroll.

Why does selecting A3 freeze two rows?
Freeze Panes fixes the rows above the selected cell and the columns to its left. A3 is below two rows and in the first column, so it freezes rows 1 and 2 without freezing any columns.

Can I freeze the first two rows and the first column at the same time?
Yes. Select B3 and choose the general Freeze Panes command. The rows above and columns to the left of B3—rows 1 and 2 and column A—will stay visible.

How do I undo the freeze?
Choose View > Freeze Panes > Unfreeze Panes. This restores normal scrolling on the active worksheet. It does not delete rows or change worksheet data.

Will freezing rows change what other people see?
It does not change the data, but the view setting can be saved with the workbook. Save the file if you want the layout retained, and remember to unfreeze the rows before saving if you do not want that view to remain.

Can I freeze the first two rows on every sheet at once?
There is no single Freeze Panes command that automatically applies the setting to every worksheet. Repeat the steps on each tab where you want the first two rows to remain visible.

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Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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