PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet · error · PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Exception

The table name contains invalid characters

Error message

The table name contains invalid characters

What it means

Error "The table name contains invalid characters" thrown in PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet.

Source

Thrown at src/PhpSpreadsheet/Worksheet/Table.php:124

        if (!empty($name)) {
            if (strlen($name) === 1 && in_array($name, ['C', 'c', 'R', 'r'])) {
                throw new PhpSpreadsheetException('The table name is invalid');
            }
            if (StringHelper::countCharacters($name) > 255) {
                throw new PhpSpreadsheetException('The table name cannot be longer than 255 characters');
            }
            // Check for A1 or R1C1 cell reference notation
            if (
                preg_match(Coordinate::A1_COORDINATE_REGEX, $name)
                || preg_match('/^R\[?\-?[0-9]*\]?C\[?\-?[0-9]*\]?$/i', $name)
            ) {
                throw new PhpSpreadsheetException('The table name can\'t be the same as a cell reference');
            }
            if (!preg_match('/^[\p{L}_\\\]/iu', $name)) {
                throw new PhpSpreadsheetException('The table name must begin a name with a letter, an underscore character (_), or a backslash (\)');
            }
            if (!preg_match('/^[\p{L}_\\\][\p{L}\p{M}0-9\._]*$/iu', $name)) {
                throw new PhpSpreadsheetException('The table name contains invalid characters');
            }

            $this->checkForDuplicateTableNames($name, $this->workSheet);
            $this->updateStructuredReferences($name);
        }

        $this->name = $name;

        return $this;
    }

    /**
     * @throws PhpSpreadsheetException
     */
    private function checkForDuplicateTableNames(string $name, ?Worksheet $worksheet): void
    {
        // Remember that table names are case-insensitive
        $tableName = StringHelper::strToLower($name);

View on GitHub (pinned to 65b080eef4)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at src/PhpSpreadsheet/Worksheet/Table.php:124 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

Understand the failure class

• Parsing and encoding errors: unexpected token, malformed input — why parsers reject input and how to find the real culprit.

AI-assisted analysis of PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet@65b080eef4 (2026-08-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f0faf46c704424e0. Report an issue: GitHub.