The not operator inverts the truth value of a Boolean/Checkbox value in a Notion formula. Another way of thinking about it is that it returns true only if its operand is false. It accepts Boolean operands.
not Boolean
not(Boolean)
It can be used in several ways, including:
- Changing
true
tofalse
, or vice-versa - Checking whether a property is not empty
- Inverting the truth value of an if statement
Good to know: Notion is picky, so !
, NOT
, and Not
won’t work here. Only the case-sensitive not
will be accepted.
You can also use the function version, not()
.
Example Formula
not true // Output: false
not(true) // Output: false
not empty("Hello") // Output: true
not if(50>40,true,false) // Output: false
Example Database
This example database shows a list of applications to join a pirate crew. The captain only wants to hire pirates that have powers, and he won’t accept anyone with snot-based powers. That’d be gross.
The Interview checkbox returns true only if both of those conditions are met. The Interviews view filters by this checkbox, showing the captain only the candidates that meet his conditions.

View and Duplicate Database

“Interview” Property Formula
// Compressed
if(not empty(prop("Power")) and not test(prop("Power"), "[Ss]not"), true, false)
// Expanded
if(
not empty(
prop("Power")
) and not test(
prop("Power"), "[Ss]not"
),
true,
false
)
This formula uses a couple other functions: