diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index f5bf88a625..25454d7bd8 100755
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -683,6 +683,11 @@ for the list of changes made since `v2.0.0-alpha.1`.
   are not `undefined` or have expected values.
   This change is introduced for consistency with ECMAScript standard library which does the same.
 
+- **BREAKING**: `format`, `formatDistance` (previously `distanceInWords`) and
+  `formatDistanceStrict` (previously `distanceInWordsStrict`) now throw
+  `RangeError` if one the passed arguments is invalid. It reflects behavior of
+  `toISOString` and Intl API. See [#1032](https://github.com/date-fns/date-fns/pull/1032).
+
 - **BREAKING**: all functions now implicitly convert arguments by following rules:
 
   |           | date          | number | string      | boolean |
@@ -712,8 +717,7 @@ for the list of changes made since `v2.0.0-alpha.1`.
 
   - `false` for functions that return booleans (expect `isValid`);
   - `Invalid Date` for functions that return dates;
-  - `NaN` for functions that return numbers;
-  - and `String('Invalid Date')` for functions that return strings.
+  - and `NaN` for functions that return numbers.
 
   See tests and PRs [#460](https://github.com/date-fns/date-fns/pull/460) and
   [#765](https://github.com/date-fns/date-fns/pull/765) for exact behavior.
diff --git a/src/format/index.js b/src/format/index.js
index 16b7be0779..daee232bdb 100644
--- a/src/format/index.js
+++ b/src/format/index.js
@@ -385,7 +385,7 @@ export default function format(dirtyDate, dirtyFormatStr, dirtyOptions) {
   var originalDate = toDate(dirtyDate)
 
   if (!isValid(originalDate)) {
-    return 'Invalid Date'
+    throw new RangeError('Invalid time value')
   }
 
   // Convert the date in system timezone to the same date in UTC+00:00 timezone.
diff --git a/src/format/test.js b/src/format/test.js
index 6a02f305dd..c8585411df 100644
--- a/src/format/test.js
+++ b/src/format/test.js
@@ -641,8 +641,11 @@ describe('format', function() {
   })
 
   describe('edge cases', function() {
-    it("returns String('Invalid Date') if the date isn't valid", function() {
-      assert(format(new Date(NaN), 'MMMM d, yyyy') === 'Invalid Date')
+    it('throws RangeError if the time value is invalid', () => {
+      assert.throws(
+        format.bind(null, new Date(NaN), 'MMMM d, yyyy'),
+        RangeError
+      )
     })
 
     it('handles dates before 100 AD', function() {
diff --git a/src/formatDistance/index.js b/src/formatDistance/index.js
index 96bfda5fa9..ab6418ac69 100644
--- a/src/formatDistance/index.js
+++ b/src/formatDistance/index.js
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ export default function formatDistance(dirtyDate, dirtyBaseDate, dirtyOptions) {
   var comparison = compareAsc(dirtyDate, dirtyBaseDate)
 
   if (isNaN(comparison)) {
-    return 'Invalid Date'
+    throw new RangeError('Invalid time value')
   }
 
   var localizeOptions = cloneObject(options)
diff --git a/src/formatDistance/test.js b/src/formatDistance/test.js
index 9b2767fa28..604f0ea9c6 100644
--- a/src/formatDistance/test.js
+++ b/src/formatDistance/test.js
@@ -274,19 +274,25 @@ describe('formatDistance', function() {
     })
   })
 
-  it("returns String('Invalid Date') if the first date is `Invalid Date`", function() {
-    var result = formatDistance(new Date(NaN), new Date(1986, 3, 7, 10, 32, 0))
-    assert(result === 'Invalid Date')
+  it('throws RangeError if the first date is `Invalid Date`', function() {
+    assert.throws(
+      formatDistance.bind(null, new Date(NaN), new Date(1986, 3, 7, 10, 32, 0)),
+      RangeError
+    )
   })
 
-  it("returns String('Invalid Date') if the second date is `Invalid Date`", function() {
-    var result = formatDistance(new Date(1986, 3, 4, 10, 32, 0), new Date(NaN))
-    assert(result === 'Invalid Date')
+  it('throws RangeError if the second date is `Invalid Date`', function() {
+    assert.throws(
+      formatDistance.bind(null, new Date(1986, 3, 4, 10, 32, 0), new Date(NaN)),
+      RangeError
+    )
   })
 
-  it("returns String('Invalid Date') if the both dates are `Invalid Date`", function() {
-    var result = formatDistance(new Date(NaN), new Date(NaN))
-    assert(result === 'Invalid Date')
+  it('throws RangeError if the both dates are `Invalid Date`', function() {
+    assert.throws(
+      formatDistance.bind(null, new Date(NaN), new Date(NaN)),
+      RangeError
+    )
   })
 
   it('throws TypeError exception if passed less than 2 arguments', function() {
diff --git a/src/formatDistanceStrict/index.js b/src/formatDistanceStrict/index.js
index f4c42e824e..a4ed44d46d 100644
--- a/src/formatDistanceStrict/index.js
+++ b/src/formatDistanceStrict/index.js
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ export default function formatDistanceStrict(
   var comparison = compareAsc(dirtyDate, dirtyBaseDate)
 
   if (isNaN(comparison)) {
-    return 'Invalid Date'
+    throw new RangeError('Invalid time value')
   }
 
   var localizeOptions = cloneObject(options)
diff --git a/src/formatDistanceStrict/test.js b/src/formatDistanceStrict/test.js
index ca7f7a1c16..b735913642 100644
--- a/src/formatDistanceStrict/test.js
+++ b/src/formatDistanceStrict/test.js
@@ -442,25 +442,33 @@ describe('formatDistanceStrict', function() {
     })
   })
 
-  it("returns String('Invalid Date') if the first date is `Invalid Date`", function() {
-    var result = formatDistanceStrict(
-      new Date(NaN),
-      new Date(1986, 3, 7, 10, 32, 0)
+  it('throws `RangeError` if the first date is `Invalid Date`', function() {
+    assert.throws(
+      formatDistanceStrict.bind(
+        null,
+        new Date(NaN),
+        new Date(1986, 3, 7, 10, 32, 0)
+      ),
+      RangeError
     )
-    assert(result === 'Invalid Date')
   })
 
-  it("returns String('Invalid Date') if the second date is `Invalid Date`", function() {
-    var result = formatDistanceStrict(
-      new Date(1986, 3, 4, 10, 32, 0),
-      new Date(NaN)
+  it('throws `RangeError` if the second date is `Invalid Date`', function() {
+    assert.throws(
+      formatDistanceStrict.bind(
+        null,
+        new Date(1986, 3, 4, 10, 32, 0),
+        new Date(NaN)
+      ),
+      RangeError
     )
-    assert(result === 'Invalid Date')
   })
 
-  it("returns String('Invalid Date') if the both dates are `Invalid Date`", function() {
-    var result = formatDistanceStrict(new Date(NaN), new Date(NaN))
-    assert(result === 'Invalid Date')
+  it('throws `RangeError` if the both dates are `Invalid Date`', function() {
+    assert.throws(
+      formatDistanceStrict.bind(null, new Date(NaN), new Date(NaN)),
+      RangeError
+    )
   })
 
   it("throws `RangeError` if `options.roundingMethod` is not 'floor', 'ceil', 'round' or undefined", function() {
diff --git a/src/formatRelative/index.js b/src/formatRelative/index.js
index 1e0c935c51..8ebc0aa9b0 100644
--- a/src/formatRelative/index.js
+++ b/src/formatRelative/index.js
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ export default function formatRelative(dirtyDate, dirtyBaseDate, dirtyOptions) {
   var diff = differenceInCalendarDays(date, baseDate)
 
   if (isNaN(diff)) {
-    return 'Invalid Date'
+    throw new RangeError('Invalid time value')
   }
 
   var token
diff --git a/src/formatRelative/test.js b/src/formatRelative/test.js
index 1cde4fa480..92ec82bf13 100644
--- a/src/formatRelative/test.js
+++ b/src/formatRelative/test.js
@@ -60,19 +60,29 @@ describe('formatRelative', function() {
   })
 
   describe('edge cases', function() {
-    it("returns String('Invalid Date') if the date isn't valid", function() {
-      assert(formatRelative(new Date(NaN), baseDate) === 'Invalid Date')
+    it("throws RangeError if the date isn't valid", function() {
+      assert.throws(
+        formatRelative.bind(null, new Date(NaN), baseDate),
+        RangeError
+      )
     })
 
-    it("returns String('Invalid Date') if the base date isn't valid", function() {
-      assert(
-        formatRelative(new Date(2017, 0 /* Jan */, 1), new Date(NaN)) ===
-          'Invalid Date'
+    it("throws RangeError if the base date isn't valid", function() {
+      assert.throws(
+        formatRelative.bind(
+          null,
+          new Date(2017, 0 /* Jan */, 1),
+          new Date(NaN)
+        ),
+        RangeError
       )
     })
 
-    it("returns String('Invalid Date') if both dates aren't valid", function() {
-      assert(formatRelative(new Date(NaN), new Date(NaN)) === 'Invalid Date')
+    it("throws RangeError if both dates aren't valid", function() {
+      assert.throws(
+        formatRelative.bind(null, new Date(NaN), new Date(NaN)),
+        RangeError
+      )
     })
 
     it('handles dates before 100 AD', function() {
diff --git a/src/lightFormat/index.js b/src/lightFormat/index.js
index d2e35d6208..7d8557d780 100644
--- a/src/lightFormat/index.js
+++ b/src/lightFormat/index.js
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ export default function lightFormat(dirtyDate, dirtyFormatStr) {
   var originalDate = toDate(dirtyDate)
 
   if (!isValid(originalDate)) {
-    return 'Invalid Date'
+    throw new RangeError('Invalid time value')
   }
 
   // Convert the date in system timezone to the same date in UTC+00:00 timezone.
diff --git a/src/lightFormat/test.js b/src/lightFormat/test.js
index 30cc5ee447..6ddfb35928 100644
--- a/src/lightFormat/test.js
+++ b/src/lightFormat/test.js
@@ -109,8 +109,11 @@ describe('lightFormat', () => {
     })
   })
 
-  it("returns String('Invalid Date') if the date isn't valid", () => {
-    assert(lightFormat(new Date(NaN), 'MMMM d, yyyy') === 'Invalid Date')
+  it("throws RangeError if the date isn't valid", () => {
+    assert.throws(
+      lightFormat.bind(null, new Date(NaN), 'MMMM d, yyyy'),
+      RangeError
+    )
   })
 
   it('implicitly converts `formatString`', () => {