I would like to separate the string "ICMS_MG-PR-RJ-RS-SC" and need to exclude the "ICMS_" add the other values excluding the "-" to the list of string.
List<string> states=new List<string>(); The "states" should contain the values as: MG,PR,RJ,RS,SC
Replace prefix with empty string, and split rest by - symbol:
var text = "ICMS_MG-PR-RJ-RS-SC"; var states = text.Replace("ICMS_", "").Split('-').ToList(); 
var states = text.Split('_', '-').Skip(1).ToList(); In addition to lazyberezovsky's answer, you can also do this:
var input = "ICMS_MG-PR-RJ-RS-SC"; var states = input.Split('_')[1].Split('-').ToList(); Or this
var states = input.Split('_', '-').Skip(1).ToList(); Or this
var states = input.Substring(input.IndexOf('_') + 1).Split('-').ToList(); Note, however, unless you really need to be able to access each element by index, there's probably no need to call ToList. If you can settle for an IEnumerable<string>, you probably should.
