Import guide

HubSpot Contact CSV Import Checklist

A practical checklist for checking HubSpot contact CSV files before import.

Recommended first tool

Start with HubSpot CSV Import Checker

Check HubSpot contact CSV files for email columns, duplicates and invalid values.

Open HubSpot CSV Import Checker

What this guide covers

Start with contact identity
Review duplicates before import
Check required custom properties
Keep the cleaned file separate

Start with contact identity

HubSpot contact imports depend on a reliable identity field. In most workflows that field is Email. If the CSV has no Email column, or many rows have blank email values, HubSpot cannot reliably match new rows to contacts or update existing records.

Before fixing optional fields, confirm the header maps to Email exactly enough for the importer to recognize it. Then scan every row for blank, malformed or duplicated email values.

Review duplicates before import

Duplicate emails are not always a simple delete decision. One row may contain a phone number, another row may contain lifecycle stage or company data, and a third row may be an accidental repeat. Export duplicate rows before cleaning so the team can decide whether to merge or remove them.

Normalize email case and whitespace before dedupe. `ADA@example.com` and ` ada@example.com ` should normally be treated as the same contact identity.

Check required custom properties

Many HubSpot portals rely on custom required fields, list segmentation fields or lifecycle-stage values. A generic contact checker can catch email and duplicate problems, but account-specific properties still need a mapping review before upload.

If the import updates existing contacts, be extra careful with blank cells. Depending on the import settings, blanks may be ignored, rejected or used to clear existing values.

Keep the cleaned file separate

Do not overwrite the CRM export. Keep the source file, duplicate export and cleaned import file separate. The row-count difference between those files is your first reconciliation tool if the import result looks wrong.

Run a final generic CSV quality check after contact-specific checks. It can reveal hidden blank columns, whitespace issues, mixed types or spreadsheet artifacts outside the core email fields.

Example HubSpot preflight

Load the contacts sample in HubSpot CSV Import Checker. Review the missing email, duplicate email and invalid email findings. Then open CSV Duplicate Finder if you need a duplicate-only export before creating the final import file.

FAQ

Is Email always required for HubSpot contact import?

Email is the safest default identity field for contacts. Some HubSpot setups can use other identifiers, but email is the common field to validate first.

Should I remove rows with blank email values?

Usually yes for contact imports, unless your portal has a different explicit matching strategy. Review blanks before upload because they often create rejected or unusable rows.

Related guides

Next workflow