How to import contacts via CSV on HubSpot

beginner 8 min read Updated 2026-03-18

Quick Answer

Navigate to Contacts > Import in HubSpot, upload your CSV file, and map the columns to HubSpot properties. HubSpot will process the import and notify you when complete.

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Prerequisites

Active HubSpot account with contact creation permissions
CSV file with properly formatted contact data
Column headers matching HubSpot contact properties
Clean data with valid email formats

Step-by-Step Instructions

Access the Import Tool

Log into your HubSpot account and navigate to Contacts in the main navigation menu. Click on the Import button located in the top right corner of the contacts dashboard.

You can also access the import tool by going to Settings > Data Management > Import & Export

Select Import Type

Choose File from computer as your import source. Then select One file if you're importing a single CSV, or Multiple files if you have separate files for different object types.

Upload Your CSV File

Click Choose a file and select your CSV file from your computer. HubSpot supports files up to 512MB in size. After uploading, click Next to proceed to the mapping stage.

Ensure your CSV uses UTF-8 encoding to prevent character display issues

Select Import Objects

Choose Contacts as your primary import object. If your CSV contains related data like companies or deals, you can select additional objects by checking the corresponding boxes.

Start with contacts only for your first import to keep things simple

Map CSV Columns to HubSpot Properties

Review the column mapping interface where HubSpot automatically suggests property matches. For each CSV column, select the corresponding HubSpot contact property from the dropdown menu. Required fields like Email must be mapped. Click Next when mapping is complete.

Create custom properties for any unique data columns that don't have existing HubSpot equivalents

Configure Import Settings

Set your import preferences including duplicate handling options. Choose Create new records and update existing records to merge duplicates, or Create new records only to avoid overwriting existing data. Review the import summary and click Start import.

Use email as the unique identifier for the most accurate duplicate detection

Monitor Import Progress

HubSpot will process your import in the background. You'll receive an email notification when complete, or you can check progress by going to Settings > Data Management > Import & Export > View imports.

Large imports may take several minutes to hours depending on file size and data complexity

Review Import Results

Once complete, review the import summary showing successful imports, errors, and warnings. Download the error report if any contacts failed to import, fix the issues in your CSV, and re-import the corrected records.

Check a few imported contacts manually to ensure all data mapped correctly

Common Issues & Troubleshooting

CSV columns not mapping correctly to HubSpot properties

Ensure your CSV headers exactly match HubSpot property names or use the dropdown to manually select the correct property for each column. Remove any special characters or extra spaces from column headers.

Import fails with 'Invalid email format' errors

Clean your email data to remove invalid entries, extra spaces, or formatting issues. Use Excel's TRIM function or similar to clean data before importing.

Duplicate contacts being created instead of updated

Ensure you've selected the correct duplicate handling option and that your CSV includes the email field which HubSpot uses as the primary identifier for matching existing contacts.

File upload fails or times out

Check that your file is under 512MB and in CSV format. Try splitting large files into smaller batches of 10,000-25,000 contacts each for better processing reliability.

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