Import a CSV of Contacts

Apollo supports the following delimiters:

• Comma ,
• Semicolon ;
• Colon :
• Pipe |

If you experience formatting issues when you upload your file, you may need to change your delimiter settings.

To update your delimiter settings:

Mac

1. Close your CSV application and click the Apple system icon.
2. Click System Settings > General > Language and Region.
3. Scroll to number format and change the decimal separator to one of the supported delimiters.
4. Re-attempt the CSV upload in Apollo.

PC

1. Launch the Windows Start Menu and click Control Panel.
2. Click Regional and Language Options > Regional Options > Customize / Additional settings.
3. Change the delimiter in the list separator section to one of the Apollo-supported characters.
4. Click Okay to confirm the change.
5. Restart your machine. Then, re-attempt the CSV upload in Apollo.

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To ensure Apollo recognizes your contacts, your CSV must include fields for either company name, company website, LinkedIn URL, or contact email.

By default, you can map imported fields to the following Apollo fields:

• Contact first name
• Contact last name
• Contact title
• Contact email
• Contact LinkedIn URL
• Contact raw address
• Contact place street
• Contact place city
• Contact place state
• Contact place country
• Contact place postal code
• Contact stage
• First phone
• Work direct phone
• Corporate phone
• Home phone
• Mobile phone
• Other phone
• Owner
• Account website
• Email sent
• Email opened
• Email auto responded
• Email clicked
• Email replied
• Email unsubscribed

Additionally, you can import any other field as long as there's an existing custom contact field to match to it in Apollo.

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You can enrich CSV data during import to ensure your outreach data is fresh and up-to-date. Follow the steps above to configure your enrichment settings before importing your file. Based on the settings you choose, Apollo enriches email and/or phone data for your imported contacts during the import process.

If you didn't configure enrichment during import, you can also enrich CSV data after import. To configure enrichment during import:

1. Launch Apollo and click People.
2. Click Show filters and select the Contact CSV import filter.
3. Select your CSV file to find the people you imported.
4. Check each person you want to enrich, then click Enrich and select what you want to update:
   • Enrich emails
   • Enrich mobile numbers
   • Enrich job change
   • Reject job change enrichment

5. Apollo enriches the people you selected.

You have now enriched your contact information.

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To find the contacts you imported:

1. Launch Apollo and click People.
2. Click Show Filters > More filters then select the contact CSV import filter. Select your CSV.
3. Apollo displays the contacts you imported.
4. Check one or more contacts then choose an action to take:

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When you import contacts, your import settings determine whether Apollo should update existing contacts if they already exist with information from your CSV. Alternatively, you can choose to skip updating existing contacts.

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If you made a mistake when importing, such as mapping data incorrectly, you can:

• Edit contact information manually in each contact's profile.
• Delete the imported contacts and start over with a fresh import.

Unless you imported only a few records, Apollo recommends you delete, fix, and re-import the CSV file.

To delete and start over:

1. Launch Apollo and click People.
2. Use the contact CSV import filter to select your import.
3. Check each contact you want to remove, then click ... > Delete.

With your records removed, you can retry the CSV import.

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Most imports finish in a few minutes, but larger CSV files can take a few hours to process.

To check the status of your import after you've initiated it, navigate to Settings > Imports and exports > Contact Import.

Apollo recommends that you avoid uploading CSV files with more than 10,000 rows. If you have a larger file, it's best to split the CSV into separate, smaller files for more efficient processing.

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While it isn't possible to import a CSV via Apollo API, you can use the API to create contacts or accounts. Learn more about using Apollo API.

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When you import a CSV of contacts, Apollo might update existing contacts instead of creating a new contact for every row. The most common reasons are:

• Apollo updated an existing contact: When a row matches an existing contact, such as one with the same email address, Apollo updates that contact instead of creating a new one.
• You're viewing a list, not everything saved: If imported people aren't added to a list during import, Apollo still saves them as contacts in People, but they won't show up together in a single list.
• Your current filters limit the contacts you see: Filters like owner, stage, and list can change what you see in People. Use the contact CSV import filter to view contacts tied to a specific file.
• The import is still processing: Large CSV imports can take time to process, so you might not see every row right away. To check progress, go to Settings > Imports and exports > Contact Import, select your CSV, and review its status.
• Field mapping didn't match your columns: If your field mapping doesn't match your columns, Apollo might import data into the wrong fields. You can re-import the file with the correct mapping, and follow the steps in this FAQ to delete and start over.

To manually reconcile your CSV with Apollo:

1. Launch Apollo and go to People.
2. Click Show Filters > More Filters.
3. Click contact CSV import, select your CSV file, then apply the filter. Apollo shows only the contacts tied to that import.
4. (Optional) Export the filtered results, then compare them to your original CSV in a spreadsheet.
5. If you find true duplicates, you can merge records to keep your database tidy.

You have now reconciled your CSV with Apollo.

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