By Alpit Patel and the aibrevo team · October 21, 2026 · 15 min read
How Do You Fix HubSpot Import Errors?
Quick answer
Open the import summary, click Download errors as file in the Import errors section, and look up the error name. Some errors drop the whole row, others only blank one value. Each is fixed in the file or on the mapping screen, then re-imported.
Key takeaways
- Download the error file from the import summary: Import errors section, then Download errors as file. It arrives as a zip holding a CSV with the error code, object type, reason and property values for each affected record.
- Read the error name before you touch the file. Missing or invalid required properties, a bad record ID and an invalid email drop the whole row. Date, number, owner and dropdown errors let the record in with that one value left blank.
- Limits checked October 21, 2026: paid HubSpot accepts 512 MB and 1,048,576 rows per file, free tools accept 20 MB. The file must have one sheet and fewer than 1,000 columns.
- Without a unique identifier (Record ID, Email for contacts, Company domain name for companies, or a unique custom property) an import creates duplicates instead of updating records.
- You cannot undo an import, but you can delete the records it created. Deleting does not reverse updates to records that already existed.
Your HubSpot import finished with an error count, or stopped before it finished, and you need to know which rows went in and which did not. Open the import summary, go to the Import errors section and click Download errors as file. The zip holds a CSV with an error code, the object type, a reason and the property values for each affected record. Find the error name in the table below, fix the value in your file, and re-import.
Everything here comes from HubSpot’s own knowledge base, checked on October 21, 2026. Where the docs say nothing, this page says so.
Where do you find the HubSpot import error file?
The error file sits in the import summary, and you can reach it again later from your import history. HubSpot’s steps are these:
- Open the import summary after the import finishes. For an older import, go to More, then Data Management > Data Integration, open the File imports tab and click the import.
- In the Import errors section, click Download errors as file above the table. HubSpot downloads a zip file.
- Extract the zip and open the CSV. Each row gives the error code, object type, reason and property values for one affected record.
- To get only the affected rows back in your original column layout, click View rows with errors, then Download rows with errors as file.
The summary above the table shows rows imported, records created and records updated. The errors table lists the column, object type, HubSpot property, error type and the impact of each error. HubSpot replaces sensitive data in errors with “REDACTED”. If you work in a portal that renames objects, “Company” may read “Account” on your screens. Source: HubSpot Knowledge Base, troubleshoot import errors, last updated September 25, 2026.
Which HubSpot import errors drop the whole row, and which only blank one value?
Errors on required properties and identifiers drop the row. Errors on dates, numbers, owners and dropdowns let the record in with just that one value empty. This is the most useful thing to know before you start fixing, because it tells you whether the records exist at all.
| Result | Error names |
|---|---|
| Row not imported | Missing required property, Invalid required property, Could not parse row (on a required property), Failed to process object with empty property values, Invalid record ID, Invalid alternate ID, Failed validation of Email, Deal/Ticket stage, or Deal/Ticket pipeline, GDPR blocklisted email, Row data too large, Limit exceeded, Portal Wide Custom Object Limit Exceeded, Create only import and Update only import (for rows that do not match the chosen action) |
| Record imports, value left blank | Ambiguous enumeration option, Invalid enumeration option, Could not find owner, Multiple owners found, Could not parse date, Could not parse number, Could not parse term, Invalid number size, Outside valid term range, Property validation rule error, Invalid event timestamp. Property definition not found also lands here: that column’s data is not imported |
| Record imports, association or label fails | Association label not found, Association limits exceeded, Association record not found, Failed to create association |
Source: HubSpot Knowledge Base, troubleshoot import errors, checked Oct 21, 2026.
If a date column failed, you do not have to re-import to fix those records. HubSpot says you can also edit the affected records in HubSpot directly. For a few hundred blank values, a re-import is quicker. For a handful, edit by hand.
What does each common HubSpot import error mean, and how do you fix it?
Start from the exact error name in your download. This table covers the ones that come up most, with HubSpot’s cause and fix in plain terms. The article lists many more; the full list is on HubSpot’s page.
| Error you see | What caused it | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Invalid sheet count | The file has more than one sheet | Remove the extra sheets, then re-import |
| Invalid file type or Invalid spreadsheet | The file is not a supported spreadsheet | Convert it to .csv, .xls or .xlsx |
| Incorrect number of columns | A column has no header, so its data was not imported | Add a header or delete the column, then re-import |
| Property definition not found | A column header matches no HubSpot property | Map the column to an existing property, create the property first, or skip the column |
| Could not parse date | The date does not match the format you selected, often because day and month are swapped | Correct the value, or pick the matching date format in the import settings |
| Could not parse number | A number property holds non-numeric characters | Make it a plain number, then re-import or edit the records |
| Invalid enumeration option | The value matches no option on the dropdown-style property | Use an existing option, or add the option in HubSpot first |
| Ambiguous enumeration option | The value matches more than one option, or a label that differs from the internal value | Use one option’s exact label or its internal value |
| Could not find owner | The owner does not match an active user | Confirm the user is active, then use their name or email |
| Multiple owners found | An owner name matches more than one user | Use the owner’s email instead of the name |
| Failed validation of Email, Deal/Ticket stage, or Deal/Ticket pipeline | The email is malformed, or the stage, status or pipeline name does not exist | Fix the email, or create the custom stage or status in HubSpot first |
| Missing required property | A required property has no value, so the row was skipped | Fill in the value, then re-import |
| Invalid record ID | The Record ID matches no existing record | Export the correct IDs, or leave the Record ID option unchecked if you are not updating existing records |
| Duplicate row content | The file has duplicate records, so no new record was created | Delete the duplicate row, then re-import |
| Duplicate unique property value | Unique property values repeat in the file or clash with CRM records | Remove the duplicates or choose a different unique column |
| Multiple companies with this domain | The domain matches several companies, so the record was not updated | Merge or delete the duplicates, or match on Record ID instead |
| Row data too large | A cell or row is over 1 MB | Shrink the content, then re-import |
| Many errors in row | One row has more than 10 errors | Fix each error listed for that row |
| Limit exceeded | Your account hit its record limit for that object | Delete records you do not need, then re-import |
| Unknown error | HubSpot gives no cause | Check the file requirements, try after clearing your browser cache or in another browser, retry while collecting a HAR file, then ask the Community or HubSpot support |
Source: HubSpot Knowledge Base, troubleshoot import errors, last updated September 25, 2026, checked Oct 21, 2026.
Two of those catch owners out. Imported owners are not notified of the assignment, and a name shared by two users fails as Multiple owners found, so the email column is the safer one to import. Our CRM import limits comparison lists the same error families across eight CRMs, which helps if you are moving data between systems.
Why does HubSpot say “Could not parse date”, and which formats work?
It says that when the date in a cell does not match the date format selected for the import. The record still imports, with that date property left empty.
For date picker properties, HubSpot accepts months as a number, three letters or a full name, and years with two or four digits. Separators can be slash, hyphen or period, and the order can be day-month-year, month-day-year or year-month-day. HubSpot’s own examples are 28/10/2023, 10-28-23 and 2023.OCT.28.
A date like 03/04/2026 is the dangerous one, because it reads as March 4 or April 3 depending on the format you pick on the last screen of the import. Set the date format there to match the file. Spot-check a few imported records against the source file.
For date and time picker properties, timestamps use hh:mm in every file type, or UNIX milliseconds in a CSV. With no timestamp, the time is set to midnight. Offsets use +hh:mm or -hh:mm, relative to the account time zone. Source: HubSpot Knowledge Base, format import files, checked Oct 21, 2026.
How do you format dropdowns, checkboxes, numbers and owners?
Match what HubSpot stores, not what looks right in a spreadsheet. HubSpot’s format rules for the properties that cause most errors:
| Property type | What the file must contain |
|---|---|
| Dropdown, radio (enumeration) | The option’s label or its internal value. For default properties such as Lifecycle stage or Industry, use the English internal value or label |
| Multiple checkboxes | Values separated by a semicolon with no spaces. The options must already exist. Start the cell with a semicolon (;value 3;value 4) to add to existing values instead of replacing them |
| Single checkbox | True/Yes or False/No |
| Currency | An accepted HubSpot currency code; for USD use decimals such as 123.45 |
| Percentage | 25% or .25 for 25% |
| Phone | +[country code][number], with ext[number] for an extension, for example +11234567890 ext123 |
| Owner (user) | The user’s name, email or internal owner value. Email or internal value is recommended when names repeat |
| Additional emails, additional domains | Separated by semicolons |
Source: HubSpot Knowledge Base, format import files, checked Oct 21, 2026.
One rule bites teams cleaning data in a spreadsheet: HubSpot ignores blank cells. They do not clear existing values. If a re-import is meant to wipe a wrong value, it will not; use bulk edit or the Edit records workflow action. Our data cleaning guide covers standardising dropdown values before they ever reach an import.
How do you fix column mapping errors in a HubSpot import?
Fix them on the mapping screen, before you finish the import, because that avoids a second pass. Every header in the file must match an existing HubSpot property, or you create the property first. Headers can be in any order, and to skip a column you set Import As to “Don’t import column”.
When the Map columns in your file screen shows an error count, the steps are:
- Hover over the row with errors and click the errors link. The panel names the error type, the column and the rows affected.
- Click View errored values and follow the recommended solution if HubSpot offers one.
- To change values, hover over the row and click Edit column values. Pick the value to replace and type the replacement. It applies to every matching row in that column. You can also choose not to import a value.
- A checkmark in the Mapped column means that error is resolved.
You can select values only from the first 1,000 rows, so errors in larger files may stay unresolved. In that case fix the file and upload again. A file also needs a unique identifier mapped before updates will work: Record ID, Email for contacts, Company domain name for companies, or a custom property that requires unique values. Source: HubSpot Knowledge Base, import records for multiple objects, and the troubleshooting article, checked Oct 21, 2026.
Why does a HubSpot import create duplicates?
Because the file had no unique identifier mapped, so HubSpot had nothing to match on. HubSpot states it directly: without unique identifiers, the import creates duplicates instead of linking to existing records.
The matching options are Record ID for any object, Email for contacts, Company domain name for companies, and a custom property that requires unique values. A few edge cases catch people:
- A custom unique property on contacts still requires unique Email values. On companies, it does not enforce unique domains, so duplicate domains can be imported.
- A new contact’s Email cannot match an existing secondary email on another record, and the same applies to company domains.
- Without a Record ID column, a secondary email does not replace the primary email. With both a secondary email and a Record ID column, it does.
- The Create and update option needs a unique identifier to update anything. Create new only ignores existing records, and Update existing only ignores new ones.
- A Create only import that finds matches skips those rows and reports “Create only import”. To update them, re-import with Create and update.
If you already imported duplicates, the error file will not fix them. See how to find and merge duplicate contacts in HubSpot, then re-import with an identifier mapped. Source: HubSpot Knowledge Base, format import files and import records for multiple objects, checked Oct 21, 2026.
What are HubSpot’s import limits for file size, rows and columns?
A paid HubSpot account takes files up to 512 MB and 1,048,576 rows, and free tools take up to 20 MB. Both need one sheet and fewer than 1,000 columns. HubSpot counts the daily limits over a rolling 24-hour period.
| Limit | Free tools | Smart CRM, Starter, Professional, Enterprise |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum file size | 20 MB | 512 MB |
| Rows per file | Not stated in the article | 1,048,576 |
| Imports per day | 50 | 500 |
| Rows per day | 500,000 | 10,000,000 (80,000,000 through the imports API) |
| Simultaneous imports | 3, at most 2 over 10,000 rows | 3, at most 2 over 10,000 rows |
Source: HubSpot Knowledge Base, format import files, checked Oct 21, 2026.
Imports beyond the simultaneous limit are queued, so a slow import is not always a failed one. Accepted formats are .csv, .xlsx and .xls. Use UTF-8 if the file has non-English characters. A cell or row over 1 MB fails as Row data too large. To compare these numbers with other CRMs, see the import limits research page, or run a file through our CRM import file checker before you upload it. Plan limits move, so check HubSpot’s page against your own tier; our HubSpot pricing and limits page tracks the plan side.
How do you import companies and associations without errors?
For companies, give each row at least a Company name or a Company domain name. Everything else is optional. To update existing companies, map Record ID, Company domain name or a custom unique property. The domain identifier takes values only up to the top-level domain, such as .com.
Associations add their own errors. In a single file, put identifiers for both records on each row. To link one record to several others, repeat the row with a different associated identifier. With two files, link them on a common column. A few specifics:
- Association identifiers that are missing, contain line breaks or are longer than 100 characters give “Association record not found” or “Invalid association identifier”.
- “Association label not found” means the label in your file does not exist in HubSpot yet, so the records were associated without a label. Custom association labels need a Professional or Enterprise subscription, and the labels must exist first.
- A same-object association, such as parent and child companies, needs the same-object checkbox ticked, at least one record in each pair already in HubSpot, and primary emails or primary company domains as identifiers.
- Importing line items does not update the deal amount.
Moving a whole CRM into HubSpot involves more than fixing errors. The HubSpot migration guide and the Pipedrive to HubSpot guide cover that. Source: HubSpot Knowledge Base, format import files and troubleshoot import errors, checked Oct 21, 2026.
Can you undo a HubSpot import?
You cannot undo one as a single step, but you can delete the records it created. Go to More, then Data Management > Data Integration and open the File imports tab. Open the import and use its records tab to delete records. HubSpot’s example is importing new records by mistake, deleting them and importing again.
The limit matters. HubSpot says that if you updated existing records via an import, you will not be able to reverse the changes by deleting. Restoring those values takes another import or manual edits. Two more points from the same article:
- Imports completed via the API have no View Records option.
- The original file can be downloaded for imports completed within the last six months, and only by the user who ran the import or someone with Super Admin permissions. Imports older than six months cannot be used as templates.
The article does not say how to restore deleted records or how long you have to do it. If a bad import overwrote valuable data, export the affected records first and talk to HubSpot support before deleting more. Source: HubSpot Knowledge Base, view and analyze previous imports, last updated June 18, 2026, checked Oct 21, 2026.
Should you re-import the whole file or only the error rows?
HubSpot’s article does not say. It tells you to correct the value in your file, or update the record in HubSpot, and then re-import. Which is safer depends on what you mapped.
If the file has an identifier mapped and you choose Create and update, re-importing the whole file updates the records already created, so it does not duplicate them. Without an identifier, a full re-import creates every row again. In that case import only the rows from Download rows with errors as file, after you fix them. Do a small test of five or ten rows first. A test costs a minute and is far cheaper than a bulk delete.
When should you get help with a HubSpot import?
A single clean file of contacts needs no help. Bring someone in when the import is part of a migration: several objects with associations, custom unique properties, owners that need mapping, or a file over a few hundred thousand rows where one wrong format would repeat across every row. Our HubSpot implementation service covers data migration, and you can contact us with the error file and a sample of ten rows. If you are still choosing a platform, the HubSpot vs Pipedrive comparison covers how the two differ.
Founder’s note, Alpit Patel. An import error file is the most honest thing HubSpot gives you. I’d read it before touching the spreadsheet, and I’d fix the pattern in the data rather than the single rows. I founded aibrevo in San Francisco in 2021, and through autoesta I have overseen 320+ GoHighLevel implementation projects across med spas, real estate, healthcare, dental, home services, SaaS and professional-services clients in the US, UK and UAE. About Alpit
Sources
- HubSpot Knowledge Base, Troubleshoot import errors, last updated September 25, 2026, checked October 21, 2026.
- HubSpot Knowledge Base, Format your import file, checked October 21, 2026.
- HubSpot Knowledge Base, Import records for multiple objects, checked October 21, 2026.
- HubSpot Knowledge Base, View and analyze previous imports, last updated June 18, 2026, checked October 21, 2026.