How do I show/fix CSV lead import validation errors?

When you see "validation errors" during CSV import, the system is checking that your data meets the requirements for lead import. Here's how to identify and fix common issues:

Understanding Validation Errors

CSV import has two places where problems show up:

• Review values — shows row/cell validation errors before import. It groups errors by column and includes a Show only rows with errors checkbox.
• Leads skipped warning — appears on the Leads tab after import if rows were skipped because of duplicates, blocklist matches, invalid emails, or incomplete data.

Common Validation Issues and Fixes

1. Check Required Columns

Your CSV must include these columns at minimum:

• Name - full name, or first/last name columns mapped into Name
• Email - valid email address
• Industry - the lead/company industry

Rows missing these fields are counted as validation errors and skipped if you continue.

2. Fix Invalid Email Formats

Invalid emails are the most common issue. Check for:

• Missing @ symbol - johndoeexample.com should be johndoe@example.com
• Extra spaces - Remove leading/trailing spaces from email addresses
• Special characters - Emails should only contain letters, numbers, dots, hyphens, and underscores before the @
• Missing domain - johndoe@ needs a complete domain like johndoe@example.com

3. Remove Duplicates

If your CSV has duplicate email addresses:

1. Open in Excel or Google Sheets
2. Sort by the email column
3. Use "Remove Duplicates" feature or manually delete duplicate rows
4. Re-save as CSV

4. Handle Cross-Campaign Conflicts

When leads are already in other active campaigns, you have two options:

1. Wait until the other campaign completes
2. Remove those leads from your CSV before importing

5. Fix Encoding Issues

If you see garbled characters or the import fails entirely:

1. Open your CSV in a text editor (not Excel)
2. Save with UTF-8 encoding:
   • In Notepad: File → Save As → Encoding: UTF-8
   • In VS Code: Click encoding in bottom bar → Save with Encoding → UTF-8

Viewing Detailed Errors

Use the Review values step for row-level fixes before import. You can:

• See the total validation error count.
• See which columns have errors.
• Toggle Show only rows with errors.
• Click into editable cells and correct values before moving on.

The final Preview import step then shows how many valid records will be imported and how many rows still have validation errors and will be skipped.

Testing Your Import

To isolate problems:

1. Create a test CSV with just 10-20 rows
2. Import this smaller file first
3. Check which rows pass validation
4. Fix issues in your main CSV based on what you learn

Related

• Importing leads via CSV
• Where can I see which emails failed during upload?
• Should I verify imported lead emails?