CardmendThe Google Contacts CSV format
Google Contacts imports CSV and vCard. Its own CSV export is the best template: it uses numbered label/value column pairs for phones, emails and addresses.
Updated 2026-10-26 · 5 min read
Key columns
| Column | Example |
|---|---|
| First Name / Middle Name / Last Name | Dana / / Levi |
| Organization Name, Organization Title | Acme Ltd, Buyer |
| Birthday | 1990-05-17 |
| Notes | Met at expo |
| Labels | * myContacts ::: Clients |
| E-mail 1 - Label / E-mail 1 - Value | Work / dana@example.com |
| Phone 1 - Label / Phone 1 - Value | Mobile / +44 7700 900123 |
| Address 1 - Label / Street / City / Postal Code / Country | Home / … |
More phones or emails get Phone 2 - …, E-mail 2 - … and so on. Several values in one cell are separated by ::: .
Get the template
Export one contact from contacts.google.com (Export › Google CSV) and use its header row – Google's exact headers can change over time, so a fresh export is the safest template.
Common mistakes
- Saving from Excel in a non-UTF-8 encoding – accents and non-Latin names break. Use “CSV UTF-8”.
- Phone numbers converted by Excel (leading 0 dropped, 4.47701E+11) – format the column as Text.
- Putting all phones in one column without labels – they import as one odd number.
Convert any sheet to Google's format
Open your spreadsheet or CSV in Cardmend, map the columns, and export Google CSV – it writes the numbered label/value pairs and the Labels column (contacts are put in “My Contacts”). Or export vCard, which Google also imports.
Fix your contact file in the browser. Cardmend converts contacts between vCard (.vcf 2.1/3.0/4.0), Excel and CSV (Google, Outlook, generic), merges duplicates with a review screen, normalises phone numbers and splits or joins VCF files – in your browser, nothing is uploaded. Preview, duplicate review and phone check are free for the whole file; exports are free up to 50 contacts, and a $9 lifetime license removes the limit.
Questions and answers
Does Google import Outlook CSV?
Google Contacts imports CSV files from Outlook as well; mapping can be imperfect, so test with a few contacts.
How do I put imported contacts in a group?
Add the label in the Labels column, or Google adds an 'Imported on …' label you can rename.
Sources and product names: Google Contacts Help: import contacts; observed Google CSV export header (checked against Cardmend's writer). iPhone and iCloud are trademarks of Apple Inc.; Google Contacts and Gmail of Google LLC; Outlook and Excel of Microsoft. Cardmend is independent and not affiliated with them.