How Do I Import Contacts Into GoHighLevel?

Checked against HighLevel’s help center on October 11, 2026. HighLevel updates its interface often, so match the labels you see on screen.

Steps

1. 1Open Contacts, then the Smart Lists tab, and click Import Contacts.
2. 2Choose Contacts, Opportunities, or both, then upload the CSV.
3. 3Choose whether to create new contacts, update existing ones, or both.
4. 4Map each column. Check “Don’t update Empty Values” to protect existing data.
5. 5Add a tag, smart list, or workflow if you want, tick the confirmation box, and import.
6. 6Track progress in Bulk Actions. Download the error log, fix those rows, and re-import only them.

Format the file first

The file has to be a .csv with one sheet and a header row. Excel and Google Sheets files won’t upload.

Duplicates and limits

HighLevel matches existing contacts by email, then phone, and updates them instead of creating duplicates. Its articles list different file size limits: 30 MB, 50 MB, and an older 20 MB or 10,000 rows. Keep each file under 20 MB and 10,000 rows to be safe.

If you send email through LC Email, HighLevel checks each import’s email risk and can switch on email verification by itself. Only import contacts who agreed to hear from you.