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Standard contact headings and character limits for file import

Article: 000037423
Updated: April 2, 2024

Use the standard contact details recognized by Constant Contact to update your column headings before importing your file or spreadsheet

Before you can import a file of contact information into Constant Contact, it's worth taking some time to format it to prevent any import errors. We only recognize specific contact details used as the column headings in a file. The headings don't need to be in any specific order in your spreadsheet.
 

Standard contact details used as column headingsField length and formatting
Email Address80 Characters
Required to add a contact
First Name50 Characters
Last Name50 Characters
Job Title50 Characters
Company50 Characters
BirthdayAccepted Formats:
MM/DD/YYYY  DD-Month  YYYY-MM-DD
M/D/YYYY  D-Month  YYYY-M-D
YYYY/MM/DD  DD-Month-YY 
YYYY/M/D  
 
  • If using Excel, the field should be formatted as "Date" or "Custom."
  • After import, the date in a contact record appears as "Month, Day." We don't store the year.
AnniversaryAccepted Formats:
MM/DD/YYYY  YYYY-MM-DD
M/D/YYYY  YYYY-M-D
YYYY/MM/DD  MM-DD-YYYY
YYYY/M/D  M-D-YYYY
Home Address Line 150 Characters
Home Address Line 250 Characters
Work Address Line 150 Characters
Work Address Line 250 Characters
City50 Characters
State / Province2 Characters for State
50 Characters for Province
Zip / Postal Code25 Characters
Country25 Characters
Phone Number - Home25 Characters
Phone Number - Work25 Characters
Phone Number - Mobile25 Characters

SMS number

Important: At this time, SMS through Constant Contact isn’t available to use with phone numbers outside the US and Puerto Rico, and they won’t be imported.

Accepted Formats:
+11231231234  +1 123-123-1234
(123) 123-1234  +1 123-123-1234
1 (123) 123-1234 00 1 123-123 1234
+1 (123) 123-1234 

SMS consent date

Accepted Formats:
MM/DD/YYYYMM/DD/YYYY HH:MM:SS
YYYY/MM/DDYYYY/MM/DD HH:MM:SS
MM-DD-YYYYMM-DD-YYYY HH:MM:SS
YYYY-MM-DDYYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssTZD
  • HH is in 24 hour format
  • If there is no time available, it's assumed to be midnight.
Tags225 Characters
Notes2000 Characters

Custom Fields

Important: It's a violation of our Terms of Service to store Sensitive Information in a custom field. Please see our Terms of Service for additional information on Sensitive Information.

255 Characters

 

If you have contact information you want to import that isn't one of the standard contact details, you can create a custom field for it. Custom fields can be created when you upload your file, or you can create them beforehand and then select them from the drop-down menu when matching the column headings during the import process.

Please see Microsoft's Support for more help formatting a date field in Excel.

 

Light Bulb IconDid you know? Not all formatting errors prevent the import of your contacts. Some errors can be resolved after the import.

 

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