Overview and answers to your most common questions concerning the best practices for importing contacts.

What should I do if my import process gets stuck?

If your import seems stuck, it is often because multiple imports are running at the same time. To avoid this:

• Do not import multiple files at the same time.
• Wait for your current import to finish before starting a new one.

What is the contact merge process?

The contact merge process is the method used to automatically update existing contacts when you re-import contacts that are already in your Brevo account. Instead of creating duplicates, the system identifies the existing contact and consolidates all information into a single contact record.

For example, if one contact record has an email address and another has an SMS number, and you import a file linking both identifiers, Brevo merges them into one contact.

The record with the higher-priority identifier is kept and the duplicate record is deleted. To learn more about the priority order of identifiers, check our dedication section of this article.

How does Brevo decide which contact to keep during a merge?

When contacts are merged, Brevo uses a priority order based on the identifiers in the import file, to determine which record is kept. The priority order from highest to lowest is the following:

1. Brevo Contact ID
2. EXT_ID (External ID)
3. Email address
4. SMS number
5. WhatsApp number
6. Landline number

What are the best practices for importing new contacts?

When adding contacts that do not yet exist in your Brevo account:

• Include all known identifiers from the start
  When creating new contacts, include all available identifiers in the same import whenever possible (email address, SMS number, WhatsApp number, external ID). This ensures that only one contact is created, no merge is triggered later, and all history stays attached to a single contact.
• Add identifiers progressively (if needed)
  If you don't have all identifiers at once, create the contact using the first identifier (for example, email), update the same contact later to add other identifiers (for example, SMS), and always include existing identifiers in the next imports. This keeps the contact record clean and consistent over time.

What are the best practices for re-importing contacts?

Re-importing contacts means updating data for contacts that already exist in your account. This is when the contact merge process applies.

• Re-importing contacts identified by email
  If you use email as your main identifier, no special action is required. Brevo automatically matches contacts using the email address. Data is updated and contact history is preserved.
• Re-importing contacts identified by External ID (EXT_ID)
  If you use EXT_ID to identify contacts, you need to include the Brevo contact ID in your import file. This ensures Brevo updates the correct existing contact. Without the contact ID, Brevo may keep the new record and delete the old one, causing history loss.
  💡 Good to know

  The CONTACT_ID attribute is automatically created by Brevo when you import your contacts. It is a fixed number that cannot be changed. You can only retrieve the contact ID of your contacts by exporting them from Brevo.
  
• Always include all known identifiers
  When re-importing, include all identifiers already associated with the contact (email, SMS, EXT_ID, etc.). This reduces the risk of unwanted merges and data loss.

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