Why did my Brevo contacts import skip contacts or create odd attributes?

1. Your contacts CSV

A contact export from any platform edited in a spreadsheet, or a sheet prepared for Brevo's contact import. Contact data is personal data: this page never uploads it.

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Choose a file or paste the text, then click Check file.

Result

Rows with findings

The rules, and what they leave out

• Identity. Every row needs an EMAIL or an SMS number. Emails must be valid and unique; two rows that differ only in capitals are the same contact. An SMS-only row is noted, not an error.
• Built-in attributes. EMAIL, FIRSTNAME, LASTNAME and SMS. Near misses such as Mobile, Phone, Prenom or Surname are flagged because they can end up as a new custom attribute instead. Every other column is treated as an attribute you map yourself and is only noted.
• SMS numbers belong in international form with the country code, such as +33612345678. A national number like 06 12 34 56 78 is flagged, not rewritten: only you know which country it belongs to. More than 15 digits is flagged too.
• Excel damage. An SMS such as 3.36123E+10 means Excel read the cell as a number and the digits are gone. Format the column as Text before editing.
• Commas. An unquoted comma inside a name or text cell shifts every later column; wrap the cell in double quotes.
• Dates in a column named like a date: one format throughout, ideally the one the Brevo date attribute is set to. Mixed or day/month-ambiguous values are flagged and never reordered.
• Safe fixes change only the delimiter, the spelling of built-in headers and stray spaces around an email, name or SMS. It never edits a name or custom value, never adds a country code, never merges duplicates and never touches a consent or status value.
• Not checked: that Brevo will accept the file today, whether an email or SMS number is deliverable, whether you have permission to message anyone, your existing contacts, blocklists and unsubscribed contacts, list assignment, attribute and file-size limits, and anything Brevo changes in its importer. Import a handful of contacts first.

Common questions

Why did my Brevo contacts import skip contacts or create odd attributes?

The usual causes are a row with neither an email address nor an SMS number, an email that is not valid, the same email on two rows (capitals do not make it different), a header like Mobile, Phone or Prenom that is not mapped to the built-in SMS, FIRSTNAME or LASTNAME attribute and becomes a new custom attribute instead, an unquoted comma that shifts every later column, SMS numbers with no country code or turned into scientific notation by Excel, and a date column that mixes formats. This tool tests each of them and names the line.

Does a clean CSV mean I can email or text these people from Brevo?

No. This tool only checks formatting. Permission to market comes from a real opt-in you hold a record of, such as a signup form or a prior platform's subscription list, and Brevo asks you to confirm that at import and restricts purchased, rented or scraped lists. The tool never creates or changes consent. Messaging people who did not opt in can breach laws such as CAN-SPAM, GDPR, PECR and the TCPA for SMS. Ask a lawyer if unsure.

Why did my SMS numbers turn into 3.36123E+10?

Excel treats a long run of digits as a number and shows it in scientific notation; once saved the original digits are lost. The tool flags it but cannot restore them. Re-export from the source with the column formatted as Text.

Why does Brevo want a country code on SMS numbers?

A number with a leading 0 is ambiguous: it could belong to any country. Brevo reads numbers against the country you pick or rejects them, so the safe form is the international one, with + and the country code. This tool flags numbers without one but will not guess the country for you.

What does Apply safe fixes change?

Only things with one reasonable reading: the delimiter, the spelling of built-in headers and stray spaces. Every change is listed with its line. It never edits names or custom values, never adds a country code, and never touches anything about consent.

Is it safe to put my customer list into a web page?

The page runs in your browser, the file is read locally and nothing is uploaded; a test in the code asserts there are no network calls. You remain responsible for how you store and handle the downloaded file.

What does this not check?

Whether Brevo will accept the file today, whether emails or SMS numbers are deliverable, your existing contacts and attribute limits. A clean result is not a promise of success: import a few contacts first.