How to export and import Outlook contacts

Which Outlook you have

• Classic Outlook for Windows (Outlook 2016 to 2024 and Microsoft 365) has a File tab at the top left.
• New Outlook for Windows, Outlook.com and Outlook on the web have no File tab. Their contacts are on the People page, opened from the bar on the left.
• Outlook for Mac works differently, and has its own section below.

Export contacts from Outlook

Classic Outlook for Windows

1. Click File → Open & Export → Import/Export.
2. Choose Export to a file, then Comma Separated Values, and click Next.
3. Under Select folder to export from, scroll to the top if needed and choose the Contacts folder under your account. Click Next.
4. Click Browse, name the file, click OK, then click Next and Finish.

Outlook shows no message when it is done: the progress box simply closes. Open the CSV in Excel to check it. Lots of empty cells are normal. Close it without saving, because saving it in Excel can spoil it for importing.

New Outlook for Windows

1. Click People in the bar on the left.
2. On the ribbon, click Export contacts.
3. Under Contacts from this folder, choose an option, then click Export.

The CSV file goes to your Downloads folder. Contacts that classic Outlook kept only on your computer may not appear in new Outlook. Export those from classic Outlook, choosing Contacts (This computer only), and import the file into new Outlook.

Outlook.com and Outlook on the web

1. Click People in the side panel.
2. On the toolbar, click Manage contacts → Export contacts.
3. Choose All contacts or one folder, then click Export.

Import contacts into Outlook

Classic Outlook, new Outlook and Outlook.com all import contacts from a CSV file. Microsoft recommends saving the CSV with UTF-8 encoding, which works for every language.

Classic Outlook for Windows

1. Click File → Open & Export → Import/Export.
2. Choose Import from another program or file, click Next, choose Comma Separated Values, and click Next.
3. Browse to the CSV file and choose how to handle duplicates: Replace duplicates with items imported, Allow duplicates to be created (the default) or Do not import duplicate items. Click Next.
4. Choose the Contacts folder under the right account, click Next, then Finish.

New Outlook, Outlook.com and Outlook on the web

1. Click People.
2. Click Import contacts on the ribbon in new Outlook, or Manage contacts → Import contacts on Outlook.com.
3. Click Browse, choose the CSV file, and click Import.

If the file isn’t UTF-8, the import shows some sample contacts first. If their text looks garbled, cancel and use a UTF-8 file.

Importing a .vcf file with many contacts

Outlook’s import reads CSV files, not vCard (.vcf) files that hold many people. Opening a .vcf file in Outlook opens a single contact form, which suits a card someone sent you. Microsoft’s advice for an iPhone or iCloud vCard is to convert it to CSV first. Its own method goes through the Windows Contacts folder and asks you to confirm each contact one by one.

1. Choose the .vcf file in the VCF to CSV converter. Several files can go in together and become one list. To check what a file holds first, open it in the VCF viewer.
2. Pick the Outlook CSV layout and download the CSV.
3. Import it with the steps above.

The columns already have the names Outlook uses, such as Mobile Phone and E-mail Address, and the file is UTF-8. The conversion happens in your browser, so the contacts are not uploaded. Going the other way, the CSV to VCF converter turns an Outlook CSV export into a .vcf file for a phone.

Outlook for Mac

Microsoft’s help for Outlook for Mac doesn’t offer a CSV import or export for contacts. Legacy Outlook for Mac exports only to an Outlook for Mac archive file (.olm) with Tools → Export, and imports .olm and .pst archives with Tools → Import. From October 2026, legacy Outlook for Mac stops working with Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online) mailboxes. If your Outlook for Mac uses an Outlook.com or Microsoft 365 account, sign in to that account in a browser and use the Outlook.com steps above.

When an import goes wrong

• No contacts appear, or “Unable to retrieve data”. The CSV is probably empty. Open it in Excel, and export it again if there is nothing in it.
• Only some contacts are imported. If 300 out of 800 arrive, the row after the last one imported may be badly formatted. Remove that row and import again.
• Details are missing. Outlook needs the column headings in the first row, in the same language as Outlook. The Outlook CSV layout uses English headings, so rename them if Outlook is set to another language.
• Everything is in the first column. The file was saved as an Excel workbook. Save it again as CSV.
• Accents and other alphabets look wrong. The file isn’t UTF-8. Excel can save one: choose CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) under File → Save As.