A useful HubSpot contact export starts with a clear brief: which people, which fields and what the file will be used for. For a small team, the main risk is handing over an apparently complete spreadsheet that answers the wrong question. Decide what a successful handover looks like before downloading anything.
Table of Contents
Choose the right kind of contact export
| What you need | Where to start | Important boundary |
|---|---|---|
| A spreadsheet of selected contacts | Contacts table view | Current properties and selected associations, not the activity timeline. |
| Members of an existing segment | CRM → Segments | Segment exports cannot include associated records. |
| Details about one person | The contact record’s data export | History and activities require different choices from a bulk spreadsheet. |
For a segment, use its More → Export menu and choose the properties needed. If you include company properties, HubSpot supplies those from the primary associated company; this is not a download of every linked company. See HubSpot’s segment export guidance.
For one person, the individual contact export includes default property history, with optional custom property history, activities and associations. Some values can be redacted. Use that route when history matters, rather than assuming a contacts spreadsheet contains every interaction.
Write a short brief before choosing columns
Consider an illustrative UK training business preparing a handover between account managers. Its brief might be: “Contacts owned by the departing colleague, with enough information for the replacement to identify each person and review the account.” This is a planning example, not a tested customer result.
Agree these details with the recipient:
- Selection: the relevant owner, territory or other agreed filter, plus the date and time it was checked.
- Identification: Record ID, name and the contact details needed for this specific task.
- Context: company and agreed handover fields, with a clear explanation of any blanks.
- Destination: the named recipient, their approved storage location and who will remove working copies.
Ask the recipient to describe how they will use each column. If nobody needs a field, leave it out of the handover specification. A smaller, clearly explained file is easier to check than an account-wide download whose purpose nobody can describe.
Export the chosen contacts view
You need HubSpot’s Export permission. Follow the record export instructions:
- Open CRM → Contacts and select the intended view, or the all-contacts view for everyone.
- Select Export above the table; choose a format, name and header language.
- Check Customize. The default uses properties and associations in the view; broader options and additional email addresses are available.
- Export and use the emailed download link.
The default association limit is 1,000 linked records per association column; including all associated records requires CSV. Keep that distinction in the handover brief if relationships are essential.
If approval is requested, follow the account’s process. HubSpot documents export approvals as an Enterprise beta: enabled controls can require review according to record thresholds, and sensitive-data exports require approval. An approval request is different from a failed download.
Check the file before sharing or editing it
Keep the original download untouched and inspect a working copy. For the training-business example, the replacement manager should be able to answer these questions without guessing:
- Does the population make sense? Compare the row count with your recorded expectation. If it differs, investigate the selection and any changes since you checked it.
- Can we identify people reliably? Spot-check several familiar records. Similar names are not proof that two rows represent the same person.
- Did the spreadsheet interpret values sensibly? Check leading zeroes in UK phone numbers, accented names, identifiers and date interpretation before saving edits.
- Are missing values understood? Distinguish a genuinely blank field from a column you did not request. Record unresolved questions alongside the file.
If this review reveals possible duplicates, use the separate HubSpot contact-merging checklist before changing CRM records. If an edited file will go back into HubSpot, plan that as a separate operation using our contact import guide.
Also, exporting every contact includes unsubscribed people, according to HubSpot’s data export overview. Do not treat the downloaded file as a ready-made marketing audience. Keep its intended use explicit.
If the download is delayed or missing
HubSpot allows 300 record exports per rolling 24 hours and three running simultaneously; further requests queue. Large exports can take hours. Check the existing request before submitting another.
Under Settings → Data Management → Import & Export, the export log shows names, counts, dates and processing status. Users with Export permission can inspect their own history; Super Admins can view everyone’s. Completed files remain downloadable for 30 days.
Can you schedule contact exports?
The contacts-table procedure above is a manual export. A saved view is not, by itself, a recurring delivery schedule. For an ongoing handover, assign someone to produce and check each dated file.
HubSpot’s separate CRM backup tool requires Super Admin access. Enterprise supports recurring backups weekly or fortnightly after an initial backup exists. Its allowance for a manual backup every 24 hours does not mean daily automated scheduling. Starter and Professional allow a manual backup once a week.
CRM backups exclude associations and activity data, and downloads are available for 14 days. Check those omissions against what you would need to recover; neither a contact spreadsheet nor this backup is a complete copy of every CRM interaction.
Sources reviewed: 30 October 2026. This guide is based on current HubSpot documentation; the workflow example is illustrative, not a claim of hands-on product testing.
