When importing a file into Hunter to save leads, find email addresses, or verify emails, you may occasionally see an error indicating that your file could not be processed.
Common error messages include:
File is incorrect (illegal quoting in line...)
File could not be parsed: illegal quoting in line...
File is incorrect (row has an invalid columns count)
These errors usually mean that Hunter cannot correctly read the structure of your CSV file.
What causes these errors?
A CSV file needs to follow a consistent structure so that each row and column can be read correctly. Import errors can occur when a file contains:
Commas that are part of the text rather than separators, so a whole row sits in one cell instead of being split into columns
Rows with a different number of columns
Unescaped quotation marks inside cells
Line breaks inside cells that were not exported correctly
An inconsistent separator or delimiter
Data copied from another application that introduced unexpected characters
A CSV file that was manually edited and no longer follows standard CSV formatting
Start by checking how your data is laid out
Open the file in Google Sheets or Excel and look at how it appears on screen. What you see decides which fix you need.
If each row sits entirely in the first cell, with commas visible inside it — for example Richard,Hendricks,piedpiper.com all in one cell — the commas are being read as text, not as separators. Re-exporting will not fix this. Split the data into separate columns instead: see Why is my CSV file using commas instead of displaying columns? for the steps in both Excel and Google Sheets.
If your data already appears in separate columns and the import still fails, the structure is likely broken somewhere less visible. Re-exporting the file is the quickest fix — follow the steps below.
Re-exporting the file
If your file originally came from another tool, CRM, database, or spreadsheet application, re-exporting lets Google Sheets or Excel rebuild the CSV structure correctly:
Open or import the file into Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel.
Check that your data appears correctly in separate rows and columns.
Remove any completely empty or unnecessary columns if needed.
Export the file again as a CSV.
Upload the newly exported file to Hunter.
Re-export a CSV from Google Sheets
Open your file in Google Sheets and make sure the data is displayed correctly. Clearing the formatting is always recommended as that helps ensuring hidden formatting are removed - you can do that by clicking Format -> Clear formatting after selecting all the cells in your file.
Then:
Click File.
Select Download.
Choose Comma-separated values (.csv, current sheet).
Upload the newly downloaded CSV file to Hunter.
If you suspect the spreadsheet itself contains inconsistent data, you can also use Data > Data cleanup in Google Sheets to identify unnecessary spaces, duplicates, or other inconsistencies.
Removing duplicates or extra spaces is optional and does not normally cause CSV parsing errors.
Re-export a CSV from Microsoft Excel
Open the file in Microsoft Excel and check that the data is correctly separated into rows and columns. Clearing the formatting is always recommended - you can do this from the Home tab -> Clear All Formats.
Then:
Click File > Save As.
Choose where you want to save the file.
Select CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) (.csv) as the file format.
Save the file.
Using CSV UTF-8 is recommended, especially if your file contains accented characters or text in different languages.
If the error persists
If Hunter still cannot process the file after you have re-exported it, there may be a problem with one or more specific rows. A few things are worth checking:
Quotation marks inside cells
CSV files use double quotation marks (") to handle values containing commas, line breaks, and other special characters.
Problems can occur if quotation marks have been manually added, removed, or edited in the CSV file. For example, a value containing quotation marks must be escaped correctly by the application creating the CSV.
The safest solution is usually to avoid editing the CSV manually and instead open it in Google Sheets or Excel before exporting it again.
Line breaks inside cells
Some cells may contain text split across multiple lines, such as addresses, notes, or descriptions. CSV files can support line breaks, but if the file was generated incorrectly, Hunter may interpret part of the cell as a new row.
If the error continues, check cells containing multi-line text and remove unnecessary line breaks before exporting the file again.
Inconsistent numbers of columns
If you see an error mentioning an invalid columns count, one or more rows may contain more or fewer columns than the rest of the file.
The most common reason is that the commas in your file are being read as part of the text instead of as separators, which puts a whole row into a single column. If that is what you are seeing, follow the steps in Why is my CSV file using commas instead of displaying columns? to split the data properly. Re-exporting the file will not resolve this on its own.
Otherwise, open the file in Google Sheets or Excel and check that the data appears consistently across the same columns. Files that were manually edited in a text editor are particularly likely to encounter this problem.
Files generated by another application
If your CSV was exported from another CRM, database, scraping tool, or application, try importing that file into Google Sheets first.
If the data looks correct there, download it again using: File > Download > Comma-separated values (.csv)
This is often the simplest way to create a clean CSV that Hunter can process.
Still having trouble?
If you've tried the steps above and your file still can't be uploaded, contact our support team. If possible, attach the CSV file you're trying to import and let us know which Hunter feature you're uploading it to. This will help us identify the problem more quickly.