This article explains how to use Data Loader to import Person Account records, including how to set the Person Account record type on each row of your import file.

Requirements

For Salesforce editions with API Access, administrators can use Data Loader to import Person Accounts.

Set Accounts as Person or Business Accounts via Record Type in Your Import File

1. Add a RecordTypeId column in your import file.
2. Populate it with the value of the desired Person Account record type's Id.

The record type Id for Person Accounts can be found in the Setup section's URL. Access the Setup Menu:

The corresponding URLs should look something like the examples below, where 012o00000008ets is the record type Id:

Additional Fields for Person Account Imports

For a list of additional fields you can include when specifying an Account as a Person Account via a Person Account record type, reference the "IsPersonAccount Fields" section of the Account | SOAP API Developer Guide.

Attached is the file PersonAccountImportTemplate.csv, which contains column headers labeled to match and automatically map to standard Person Account fields in Salesforce. Row 2 contains example data for illustration purposes, and row 3 contains notes which can be expanded to show relevant details.

Importing the File

Once you have prepared your file, perform an Insert via Data Loader to import your Person Accounts. See Insert, Update, or Delete Data Using Data Loader for more details.

Note: You can map First Name and Last Name, or Name (Full Name), but not both — you must choose one or the other, or the insert operation will fail. If you use First Name and Last Name for the import, only Last Name is required.