How to Export Your Outlook Contacts to CSV

Exporting your Outlook contacts is essential if you're switching platforms, creating backups, or importing them into another tool (like BulkMail). The process varies slightly depending on the version of Outlook you're using, so follow the steps relevant to your version below.

Outlook for Microsoft 365 / Outlook 2021 / Outlook 2019 / Outlook 2016 (Windows Desktop)

1. Open Outlook.
2. Click on File in the top-left corner.
3. Select Open & Export.
4. Click Import/Export.
5. Choose Export to a file and click Next.
6. Select Comma Separated Values (CSV) and click Next.
7. Choose your Contacts folder (usually under your main email account).
8. Click Next.
9. Click Browse to choose where to save your CSV file and name it (e.g., mycontacts.csv).
10. Click Next, then Finish.
11. If prompted, set a date range or leave it blank to export all contacts.

Your CSV file will now be saved in the location you specified, ready to import into another system.

Outlook.com (Web Version / Browser-based Outlook)

1. Visit https://outlook.live.com and sign in.
2. Click on the App Launcher (9-dot icon) in the top-left and select People.
3. In the People tab, click Manage (usually near the top or under the gear icon).
4. Select Export Contacts.

5. Choose which contacts to export:

   • All contacts, or
   • A specific folder (e.g., “Contacts”, “Other Contacts”)
6. Click Export. A file named contacts.csv will automatically download.

This file can now be opened in Excel or imported into another platform like BulkMail.

Outlook for Mac (Outlook 365 / 2021 / 2019)

Unfortunately, exporting to CSV directly from Outlook for Mac isn’t supported by default. You can, however, follow this alternative method:

1. Open Outlook for Mac.
2. Go to File > Export.
3. Select Contacts to a list (tab-delimited text) and click Continue.
4. Choose a location and name your file.
5. Click Save.

Note: This exports your contacts as a .txt file. To convert it to a .csv, open the file in Excel, then:

• Click File > Save As
• Select CSV UTF-8 (.csv) as the file format
• Click Save

Outlook 2013 / 2010 (Windows Desktop)

1. Open Outlook.
2. Click on the File tab.
3. Select Options, then Advanced.
4. Under the Export section, click Export.
5. The Import and Export Wizard will open.
6. Select Export to a file, then click Next.
7. Choose Comma Separated Values (Windows) and click Next.
8. Select the Contacts folder under your account.
9. Click Next, then browse to choose a save location and name your file.
10. Click Next, then Finish.

Final Tips

• Make sure you’re exporting from the correct email account’s contact list.
• CSV files are ideal for uploading into BulkMail, Excel, CRMs, or backup systems.
• Always open the file in Excel after exporting to confirm the data looks correct.