Import your animals from a spreadsheet

1. Select Add in the top bar.
2. Under Have a code or existing record?, choose Import spreadsheet.
3. Choose your file under Upload CSV or Excel file, or paste the rows into …or paste rows (CSV/TSV).
4. Select Review rows. Nothing is created yet.
5. Check the rows. Each one shows its state, such as Ready or Duplicate, and what needs fixing if anything does. Only rows marked Ready can be ticked.
6. Select Import and the number of ticked rows. The app then says how many animals it imported and how many it skipped.

Set up your file

The first row names the columns. The import recognizes these, and a few common alternatives:

Column	What to put in it
name	The animal’s name. Required.
species	dog, cat, or horse. Required.
sex	Male or Female.
dateOfBirth	The date of birth.
breed	The breed.
registry, registryIdentifier	The registry and the registration number.
microchip	The microchip number.

• Write dates as year-month-day, such as 2024-03-15. A date like 04/06/2025 is read month first, as April 6. A date the import can’t read, such as 25/12/2020, holds that row back until you fix it.
• Leave out any Owner or Owner ID column. The import reads it as the animal’s owner, so those animals don’t end up in your account.
• Other columns, including sire and dam, are listed after you select Review rows. Unless you untick them, they’re kept on each animal as unverified notes, under From your import on its record. They don’t record the animal’s parents.

Rows that aren’t imported

• A row is marked Duplicate when its registration number or microchip matches an animal that’s already in AnimalTrace. It can’t be ticked, so you don’t end up with two records for one animal.
• A row with a species AnimalTrace doesn’t have is skipped when you import. The Species list on the Add form shows the species you can use.

Your plan’s limit

Imported animals count toward your plan’s animal limit: 5 on Client Free and 100 on Client Pro. Rows beyond the limit are skipped. See what each plan includes.

Registration numbers you import stay unverified until they’re reviewed.