--- title: "Add external contacts" slug: "add-external-contacts" updated: 2026-07-23T10:06:56Z published: 2026-07-23T10:06:56Z canonical: "help.8x8.com/add-external-contacts" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.8x8.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Add external contacts **8x8 Work** administrators on X Series can now centrally maintain a directory of contacts that are external to their organization. These contacts are accessible to end-users in the contact directory of the following apps: - **8x8 Work for Desktop** - **8x8 Work for Mobile** - **8x8 Frontdesk** - **8x8 Contact Center** Agent Console ## Limitations - External contacts are not visible on the deskphone directory. - During bulk upload of contacts, file size is limited to 10 MB (~ 40000 contacts) per upload. - Custom labels on custom fields are not supported. **Create an external contact** You can create an external contact one at a time or import them in bulk. To create an external contact: 1. Go to **Home** >**Contacts**. 2. In the **Contacts** page, click **Create contact**. 3. Enter the basic contact information such as first name, last name, and phone number. 4. Enter additional information as necessary. 5. Click **Save**. An external contact is now successfully created. Go back to the Contacts page to view the newly added contact. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/e3a59e39-abd3-4423-964c-0a4008dc5673/Images/Documentation/external-contacts-add(2).gif?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-03T21%3A51%3A22Z&se=2026-11-03T22%3A51%3A22Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=1WmsjE8JQ1odmWG6J22p%2B%2BvZC84pbUfsJa%2Bz4pBVaAI%3D) **Import external contacts in bulk** 1. Go to **Home**>**Contacts**. 2. In the **Contacts** page, click **Bulk upload**. 3. If you already have an existing list of contacts in the CSV format, locate the file, drag and drop it. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/e3a59e39-abd3-4423-964c-0a4008dc5673/Images/Documentation/bulk-upload1.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-03T21%3A51%3A22Z&se=2026-11-03T22%3A51%3A22Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=1WmsjE8JQ1odmWG6J22p%2B%2BvZC84pbUfsJa%2Bz4pBVaAI%3D) 4. If you need to create a list of contacts: 1. Download the template in CSV format. 2. Open the template file in Excel, add contact information and save the file. Gather the guidelines from [Bulk Contact Upload Template Fields](/documentation/docs/add-external-contacts#bulk-contact-upload-template-fields). 3. Drag and drop this file to the bulk upload page. 5. Click **Save** The processing time may vary depending on the file size. While the upload is in progress, check out the status in the header under **Tasks**. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/e3a59e39-abd3-4423-964c-0a4008dc5673/Images/Documentation/bulk-upload-status-check.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-03T21%3A51%3A22Z&se=2026-11-03T22%3A51%3A22Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=1WmsjE8JQ1odmWG6J22p%2B%2BvZC84pbUfsJa%2Bz4pBVaAI%3D) 6. Once the upload is complete, you will be notified with a message. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/e3a59e39-abd3-4423-964c-0a4008dc5673/Images/Documentation/bulk-upload-success.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-03T21%3A51%3A22Z&se=2026-11-03T22%3A51%3A22Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=1WmsjE8JQ1odmWG6J22p%2B%2BvZC84pbUfsJa%2Bz4pBVaAI%3D) > [!NOTE] > Note: > > To update external contacts in bulk, click **Generate contact report** to download the existing contacts in the CSV format. Make the necessary changes and save it. Upload the CSV file following the procedure above. **Search for contacts** With the ability to search external contacts by name, email, job title, department, phone number etc., you can now access the desired contacts quickly. This comes in handy especially if you are searching through a long list of contacts. 1. Go to **Home > Contacts** to view the list of existing contacts. 2. In the search box, enter a keyword and press Enter to search and filter the contact list based on the keyword. A resulting contact list displays. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/e3a59e39-abd3-4423-964c-0a4008dc5673/Images/Documentation/contact-search.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-03T21%3A51%3A22Z&se=2026-11-03T22%3A51%3A22Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=1WmsjE8JQ1odmWG6J22p%2B%2BvZC84pbUfsJa%2Bz4pBVaAI%3D) **Access external contacts in the 8x8 apps** As an **8x8 Work** administrator, once you have uploaded the external contacts, they are visible to phone system users via the following apps: > [!NOTE] > Note: > > We do not support presence for external contacts. - **8x8 Work for Desktop**: Find the external contacts in the Contacts tab. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/e3a59e39-abd3-4423-964c-0a4008dc5673/Images/Documentation/access-contacts.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-03T21%3A51%3A22Z&se=2026-11-03T22%3A51%3A22Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=1WmsjE8JQ1odmWG6J22p%2B%2BvZC84pbUfsJa%2Bz4pBVaAI%3D) - **8x8 Work for Mobile** - 8x8 Frontdesk - **8x8 Contact Center** Agent Console ## Bulk contact upload template fields The following table lists the configuration fields (mandatory and non-mandatory) used to create contact in bulk. | Column Header | Required/ Optional | Purpose | Allowed values and limitations | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Contact.FirstName | R | Given (First) name | Minimum two characters. Maximum 30 characters. | - Free text - Valid special characters: ., &, -, _, ‘ . | | User.LastName | R | Family name or last name | Minimum two characters. Maximum 30 characters. | - Free text - Valid special characters: ., &, -, _, ‘ . | | NickName | O | Nickname | | | | Contact.Title | O | Contact's job title such as Sales Representative or Executive Assistant. | | - Free text - Appears in the **contact directory** as the title. | | Contact.Department | O | Contact's department such as Sales or Marketing. | | Appears in the **contact directory**. | | Contact.Location | O | Contact's location | | | | Contact.PhoneNumber | O | User's phone number including the country code. | Multiple values with format number1 type1: number2 type2 where type can be WORK, MOBILE, HOME, OTHER, e.g. e.g. +12345678901 WORK: +447890123456 MOBILE | - The user’s personal contact number such as cell phone. This number appears in the **contact directory** as the personal telephone number. - Excel interprets **+** prefix as a formula operator. Do not include the **+** prefix, or replace it with 00. For example, use 14088001500 instead of +14088001500, or 00442070966000 instead of +442070966000. | | Contact.Emails | O | Contact emails address | Single Email address | Must be a valid email address. | | Contact.Custom.Field1 | O | First custom field | | | | Contact.Custom.Field2 | O | Second custom field | | | | Contact.Custom.Field3 | O | Third custom field | | | | Contact.ContactID | Required only if updating existing contact | Unique ID from a previous Contacts Report download | | |