How to: CSV Requirements

CSV File Creation Guidelines (For Structured Owner Uploads)
Follow these rules to ensure your CSV file uploads successfully.

Template: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1grHP4LkVQKHA7KlAY2hGNtMuWMSjZaJ8/view?usp=sharing

1. FILE FORMAT
• Must be a CSV file (.csv extension)
• First row must contain column headers exactly matching the required names (case-sensitive)
• Encoding: UTF-8
• Delimiter: comma ( , )
• No empty file — must have at least one data row after the header

2. REQUIRED COLUMNS
Your CSV must have all of these column headers, spelled exactly as shown:

firstName
middleName
lastName
dateOfBirth
address
city
state
zip
vehicleSoldDate
vin

Columns that must have a value in every row:
firstName, lastName, address, city, state, zip, vin

Columns that can be blank:
middleName, dateOfBirth, vehicleSoldDate

3. GENERAL RULES
• No blank rows
• For vehicles with multiple owners, create a separate row for each owner and repeat the same VIN for each row

4. NAME FIELDS
• firstName and lastName cannot be empty
• middleName may be empty

5. DATE FIELDS (dateOfBirth, vehicleSoldDate)
• Allowed formats: YYYY-MM-DD or MM/DD/YYYY
• Day and month can be 1 or 2 digits
• Year must be 4 digits

6. STATE
• Exactly 2 letters (example: CA, TX)
• Uppercase preferred, lowercase allowed

7. ZIP CODE
• Must be either 5 digits (example: 90001)
• Or ZIP+4 format (example: 90001-1234)

8. VIN
• Cannot be empty
• Should be 17 characters, alphanumeric only (no spaces)
• If multiple owners for the same vehicle, VIN must be identical in each row for that vehicle

9. SAMPLE CSV

firstName,middleName,lastName,dateOfBirth,address,city,state,zip,vehicleSoldDate,vin
John,A,Smith,07-04-1990,123 Main St,Los Angeles,CA,90001,15-08-2025,1HGCM82633A004352
Mary,B,Johnson,05/05/1988,789 Pine Rd,Los Angeles,CA,90001,15-08-2025,1HGCM82633A004352
Jane,,Doe,1/2/1985,456 Oak Ave,San Diego,CA,92101-1234,5/6/2024,5FNYF6H57HB123456

Example: John Smith and Mary Johnson both own the same vehicle (VIN: 1HGCM82633A004352), so they appear on two rows with the same VIN and vehicleSoldDate.

See our template here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1grHP4LkVQKHA7KlAY2hGNtMuWMSjZaJ8/view?usp=sharing

10. COMMON REASONS FOR UPLOAD FAILURE
• Missing header or incorrect spelling (example: FirstName instead of firstName)
• Empty required-value cell
• Invalid date format (YYYY-MM-DD will fail)
• Invalid state code (must be exactly 2 letters)
• Invalid ZIP code (must be 5 digits or 5+4)
• Multiple owners for the same VIN combined into one row instead of separate rows