# Can subscription preferences be imported?

**URL:** <https://community.hubspot.com/t/can-subscription-preferences-be-imported/91176>\
**Category:** Email Marketing Tool\
**Tags:** professional\
**Created:** [October 5, 2023, 11:57am UTC](https://community.hubspot.com/t/can-subscription-preferences-be-imported/91176 "2023-10-05T11:57:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ERahman-FC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@ERahman-FC](https://community.hubspot.com/u/ERahman-FC)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 11:57am UTC](https://community.hubspot.com/t/can-subscription-preferences-be-imported/91176/1 "2023-10-05T11:57:05Z")

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We are onboarding to HubSpot and need to migrate our subscription preferences from another system. We have different subscription types and our contacts have different combinations of these subscriptions e.g. they may subscribe to our newsletter but not to general marketing messages, or they may subscribe to both etc.

Is there a way to do that using a text file (CSV). To be clear:

- This is not the same as importing an opt-out list
- Subscription preferences will be maintained from HubSpot after we have completed migration

Thanks in advance folks.

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**Author:** ![karstenkoehler](https://d10pqhm3lwygmk.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/community.hubspot.com/karstenkoehler/32/68554_2.png) [@karstenkoehler](https://community.hubspot.com/u/karstenkoehler)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 11:59am UTC](https://community.hubspot.com/t/can-subscription-preferences-be-imported/91176/2 "2023-10-05T11:59:31Z")

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Hi @ERahman-FC,

Unfortunately not, no. The only option is bulk editing after import: [Manage your contacts' messaging subscriptions](https://knowledge.hubspot.com/contacts/manage-your-subscription-preferences-and-types#update-subscriptions-in-bulk)

This means that you would import the subscription preferent / opt status into a custom property first. In a second step, you could then filter contacts by this custom property and bulk edit all contacts with a certain status accordingly, following the steps linked above.

This would mean twice as many bulk edits as you have subscription types, e.g. bulk edits for:

Opt in for type A

Opt out for type A

Opt in for type B

Opt out for type B

Best regards!

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**Author:** ![emanur](https://d10pqhm3lwygmk.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/community.hubspot.com/emanur/32/81676_2.png) [@emanur](https://community.hubspot.com/u/emanur)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2023, 11:24am UTC](https://community.hubspot.com/t/can-subscription-preferences-be-imported/91176/3 "2023-10-07T11:24:23Z")

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Thanks @karstenkoehler

Can subscription preferences be set through workflow? If so, then a better alternative - because it doesn’t involve manual intervention would be:

- Create a custom property with pre-configured values
- Create a workflow that enrolls contacts based on the custom property being known and only allows contacts to enroll once

Then when I import my enrichment file (columns would be Email Address and custom property) everything should be automated.

Does this work?

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**Author:** ![karstenkoehler](https://d10pqhm3lwygmk.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/community.hubspot.com/karstenkoehler/32/68554_2.png) [@karstenkoehler](https://community.hubspot.com/u/karstenkoehler)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2023, 11:32am UTC](https://community.hubspot.com/t/can-subscription-preferences-be-imported/91176/4 "2023-10-07T11:32:15Z")

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Hi @emanur,

Yes, it should, see here: [Manage your contacts' messaging subscriptions](https://knowledge.hubspot.com/contacts/manage-your-subscription-preferences-and-types#update-the-subscription-status-of-contacts-with-a-workflow-professional-and-enterprise-only)

Best regards!

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**Author:** ![Libby\_Austin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ec9cab/32.png) [@Libby\_Austin](https://community.hubspot.com/u/Libby_Austin)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2024, 10:49am UTC](https://community.hubspot.com/t/can-subscription-preferences-be-imported/91176/5 "2024-02-28T10:49:03Z")

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Hi, I have a related question… I am importing contacts from an old CRM into HubSpot as part of a migration. Can I import the original opt in date (from the old CRM) without creating a custom field for it? I can’t seem to find a field to populate the opt in date..
