Can't find duplicate email in database

[Gudy74]

I have a contact whose email address is incorrect.  When I try to update it, I get this message: 

'This email address already belongs to a contact in your database.'

The problem is, I cannot find the email address anywhere in HubSpot.  I have searched through the contact's history, and it was never used there, and nothing pulls up when I search the contacts list as a whole.  I've tried looking at the restore options to see if it has been used at some point then deleted, but it's not there either.  What am I missing?  Thank you!

[franksteiner79 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Gudy74 

To the best of my knowledge this might be due contacts being able to have additional emails, but these emails are not searchable from within the UX. When you search for the email that is allegedly in the system, do any contacts get suggested? Or does the search come up empty?

I just did a test in my demo portal, added a random email to an existing contact.

This still returns/suggests the right contact.

Alternatively, have you tried creating a new contact from scratch with the email that HubSpot is telling you already exists? This actually also tells you which contact already has that email:

Let me know if that gets you somewhere.

Frank

[LHirsch]

Currently, HubSpot uses the email address as a unique identifier for contacts, which prevents the creation of more than one contact with the same email in a single account. While this approach streamlines deduplication, it creates major operational challenges for organizations (such as real estate, brokerages, and any collaborative sales team) where the same person is shared among several users or teams, each needing a separate relationship or workflow.

Why is this important?

• Real-world Example: Multiple agents in my company regularly work with the same clients but manage independent transactions, deals, or engagement histories. Because HubSpot blocks duplicate contacts by email, only one owner can be assigned. The others must use cumbersome workarounds or lose key CRM functionality.
• Customer Experience: This causes confusion, disrupts accurate reporting and task management, and forces us to leave email data off of some contacts to avoid system blocks.
• Workarounds are inadequate: Using custom properties, notes, or omitting the email field breaks expected CRM usage and hurts adoption. Splitting the business into multiple portals is not practical or affordable.
• Industry Reality: In many industries, multiple salespeople, agents, or departments interact with the same individuals—each needing independent visibility, deal tracking, and communication history.

Feature request:

• Please allow contacts with duplicate email addresses to exist as separate records in the same account.
  • Ideally, make this an admin-level setting so organizations can opt-in to allow duplicates, understanding the deduplication tradeoffs.
  • Optionally, support additional unique contact identifiers (e.g., phone, custom field) or enforce uniqueness only within an owner/team boundary.
  • Ensure that timeline, conversations, and deal/association history remain independent for each record.

Benefits:

• Removes a major operational blocker for shared-client industries.
• Allows flexible, real-world CRM usage in line with how many teams actually operate.
• Increases adoption and satisfaction among larger/more collaborative sales orgs.

Previous requests/discussions:
I am aware there are multiple threads on this, and I am adding my use case and upvote—please prioritize this frequently requested feature!

Thank you for considering this update. It would be a game changer for many of your customers!

[Gudy74]

Thank you both!!!  Creating a contact is exactly what I needed to do.  I tried that, and sure enough, the duplicate email address was an 'additional email' under another contact.  Seriously, thank you.

[karstenkoehler · Accepted solution]

Hi @Gudy74,

Can you try creating a new contact with that email address? Once you enter the email address, HubSpot should point out to you the already existing record.

If that doesn't work, you can export all contacts on the contact index page, choosing to also include additional email addresses. You can then find the contact in the Excel file, look up the record ID and thus find the record in your CRM.

Best regards!

[franksteiner79 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Gudy74 

To the best of my knowledge this might be due contacts being able to have additional emails, but these emails are not searchable from within the UX. When you search for the email that is allegedly in the system, do any contacts get suggested? Or does the search come up empty?

I just did a test in my demo portal, added a random email to an existing contact.

This still returns/suggests the right contact.

Alternatively, have you tried creating a new contact from scratch with the email that HubSpot is telling you already exists? This actually also tells you which contact already has that email:

Let me know if that gets you somewhere.

Frank