LinkedIn does not export VCF files directly. It only provides CSV format through its data download feature. To get your LinkedIn connections as VCF: go to Settings > Data privacy > Get a copy of your data, select Connections, and request the archive. LinkedIn emails you a ZIP file containing Connections.csv. Then convert the CSV to VCF using a converter tool. Note: the CSV contains names, companies, positions, and LinkedIn URLs, but email addresses are included only if each connection chose to share them. Phone numbers are never exported.
Introduction
If you want to transfer your LinkedIn connections to your phone contacts, an email client, or a CRM that accepts vCard files, you need a two-step process: download the connections from LinkedIn as CSV, then convert to VCF. LinkedIn has never offered direct VCF export, and the CSV it provides has significant data limitations that affect the usefulness of the converted vCard file.
This guide walks through the complete workflow: requesting the data download, understanding what LinkedIn includes and excludes, cleaning the CSV, converting to VCF, and dealing with the missing email address problem that affects most LinkedIn exports.
What LinkedIn Actually Exports (and What It Does Not)
Before starting, it is important to understand what data you will actually get. LinkedIn’s connection export includes a limited set of fields.
| Field | Included? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| First Name | Yes | Always included |
| Last Name | Yes | Always included |
| Email Address | Sometimes | Only if connection chose to share (often blank) |
| Company | Yes | Current company at time of export |
| Position | Yes | Current job title |
| Connected On | Yes | Date you connected |
| LinkedIn URL | Yes | Profile URL for each connection |
| Phone Number | No | Never included in export |
| Profile Photo | No | Never included in export |
| Address | No | Never included in export |
The most important limitation is the email field. LinkedIn respects each user’s privacy settings, and the default setting hides email addresses from connection exports. In practice, most LinkedIn CSV exports have 50-90% of email addresses blank. Phone numbers are never included regardless of privacy settings. This means the resulting VCF file will contain names, companies, job titles, and LinkedIn URLs, but will be sparse on contact details compared to phone or email client exports.
Step 1: Download Your LinkedIn Connections as CSV
Log into your LinkedIn account at linkedin.com. Click your profile photo in the top right corner, then select Settings & Privacy. In the left sidebar, click Data privacy. Scroll to the “Get a copy of your data” section and click the link.
LinkedIn shows a list of data categories you can export. Select Connections (you can deselect other categories if you only want contacts). Click Request archive. LinkedIn processes your request and sends an email (typically within 10 minutes to 24 hours, depending on account size) with a download link.
Click the download link in the email. LinkedIn provides a ZIP file. Extract it, and look for the file named Connections.csv. This is the file containing your connection data. Open it in Excel or Google Sheets to preview the contents before converting.
Step 2: Clean the CSV Data
The raw LinkedIn CSV typically needs cleanup before conversion. The first row may contain a notice about missing email addresses rather than column headers. If so, delete this row so the actual headers (First Name, Last Name, Email Address, Company, Position, Connected On) are in row 1.
Review the data for inconsistencies: some names may contain extra spaces, company names may vary in formatting (e.g., “Google” vs “Google Inc.” vs “Google LLC”), and the “Connected On” date format may need adjustment. Remove any rows for connections you do not want in your VCF file (inactive accounts, people you no longer work with, etc.).
If you plan to import the VCF into a phone’s contact app, consider removing rows where both email and company are blank, as these entries will create nearly empty contact cards with just a name.
Step 3: Convert CSV to VCF
With the cleaned CSV ready, convert it to VCF using one of these methods:
Option A: Univik vCard Converter. Open Univik vCard Converter, load the LinkedIn CSV, map the columns (First Name, Last Name, Email, Company, Position) to vCard fields (N, EMAIL, ORG, TITLE), and export as VCF. You can also map the LinkedIn URL to the URL vCard property so each contact card includes a link back to their profile.
Option B: Google Contacts round-trip. Import the CSV into Google Contacts (contacts.google.com > Import), then export from Google as vCard (Export > vCard format). Google generates a single VCF file. This method works well but stores the contacts in your Google account, which may not be desirable.
Option C: Python script. Use Python’s csv and vobject libraries to parse the LinkedIn CSV and generate VCF output. This approach allows you to include the LinkedIn URL as a URL property and the connection date as a NOTE or custom X-property.
Dealing with Missing Email Addresses
The blank email problem is the biggest limitation of LinkedIn exports. Here are your options for addressing it.
Accept the gaps. If you are creating a VCF file primarily as a directory of names, companies, and LinkedIn profile links, the missing emails may not matter. The contacts still serve as a searchable reference.
Manual enrichment. For a small number of high-priority contacts (10-50), visit each person’s LinkedIn profile and check their “Contact info” section. If they have shared their email there, copy it manually into the CSV before converting. This is time-consuming but accurate.
Third-party enrichment tools. Services like Hunter.io, Apollo.io, or Snov.io can match LinkedIn profiles with publicly available business email addresses. These tools use domain patterns and public data to find emails. Be aware of GDPR and data privacy considerations when using enrichment services, especially for contacts in the EU.
Ask directly. For important professional contacts whose emails are missing, send them a LinkedIn message asking for their email address. This is the most privacy-respecting approach and often yields results since the person knows you and chose to connect.
Where to Import the VCF File
Once converted, the VCF file can be imported into most contact management platforms. A few destination-specific notes for LinkedIn data:
Phone contacts (iPhone/Android). Import works, but contacts will have minimal data (name, possibly email, company, title). No phone numbers means these contacts will not appear when someone calls you. The LinkedIn URL is useful as a quick link to their profile from your phone’s contacts app.
Email clients (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail). The imported contacts appear in your address book auto-complete, making it easier to email LinkedIn connections. Contacts with email addresses will be fully functional; those without will serve as directory entries.
CRM platforms. LinkedIn connection data is commonly imported into CRMs for sales outreach. The Company and Position fields are valuable for segmentation and lead scoring. Most CRMs accept VCF or the CSV directly. See our guides for Google Contacts, Zoho CRM, and other platforms.
Common Problems and Fixes
LinkedIn archive email never arrives. Check your spam folder. The email comes from LinkedIn with a download link. If it does not arrive within 24 hours, go back to Settings > Data privacy > Get a copy of your data and request the archive again. Also verify the email address on your LinkedIn account is correct and accessible.
CSV has a warning message in the first row instead of headers. LinkedIn sometimes inserts a notice about email visibility in row 1. Delete this row in Excel or Google Sheets so the actual column headers (First Name, Last Name, Email Address, etc.) are in the first row. Save the file, then proceed with conversion.
Names with non-Latin characters (Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew) display incorrectly. LinkedIn’s official documentation notes that CSV and vCard formats do not support all character sets. Names in these languages may appear garbled in the exported CSV. If this affects your connections, try opening the CSV in a text editor and saving as UTF-8 before converting to VCF.
Converted VCF contacts have no useful data beyond names. If most email fields are blank and you do not have phone numbers, the resulting VCF contacts are very sparse. Consider keeping the LinkedIn URL in the VCF (mapped to the URL field) so each contact card links to their profile. This makes the contact list usable as a quick-access directory.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can LinkedIn export contacts directly as VCF?
No. LinkedIn only exports connections as CSV through the Settings > Data privacy > Get a copy of your data feature. There is no VCF/vCard export option. You must convert the CSV to VCF using a converter tool after downloading.
Why are most email addresses missing from my LinkedIn export?
LinkedIn respects each user’s privacy settings. By default, the “Allow connections to export email” setting is toggled off. Only connections who have enabled this setting will have their email address included in your export. In practice, 50-90% of email fields are typically blank.
Does LinkedIn export phone numbers?
No. Phone numbers are never included in LinkedIn’s connection export, regardless of privacy settings. If a connection has shared their phone number on their profile’s “Contact info” section, you would need to copy it manually before converting to VCF.
Can I export LinkedIn connections from Sales Navigator?
Sales Navigator does not have a native CSV or VCF export for leads. You can download lead profile URLs, notes, and tags, but not full contact data. To get connection data, use the standard LinkedIn data download feature described in this guide, which exports your 1st-degree connections only.
Is it legal to export and use LinkedIn contact data?
Exporting your own 1st-degree connections via LinkedIn’s built-in data download feature is permitted under LinkedIn’s terms of service. However, using the data for mass unsolicited outreach (spam) may violate both LinkedIn’s terms and data protection regulations like GDPR. For B2B outreach, ensure you have a legitimate interest basis and honor opt-out requests.
Conclusion
Last verified: February 2026. LinkedIn data download tested from linkedin.com in Chrome 131. CSV export tested with accounts containing 200 to 3,000+ connections. Conversion tested with Univik vCard Converter and Google Contacts round-trip method.
Getting LinkedIn connections into VCF format requires two steps: download the CSV via Settings > Data privacy > Get a copy of your data, then convert using a VCF converter or Google Contacts. The biggest limitation is not the conversion process but the data itself: LinkedIn exports names, companies, positions, and profile URLs reliably, but email addresses depend on each connection’s privacy settings and phone numbers are never included. Set your expectations accordingly, and consider the LinkedIn URL as a valuable field to include in your VCF file for quick profile access from any contact app.
Before converting, do three things: remove the warning row that LinkedIn sometimes places in the first row of the CSV, delete connections you do not want in your address book, and decide how to handle the LinkedIn URL (map it to the URL vCard property so each contact card links directly to their profile). This turns the sparse LinkedIn data into a usable professional directory.
