How to Import PST Contacts to Office 365 in a Couple of Clicks ?

PST files store your Outlook contacts alongside your emails, calendars, and tasks. When you move to Office 365, you need those contacts in your O365 address book, not locked inside a local PST file. The process requires two steps: extract the contacts from the PST to CSV format, then import that CSV into your Office 365 account.

The Turgs PST Contacts Extractor handles the first step. It reads PST files directly and exports all contact records to a CSV file that Office 365 can import without modification. You don’t need Outlook installed to run it. This guide covers the complete two-stage process.

Why Import PST Contacts to Office 365

Three scenarios commonly require moving PST contacts to Office 365:

First, migrating from Outlook desktop to cloud-based Office 365. When an organization moves its mailboxes to Microsoft 365, contact data needs to come along. Second, onboarding employees. When a new team member takes over an account, their predecessor’s contacts in PST format need to be imported to the active Office 365 mailbox. Third, consolidation. Multiple team members may have overlapping contact lists in PST files that need to be merged into a single shared address book in Office 365.

Step 1: Extract PST Contacts to CSV

Download and install the Turgs PST Contacts Extractor on your Windows machine.

Step 1: Launch the PST Contacts Extractor application. The startup screen shows your loading options.

Step 2: Click Add File or Add Folder to load your PST file. You can select a single PST file or an entire folder containing multiple PST files for batch processing.

Step 3: The tool displays your PST folder structure. Check the Contacts folder in your PST file and preview the contact records to verify you’ve selected the right data.

Step 4: Click the Convert button in the menu bar and select CSV as the output format. CSV is the format that Office 365’s contact import accepts.

Step 5: Set your destination folder where the CSV file will be saved, then click Convert again to start the extraction.

The tool extracts all contacts from your PST file and saves them as a clean CSV file. Also see: how to convert CSV to vCard if you need contacts in vCard format instead.

Step 2: Import CSV into Office 365

With the CSV file ready, import it into Office 365 Contacts:

1. Sign in to your Office 365 account.
2. Open the People or Contacts app from the waffle menu.
3. Click Manage contacts or the import option (the exact label varies by O365 version).
4. Choose Import contacts.
5. Browse to your CSV file and click Open.
6. Click Import to upload all contacts from the CSV to your Office 365 address book.

The imported contacts appear in your People section in Office 365 immediately after the import completes. They sync to Outlook desktop and Outlook mobile apps connected to the same account.

Key Features of the PST Contacts Tool

Works without Outlook: The PST Contacts Extractor reads PST files directly without requiring Outlook to be installed. This is especially useful for IT teams migrating contact data on machines that don’t have Outlook configured.

Supports all Outlook PST versions: PST files from Outlook 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Microsoft 365 are all supported. The extraction process is identical regardless of which Outlook version created the PST.

Contact preview before export: The tool shows you a full preview of all contact records found in the PST file before you start the extraction. This lets you verify the data is complete and correct before generating the CSV output.

Bulk processing: Load multiple PST files at once using the Add Folder option. The tool generates a separate CSV file for each PST, keeping contact lists organized by source.

Free trial available: The demo version extracts 25 contacts from the PST file. This is enough to verify the CSV output format and confirm it imports correctly into Office 365 before purchasing the full license.

Limitations to Know

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I see my PST contacts in Office 365 after import?

Yes. After importing the CSV file into Office 365’s People app, all contacts appear immediately in your address book. They sync across Outlook desktop, Outlook mobile, and the Office 365 web interface connected to the same account.

Does the tool support PST contacts from Outlook 2019?

Yes. The PST Contacts Extractor works with PST files from all Outlook versions from Outlook 2003 through Outlook 2021 and Microsoft 365. The extraction process is identical regardless of the PST version.

What are the limitations of the free trial?

The free version extracts 25 PST contacts to CSV format. This is enough to test the full workflow including the CSV import into Office 365 before committing to the licensed version.

Can I import PST contacts to Exchange Online or OWA?

Yes. Office 365, Exchange Online, and OWA all use the same underlying contacts system. Import the CSV through the Office 365 People app or Outlook Web App contacts section and the data will be available in all three interfaces simultaneously.

What happens if there are duplicate contacts in my PST file?

Duplicate contacts in the PST file will be extracted as separate records in the CSV and will appear as duplicates in Office 365 after import. Use Office 365’s built-in Manage duplicate contacts feature in the People app to identify and merge duplicates after the import.

Can I extract contacts from multiple PST files at once?

Yes. Use the Add Folder option to point the tool at a directory containing multiple PST files. The tool generates one CSV file per PST, keeping contact lists from different PST files separate and organized. Import each CSV into Office 365 separately to avoid mixing contact sets.