Import Terms into the Term Store in SharePoint

I’m currently working on an intranet portal for a client that requires managing a large number of metadata terms, such as departments, regions, and document types. Manually adding each term one by one would have taken a lot of time. That’s when I used the Import feature in the SharePoint Term Store.

SharePoint allows you to bulk import terms into the Term Store using a CSV file. It’s a quick and efficient way to create term sets, especially when you’re dealing with a large volume of terms.

In this article, I will show you how to import terms into the SharePoint Term Store using a CSV file.

Table of Contents:

Import Terms into Term Store in SharePoint

Let’s say you want to import a term set called Departments with values like Human Resources, Finance, and IT. Here’s how you can do it:

Download the Import CSV Template

SharePoint provides a predefined CSV template that contains the correct column headers and structure needed for importing terms. This ensures your data is formatted correctly and avoids errors during import.

If you skip this step and try to create your own file from scratch, SharePoint may reject it due to missing or incorrect columns. That’s why it’s recommended to always start with the official Import CSV file from the Term Store.

Follow the steps below:

Go to the SharePoint Admin Center. In the left menu, select Content services > Term store. Click on the term group and then choose Import term set.

Import Terms into the Term Store in SharePoint

Click sample-metadata.csv to get the import template.

How to Import Metadata Terms into Term Store

When you open the file, it will look like the image below.

Bulk Import Terms into SharePoint Term Store

Now, fill out the CSV according to your requirements. After filling in the CSV file, it looks like the screenshot below.

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Import CSV into Term Store in SharePoint

Go back to the Term Store Management Tool. Select the group where you want to add the term set. Click Import Term Set.

Click the Browse button and choose the CSV file. Then click Import.

Import Term Set into SharePoint Metadata Store

After import, we will see the term set and its hierarchy appear in the Term Store.

SharePoint Online Import Terms into Term Store

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Test Imported Terms in SharePoint List

Go to a SharePoint list, create a new Managed Metadata column linked to the term set (Department).

How to Import Terms into the Term Store in SharePoint

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