How to import drivers from Excel
If you have many drivers to add — migrating from an HR system, onboarding a new department, taking over an existing fleet — the import is much faster than the Add form. The workflow mirrors How to import vehicles from Excel so if you’ve done that, this will feel familiar.
The three-step workflow (same as Vehicles import)
- Export Movcar’s drivers file first — this gives you the template structure.
- Copy your data into that exported file, keeping every column and its formatting untouched.
- Import the edited file back into Movcar.
⚠ The most common mistake — building a brand-new spreadsheet with your own column order. Movcar maps columns by the technical IDs in row 2 of the exported file. Always use the file Movcar gave you.
Step 1 — Export Movcar’s drivers file
My Fleet → Drivers → Export data (top-right). The export modal opens with a Type dropdown offering XLS, XLSX, CSV. Pick XLSX for most cases. Click Run Action — your browser downloads the file.
If your fleet has no drivers yet, you still get the file — it has just the two header rows ready for your data.
Step 2 — Understand the structure
Same two-header-row pattern as the Vehicles export:
| Row | Content | Editable? |
|---|---|---|
| Row 1 | Human-readable column titles — “First name”, “Primary email”, “Driving license number”, etc. | ❌ No |
| Row 2 | Technical field IDs — first_name, primary_email, driving_license, etc. | ❌ No |
| Row 3+ | One row per driver. | ✅ Yes |
The first column is the special ID column — leave it empty for new drivers, leave it filled for updates to existing drivers (same insert/update logic as Vehicles).
Step 3 — Copy your data in
Open the file. Starting at row 3, paste your driver data one column at a time so each value lands under the right header.
Minimum required per row: First name and Last name. Status defaults to Employed if left blank.
High-value optional columns to fill in:
- Primary email — without it, you can’t connect the driver to the mobile app later.
- Driving license number + Driver license expire date — for licence-expiry reminders.
- Department — for grouping in reports.
- Personal ID — for compliance.
- Internal ID — your own payroll/HR identifier.
Step 4 — Constrained values (enums)
A few columns only accept specific values:
- Status:
in_trial,employed,contracted,in_notice_period,left(maps to Inactive in the UI). - Driving license categories:
A,A1,B,C,C1,CE,D,D1,DE— exactly as shown.
Type these exactly as written (lowercase where shown). Anything else and the import will reject that row.
Step 5 — Save and import
Save your edited file (keep the original format — XLSX in / XLSX out).
Back at My Fleet → Drivers, click Import data (top-right). Pick your file, click Run Action. Movcar processes it row by row.
Step 6 — Check the result
On success: green toast “The action was executed successfully.” Reload the Drivers list — new drivers are at the top, updates are reflected in place.
On error: red toast with details about which row failed and why. Common causes:
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Import refuses to run | Row 1 or 2 of the spreadsheet was edited | Re-export, copy your data into rows 3+ of the fresh file |
| Some rows rejected | Status or licence category value typed wrong | Match the spelling and case exactly |
| Email validation failed | Email format invalid | Fix typos like missing @ or trailing spaces |
What’s next?
- Connect imported drivers to the mobile app — generate App Connection Codes
- Add driver licences as documents — upload the actual scans
- How to import vehicles from Excel — same workflow for the other half of your fleet
Was this article helpful?