Import data from Excel to SQL Server or Azure SQL Database
Applies to: 
SQL Server
Azure SQL Database
There are several ways to import data from Excel files to SQL Server or to Azure SQL Database. Some methods let you import data in a single step directly from Excel files; other methods require you to export your Excel data as text (CSV file) before you can import it.
This article summarizes the frequently used methods and provides links for more detailed information. A complete description of complex tools and services like SSIS or Azure Data Factory is beyond the scope of this article. For more information about the solution that interests you, follow the links provided.
List of methods
There are several ways to import data from Excel. You need to install SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) to use some of these tools.
You can use the following tools to import data from Excel:
| Export to text first (SQL Server and Azure SQL Database) | Directly from Excel (SQL Server on-premises only) |
|---|---|
| Import Flat File Wizard | SQL Server Import and Export Wizard |
| BULK INSERT statement | SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) |
| Bulk copy tool (bcp) | OPENROWSET function |
| Copy Wizard (Azure Data Factory) | |
| Azure Data Factory |
If you want to import multiple worksheets from an Excel workbook, you typically have to run any of these tools once for each sheet.
For more information, see limitations and known issues for loading data to or from Excel files.
Import and Export Wizard
Import data directly from Excel files by using the SQL Server Import and Export Wizard. You also can save the settings as a SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) package that you can customize and reuse later.
In SQL Server Management Studio, connect to an instance of the SQL Server Database Engine.
Expand Databases.
Right-click a database.
Select Tasks.
Choose to Import Data or Export Data:
This launches the wizard:
For more information, see the following articles:
- Start the SQL Server Import and Export Wizard
- Get started with this simple example of the Import and Export Wizard
Integration Services (SSIS)
If you're familiar with SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) and don't want to run the SQL Server Import and Export Wizard, you can create an SSIS package that uses the Excel Source and the SQL Server Destination in the data flow instead.
For more information, see the following articles:
To start learning how to build SSIS packages, see the tutorial How to Create an ETL Package.
OPENROWSET and linked servers
Important
In Azure SQL Database, you can't import directly from Excel. You must first export the data to a text (CSV) file.
The ACE provider (formerly the Jet provider) that connects to Excel data sources is intended for interactive client-side use. If you use the ACE provider on SQL Server, especially in automated processes or processes running in parallel, you might see unexpected results.
Distributed queries
Import data directly into SQL Server from Excel files by using the Transact-SQL OPENROWSET or OPENDATASOURCE function. This usage is called a distributed query.
Important
In Azure SQL Database, you can't import directly from Excel. You must first export the data to a text (CSV) file.
Before you can run a distributed query, you have to enable the Ad Hoc Distributed Queries server configuration option, as shown in the following example. For more info, see Server configuration: Ad Hoc Distributed Queries.
sp_configure 'show advanced options', 1;
RECONFIGURE;
GO
sp_configure 'Ad Hoc Distributed Queries', 1;
RECONFIGURE;
GO
The following code sample uses OPENROWSET to import the data from the Excel Sheet1 worksheet into a new database table.
USE ImportFromExcel;
GO
SELECT * INTO Data_dq
FROM OPENROWSET('Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0',
'Excel 12.0; Database=C:\Temp\Data.xlsx', [Sheet1$]);
GO
Here's the same example with OPENDATASOURCE.
USE ImportFromExcel;
GO
SELECT * INTO Data_dq
FROM OPENDATASOURCE('Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0',
'Data Source=C:\Temp\Data.xlsx;Extended Properties=Excel 12.0')...[Sheet1$];
GO
To append the imported data to an existing table instead of creating a new table, use the INSERT INTO ... SELECT ... FROM ... syntax instead of the SELECT ... INTO ... FROM ... syntax used in the preceding examples.
To query the Excel data without importing it, just use the standard SELECT ... FROM ... syntax.
For more info about distributed queries, see the following articles:
1 Distributed queries are still supported in SQL Server, but the documentation for this feature isn't updated.
Linked servers
You can also configure a persistent connection from SQL Server to the Excel file as a linked server. The following example imports the data from the Data worksheet on the existing Excel linked server EXCELLINK into a new SQL Server database table named Data_ls.
USE ImportFromExcel;
GO
SELECT * INTO Data_ls FROM EXCELLINK...[Data$];
GO
You can create a linked server from SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), or by running the system stored procedure sp_addlinkedserver, as shown in the following example.
DECLARE @RC INT;
DECLARE @server NVARCHAR(128);
DECLARE @srvproduct NVARCHAR(128);
DECLARE @provider NVARCHAR(128);
DECLARE @datasrc NVARCHAR(4000);
DECLARE @location NVARCHAR(4000);
DECLARE @provstr NVARCHAR(4000);
DECLARE @catalog NVARCHAR(128);
-- Set parameter values
SET @server = 'EXCELLINK';
SET @srvproduct = 'Excel';
SET @provider = 'Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0';
SET @datasrc = 'C:\Temp\Data.xlsx';
SET @provstr = 'Excel 12.0';
EXEC @RC = [master].[dbo].[sp_addlinkedserver] @server,
@srvproduct,
@provider,
@datasrc,
@location,
@provstr,
@catalog;
For more info about linked servers, see the following articles:
For more examples and info about both linked servers and distributed queries, see the following article:
Prerequisites
To use the rest of the methods described on this page (the BULK INSERT statement, the bcp tool, or Azure Data Factory), first you have to export your Excel data to a text file.
Save Excel data as text
In Excel, select File | Save As and then select Text (Tab-delimited) (*.txt) or CSV (Comma-delimited) (*.csv) as the destination file type.
If you want to export multiple worksheets from the workbook, select each sheet, and then repeat this procedure. The Save as command exports only the active sheet.
Tip
For best results with data importing tools, save sheets that contain only the column headers and the rows of data. If the saved data contains page titles, blank lines, notes, and so forth, you might see unexpected results later when you import the data.
Import Flat File Wizard
Import data saved as text files by stepping through the pages of the Import Flat File Wizard.
As described previously in the Prerequisites section, you have to export your Excel data as text before you can use the Import Flat File Wizard to import it.
For more info about the Import Flat File Wizard, see Import Flat File to SQL Wizard.
BULK INSERT command
BULK INSERT is a Transact-SQL command that you can run from SQL Server Management Studio. The following example loads the data from the Data.csv comma-delimited file into an existing database table.
As described previously in the Prerequisites section, you have to export your Excel data as text before you can use BULK INSERT to import it. BULK INSERT can't read Excel files directly. With the BULK INSERT command, you can import a CSV file that is stored locally or in Azure Blob storage.
USE ImportFromExcel;
GO
BULK INSERT Data_bi FROM 'C:\Temp\data.csv'
WITH (
FIELDTERMINATOR = ',',
ROWTERMINATOR = '\n'
);
GO
For more info and examples for SQL Server and Azure SQL Database, see the following articles:
The bulk copy tool (bcp)
The bcp tool is run from the command prompt. The following example loads the data from the Data.csv comma-delimited file into the existing Data_bcp database table.
As described previously in the Prerequisites section, you have to export your Excel data as text before you can use bcp to import it. The bcp tool can't read Excel files directly. Use to import into SQL Server or SQL Database from a test (CSV) file saved to local storage.
Important
For a text (CSV) file stored in Azure Blob storage, use BULK INSERT or OPENROWSET. For an example, see Use BULK INSERT or OPENROWSET(BULK...) to import data to SQL Server.
bcp.exe ImportFromExcel..Data_bcp in "C:\Temp\data.csv" -T -c -t ,
For more info about bcp, see the following articles:
- Import and export bulk data using bcp (SQL Server)
- bcp Utility
- Prepare data for bulk export or import
Copy Wizard (ADF)
Import data saved as text files by stepping through the pages of the Azure Data Factory (ADF) Copy Wizard.
As described previously in the Prerequisites section, you have to export your Excel data as text before you can use Azure Data Factory to import it. Data Factory can't read Excel files directly.
For more info about the Copy Wizard, see the following articles:
- Data Factory Copy Wizard
- Tutorial: Create a pipeline with Copy Activity using Data Factory Copy Wizard.
Azure Data Factory
If you're familiar with Azure Data Factory and don't want to run the Copy Wizard, create a pipeline with a Copy activity that copies from the text file to SQL Server or to Azure SQL Database.
As described previously in the Prerequisites section, you have to export your Excel data as text before you can use Azure Data Factory to import it. Data Factory can't read Excel files directly.
For more info about using these Data Factory sources and sinks, see the following articles:
To start learning how to copy data with Azure data factory, see the following articles:
Common errors
Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0" hasn't been registered
This error occurs because the OLEDB provider isn't installed. Install it from Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable. Be sure to install the 64-bit version if Windows and SQL Server are both 64-bit.
The full error is:
Msg 7403, Level 16, State 1, Line 3
The OLE DB provider "Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0" has not been registered.
Can't create an instance of OLE DB provider "Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0" for linked server "(null)"
This error indicates that the Microsoft OLEDB wasn't configured properly. To resolve this issue, run the following Transact-SQL code:
EXEC sp_MSset_oledb_prop N'Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0', N'AllowInProcess', 1;
EXEC sp_MSset_oledb_prop N'Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0', N'DynamicParameters', 1;
The full error is:
Msg 7302, Level 16, State 1, Line 3
Cannot create an instance of OLE DB provider "Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0" for linked server "(null)".
The 32-bit OLE DB provider "Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0" can't be loaded in-process on a 64-bit SQL Server
This error occurs when a 32-bit version of the OLD DB provider is installed with a 64-bit SQL Server. To resolve this issue, uninstall the 32-bit version and install the 64-bit version of the OLE DB provider instead.
The full error is:
Msg 7438, Level 16, State 1, Line 3
The 32-bit OLE DB provider "Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0" cannot be loaded in-process on a 64-bit SQL Server.
The OLE DB provider "Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0" for linked server "(null)" reported an error
This error typically indicates a permissions issue between the SQL Server process and the file. Ensure that the account that is running the SQL Server service has full access permission to the file. We recommend against trying to import files from the desktop.
The full error is:
Msg 7399, Level 16, State 1, Line 3
The OLE DB provider "Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0" for linked server "(null)" reported an error. The provider did not give any information about the error.
Can't initialize the data source object of OLE DB provider "Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0" for linked server "(null)"
This error typically indicates a permissions issue between the SQL Server process and the file. Ensure that the account that is running the SQL Server service has full access permission to the file. We recommend against trying to import files from the desktop.
The full error is:
Msg 7303, Level 16, State 1, Line 3
Cannot initialize the data source object of OLE DB provider "Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0" for linked server "(null)".