---
title: "Save a spreadsheet as CSV UTF-8"
summary: "How to save a spreadsheet as CSV UTF-8 in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers, how to spot a file that is not UTF-8, and which imports take Excel directly."
updated: "2026-11-02"
section: "Help"
url: "https://zovos.ai/docs-csv-utf-8"
---

# Save a spreadsheet as CSV UTF-8

Zovos reads every CSV file as UTF-8 text. UTF-8 is the encoding that keeps accented names, curly quotation marks and symbols such as the euro sign exactly as you typed them. A CSV saved in an older encoding stores those characters in a way Zovos cannot read safely, and a name such as José would be stored garbled in your compliance records. So Zovos refuses the whole file instead. Nothing from it is imported, and the message names the row and column of the first character it could not read.

The fix is to save the file again as CSV UTF-8 and import it again. The steps below cover the spreadsheet tools most teams use. If your import takes an Excel workbook, you can skip the conversion and upload the .xlsx file as it is. The list of those imports is at the end of this page.

## Excel for Windows

1. Open the file in Excel.
2. Choose **File**, then **Save As**, then **Browse**.
3. In the **Save as type** list, choose **CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) (*.csv)**.
4. Choose **Save**. If Excel warns that some features may be lost, choose **Yes** to keep the CSV format.

The type named **CSV (Comma delimited)**, without UTF-8 in its name, saves in an older encoding. Use the one that says UTF-8.

## Excel for Mac

1. Open the file in Excel.
2. Choose **File**, then **Save As**.
3. In the **File Format** list, choose **CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) (.csv)**.
4. Choose **Save**.

As on Windows, the plain **Comma Separated Values (.csv)** format is not UTF-8.

## Google Sheets

1. Open the sheet.
2. Choose **File**, then **Download**, then **Comma Separated Values (.csv)**.

Google Sheets always writes a CSV download as UTF-8, so there is nothing else to set. It downloads the sheet you have open, so switch to the right tab first.

## Numbers

1. Open the spreadsheet in Numbers.
2. Choose **File**, then **Export To**, then **CSV**.
3. Open **Advanced Options** and check that **Text Encoding** is set to **Unicode (UTF-8)**.
4. Choose **Save**.

## How to tell a file is not UTF-8

A file that holds only plain letters, digits and punctuation reads the same in every encoding, so the problem shows up only once a name or a note has an accent or a special character. These are the signs.

- **Zovos refused the import.** The message says the file is not UTF-8 and names the row and column of the first character it could not read. Look at that cell first.
- **Accented names look garbled.** José shows as Jos� with a question mark in a diamond, or as José in another program. The same happens to curly quotation marks that Word or Outlook added to copied text.
- **The file came from another system.** Exports from older core, HR and learning systems often use an older encoding. Open the export in Excel or Google Sheets and save it again as CSV UTF-8.

If a name already looks garbled when you open the file in your spreadsheet tool, fix the name there before you save. Saving as UTF-8 keeps the text exactly as it appears, so it does not repair a character that was already damaged.

## Imports that take Excel directly

Every Zovos import that accepts a CSV file also accepts an Excel workbook (.xlsx), so you can upload the workbook without converting it. Zovos reads the first worksheet, and the import wizard in your AI assistant lets you pick the sheet. Zovos reads the values Excel saved and never runs a formula. Save a macro-enabled workbook (.xlsm) or an older .xls file as .xlsx first.

- **Core registers.** Risks, vendors, controls, policies, findings and information systems each have an **Import** button that takes a CSV or an .xlsx file.
- **Programs.** Complaints, loss events, training completions, the training roster, loans for credit risk review, and the accounts and staff roster of an access review all take either format.
- **Monitoring and oversight.** Model monitoring metric values, partner program AML metrics and the AML oversight metrics sheet take either format.
- **Third-party risk and audit.** Vendor reconciliation, questionnaire templates and co-source audit workpapers take either format.
- **The import wizard.** The wizard in your AI assistant takes a .csv or an .xlsx file for every register it lists, as described in [Onboarding your institution](/docs-onboarding).