5/21/2021 Import & Update Drivers in Bulk – Samsara Support

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Import & Update Drivers in Bulk

Written by Jen E
Updated 1 month ago

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Samsara makes it easy to add, edit, and update a set of new driver accounts all at once.

Adding New Drivers via CSV Upload

When adding new drivers, you can start by downloading the Sample Template CSV file at the bottom of this article that contains each of the columns you will need to fill in.
Once you fill in the required information, you can upload the file back to the Samsara Dashboard.

To use the sample template, please follow these instructions:

1. In the Dashboard, click on Settings > Drivers.

2. Click on More Actions > Upload CSV.
3. Click on Sample Template from the pop-up menu to download the template.

4. Open the template in a spreadsheet application, such as Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets.
5. Fill in the driver data, leaving the ID column blank (see the section below titled Preparing Data for via CSV Upload for more formatting reference).
6. Save the file as a .CSV file.
7. Upload the file back to the Samsara Dashboard (see the section below titled Uploading to the Samsara Dashboard).

Editing Existing Drivers via CSV Upload

You can use the bulk uploader to edit existing drivers. When doing so, you might find it useful to start by downloading your existing Drivers List.

To download existing driver data from the Samsara Dashboard, please follow these instructions:

1. In the Dashboard, click on Settings > Drivers.

2. Click on More Actions > Upload CSV.
3. Click on Drivers List to download your existing driver data.
4. Update the information in the CSV file (see the section below titled Preparing Data for Import via CSV Upload for more formatting reference).
5. Upload the file back to the Samsara Dashboard (see the section below titled Uploading to the Samsara Dashboard).

Uploading to the Samsara Dashboard

To upload the file to the Samsara Dashboard, please follow these instructions:

https://kb.samsara.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043472131-Import-Update-Drivers-in-Bulk- 1/6
5/21/2021 Import & Update Drivers in Bulk – Samsara Support
1. Click on More Actions then select Upload a file.
2. Choose the CSV file from your computer, or drag and drop the CSV file into the window.
3. Click Preview to review the drivers that will be added and/or edited.
4. Click Confirm to confirm the changes. 

Preparing Data for CSV Upload 

Here are some important things to keep in mind when creating your file:

The file must be properly formatted CSV file

The first row of the CSV file is the header row, and you must include it in the file
The CSV file must contain no more than 400 rows of data (including one row for the header)

You can use the table below to understand what type of data can be edited with the bulk uploader.

Column Description Example Rules

Must be blank
ID (not editable) The unique identifier for your driver 1 when adding new
drivers

Must be at least 4
characters long

Username (required) The driver’s username username Must be unique

Must not contain

any spaces
or @ characters

Password (required) The driver’s password pass

Name (required) The driver’s name First Last

Phone The driver’s phone number 1002003000 Must be a 10 digit

number

Notes Any notes for that driver Driver notes

License Number The driver’s license number 1241213 Must be unique

License State The driver’s license state AK

Setting that removes ELD

ELD Exempt TRUE
functionality for the driver

ELD Exempt ReasonThe reason the driver is ELD exempt Reason

16-hour Short-Haul Ability for driver to claim the Short-

TRUE
Exemption haul 16 hour short-haul exception

Adverse Driving Ability for driver to claim the Adverse

TRUE
Exemption Driving Exemption

Defer Off-Duty Ability for driver to claim Deferral of

TRUE
Exemption Off-Duty

Adverse Driving Ability for driver to claim the Adverse

TRUE
(Canada) Exemption Driving Exemption

ELD Personal Ability for driver to select Personal

TRUE
Conveyance (PC) Conveyance duty status

ELD Yard Moves Ability for driver to select Yard Move

TRUE
(YM) duty status

ELD Utility Ability for driver to claim the Utility

TRUE
Exemption Exemption

https://kb.samsara.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043472131-Import-Update-Drivers-in-Bulk- 2/6
5/21/2021 Import & Update Drivers in Bulk – Samsara Support
Ability for driver to select Waiting
Waiting Time (WT) TRUE
Time duty status

Day start hour for the driver’s hours

ELD Day Start Hour 0 or 12
of service logs

Honolulu - HST

Anchorage - AKST/AKDT

Los Angeles - PST/PDT

Phoenix - MST

Denver - MST/MDT

Chicago - CST/CDT

New York - EST/EDT

Home Terminal Timezone for the driver’s home
Halifax - AST/ADT
Timezone terminal
Azores - AZOT/AZOST

Reykjavik - GMT

London - GMT/BST

Paris - CET/CEST

Kaliningrad - EET

Helsinki - EET/EEST

Turkey - TRT

Carrier Name Carrier name override for the driver if

Override different than group default

Main Office Address Main office address override for the

Override driver if different than group default

Carrier US DOT DOT number override for the driver if

Number Override different than group default

Home Terminal
Home terminal name for the driver
Name

Home Terminal
Home terminal address for the driver
Address

Peer Group Tag The driver’s peer group(s) Must match an

existing tag

Vehicle Selection The tag that limits which vehicles the Must match an
Tag driver can select in the Driver App existing tag

The tag that limits which trailers the Must match an

Trailer Selection Tag
driver can select in the Driver App existing tag

ID Card Code The driver’s ID card

Tachograph Card The driver’s tachograph card

Tags The driver’s tag(s) Must match an

existing tag

US Short Haul Ability for driver to claim the Short-

Exemption haul Air-mile radius exemption

Driver ID The driver’s Bluetooth Key ID

https://kb.samsara.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043472131-Import-Update-Drivers-in-Bulk- 3/6
5/21/2021 Import & Update Drivers in Bulk – Samsara Support
USA Property (8/70)

USA Property (7/60)

USA Passenger (8/70)

USA Passenger (7/60)

Alaska Property (8/80)

Alaska Property (7/70)

Alaska Passenger (8/80)

Alaska Passenger (7/70)

Nebraska (8/80)

North Carolina (8/80)

North Carolina (7/70)

Oklahoma (8/70)

Oklahoma (7/60)

Oregon (8/80)

Oregon (7/70)
Driver Ruleset Cycle Name of cycle
South Carolina (8/80)

South Carolina (7/70)

Texas (7/70)

Wisconsin (8/80)

Wisconsin (7/70)

California School/FLV
(8/80)

California Farm (8/112)

California Property (8/80)

California Flammable
Liquid (8/80)

California Passenger (8/80)

California Motion Picture

(8/80)

Florida (8/80)

Florida (7/70)

Must match one of

the above rulesets
Driver Ruleset US If override is a
Two character state code TX
State to Override Federal ruleset,
State field should
be left blank

34-hour Restart
Driver Ruleset
Time to restart cycle 24-hour Restart
Restart
None

Property (on-duty/off-
duty/sleeper)
Driver Ruleset
Time to reset the break clocks None
Restbreak
California Mealbreak (off-
duty/sleeper)

Tips for a Successful Upload

https://kb.samsara.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043472131-Import-Update-Drivers-in-Bulk- 4/6
5/21/2021 Import & Update Drivers in Bulk – Samsara Support
When using Excel (or similar spreadsheet software tools), the default data format often omits leading 0s, which can lead to issues with the upload. For example, a username
such as “01551” would be incorrectly uploaded as “1551”. This issue can be resolved by changing the format of the column to “Text” and saving as a .CSV file.
📎 Driver Bulk Upload.csv (/hc/en-us/article_attachments/360061323972/Driver_Bulk_Upload.csv)
917 Bytes · Download (/hc/en-us/article_attachments/360061323972/Driver_Bulk_Upload.csv)

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5/21/2021 Import & Update Drivers in Bulk – Samsara Support

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