---
title: "Duplicate contacts in HubSpot: how to find them and decide what to merge in Chile and Latin America"
description: "How HubSpot prevents duplicates, why they still appear, how to find them with the native duplicates tool and how to decide what to merge: merges are final."
slug: "hubspot-duplicate-contacts"
canonical: "https://www.revenuehublatam.com/en/tools/hubspot-audit/guides/hubspot-duplicate-contacts"
language: "en"
published: "2026-04-08"
updated: "2026-10-04"
author: "Roberto Guerra"
author_role: "Founder and Revenue Architect, Revenue Hub Latam"
publisher: "Revenue Hub Latam"
publisher_url: "https://www.revenuehublatam.com"
---

# Duplicate contacts in HubSpot: how to find them and decide what to merge in Chile and Latin America

> HubSpot already prevents many duplicates: it deduplicates contacts by email address and companies by domain. Duplicates still appear when the same person uses two emails, when companies have no domain, or when imports and integrations create records from several sources. To find them, use the native duplicates tool and review each pair before merging, because merged records cannot be reverted. This guide explains how to decide what to merge and how to stop new duplicates, for teams in Chile and Latin America.

## How does HubSpot prevent duplicates by default?

According to [HubSpot deduplication documentation](https://knowledge.hubspot.com/records/deduplication-of-records), contacts are deduplicated by email address and companies by company domain name.

A form submission or an import with an existing email updates that contact instead of creating a new one.

## Why do duplicates still appear?

- The same person writes from a personal and a work email.
- Companies were created without a domain, so HubSpot has nothing to match on.
- The ERP and the forms create the same company under its legal name and its trading name.
- Reps create records by hand before searching for them.

> **Knowing who creates your records is half of the fix**
> The record source map in HubSpot Audit from Revenue Hub Latam shows which apps, imports and integrations create your contacts, companies and deals.

## How do you find duplicates with HubSpot tools?

The [duplicates management tool](https://knowledge.hubspot.com/records/manage-duplicate-records) suggests pairs of contacts and companies. It requires a Professional or Enterprise subscription.

For contacts it compares first name, last name, email, phone, IP country, zip code and company; for companies, domain, name, country, phone and industry.

![Data quality checks with the share of records affected by each one, such as companies without a domain or contacts without an owner.](https://www.revenuehublatam.com/images/hubspot-audit/audit-calidad-datos-en.webp)
*Data quality in HubSpot Audit, with sample data.*

## How do you decide what to merge?

> **Merging is permanent**
> HubSpot states that merged records cannot be reverted. Review every pair first.

- **Owner:** if each record has a different owner, agree who keeps the relationship first.
- **Lifecycle stage and open deals:** a merge can move a customer back or join two buying processes.
- **Associations:** confirm it is the same person or company, not two branches or subsidiaries.
- **Subscriptions and consent:** keep the most restrictive communication preference.

When in doubt, do not merge. Mark the pair for review with its owner and document the rule you used.

## How do you prevent new duplicates?

1. **Give every company a domain**: Including the ones created by integrations.
2. **Choose one source of creation per object**: If your ERP and your forms both create companies, define which one wins.
3. **Import with a unique identifier**: Email, domain or record ID, so imports update instead of creating.
4. **Search before creating**: And show why it matters inside the record, not in a manual nobody reads.

## What can HubSpot Audit measure, and what does it not do?

HubSpot Audit measures the conditions that create duplicates: companies without a domain, contacts without email, placeholder names and how many sources create each object.

![Who creates the portal's contacts and companies: forms, users, imports, API and integrations, with their 90-day share and the 12-month count.](https://www.revenuehublatam.com/images/hubspot-audit/audit-fuentes-en.webp)
*Record sources in HubSpot Audit, with sample data.*

HubSpot Audit does not merge records: merging stays in HubSpot, with your team's judgment. For the broader picture, see the [seven data quality problems](https://www.revenuehublatam.com/en/tools/hubspot-audit/guides/hubspot-data-quality-problems).

## FAQ

### Does HubSpot detect duplicate contacts automatically?

It prevents duplicates with the same email address and companies with the same domain. For similar but not identical records, use the duplicates management tool, available with Professional or Enterprise subscriptions.

### Can I undo a merge in HubSpot?

No. HubSpot states that merged records cannot be reverted. Review owner, stage, deals and associations before merging.

### Why do I have duplicate companies?

Usually because companies were created without a domain, or because several integrations create companies with different names for the same organization, as often happens in Chile and Latin America with legal and trading names.

### Should I merge two contacts with different owners?

Not before the owners agree who keeps the relationship. Merging first and asking later usually ends in a lost deal or an angry rep.

### Does HubSpot Audit merge duplicates?

No. It measures the conditions that create duplicates and shows where they come from. Your team does the merging in HubSpot, with the native tool.

### How do I stop imports from creating duplicates?

Import with a unique identifier such as email, domain or record ID, so HubSpot updates existing records instead of creating new ones.