Okta Certified Administrator · Part II

User Management

26% of Part II — hands-on configuration, not multiple choice.

User Management

Task 1: Import Users from a CSV File

5 tasks · this deck covers task 1 of 5

The Task

"Import users from a csv file"

A CSV file looks simple — rows and commas. But Okta's importer has specific, exact rules about what those rows and commas mean, and getting them wrong either breaks the import or silently does the wrong thing.

The Mechanism — The Template

The first row of the template is the header row — it contains the attribute names for the current Okta user profile. Don't delete it. Every row after that represents exactly one user, with mandatory columns filled in.

The Mechanism — Quoting

"You don't need to enclose entries in quotations." Plain values are the expected format:

firstName,lastName,email,department
Jane,Smith,jsmith@acme.com,Marketing

This also works, but it's unnecessary overhead:

"Jane","Smith","jsmith@acme.com","Marketing"

The Gotcha — Empty Columns

"Only leave columns empty if they're optional and blank across all rows." A column can't be optional for some users and required for others within the same file.

The characters ,, and ,"", are identical — both mean "empty string" for that column:

firstName,lastName,email,middleName
Jane,Smith,jsmith@acme.com,
Jane,Smith,jsmith@acme.com,""

The Gotcha — Empty Doesn't Mean Blank

Setting a column to an empty string doesn't set the corresponding attribute to a blank (empty) value.

This is the trap: if a user already has a value in Okta for that attribute, leaving the CSV column empty on an update does not clear it. You cannot use an empty cell to intentionally blank out existing data.

The Gotcha — Profile Source Lock

If you use CSV files to import users and have profile source enabled, then user status is only updated through CSV files.

Once this is active, you can't manually flip a user's status in the Admin Console and expect it to stick — the CSV import becomes the single authority for status going forward.

The Steps (Admin Console)

1. Directory > People > More actions > Import users from CSV
2. Upload CSV — Okta validates formatting
3. Fix any validation errors, or proceed
4. Choose: auto-activate new users, or disable password creation (IdP-only login)
5. Click Import Users

The Angle — What Trips People Up

Watch for these in your own sandbox run:

→ Deleting the header row by accident — the import can't map columns without it.

→ Trying to blank out an existing attribute via CSV — it won't work; empty ≠ clear.

→ Forgetting that once profile source + CSV status management is on, manual status changes in the console stop being authoritative.

One Line To Remember

Keep the header row, no quotes needed, one user per row. `,,` and `,"",` both mean empty — but empty doesn't clear an existing value. If profile source is enabled with CSV imports, CSV becomes the only way to update user status.

Sources: help.okta.com — usgp-import-users-csv.htm

Next: Task 2 →