Wrong number of columns
This error means one or more rows have a different number of fields than the header (or expected schema). Common problems include extra/missing delimiters, malformed quotes, line breaks inside values, or using the wrong delimiter. This guide helps you identify and fix these issues quickly.
Common causes
- Extra delimiter in a value (e.g., a comma in an unquoted field)
- Missing delimiter (a separator removed or a field merged)
- Malformed quotes causing the parser to misread delimiters
- Line breaks inside fields that aren’t properly quoted
- Wrong delimiter (comma vs semicolon vs tab) leading to unexpected splits
Examples that trigger “wrong number of columns”
1) Extra comma in an unquoted value
id,name,notes
1,Ada,met at SF, conference
2,Bob,okRow 1 contains an extra comma in the notes field, so it splits into too many columns.
2) Missing value / fewer fields than the header
id,name,email
1,Ada,ada@example.com
2,Bob
3,Chris,chris@example.comRow 2 has fewer fields than the header, which makes the importer report a column mismatch.
3) Malformed quotes can shift column counts
id,comment
1,"hello, world
2,"this is fine"Row 1 opens a quote but never closes it, so subsequent rows may be parsed with the wrong number of columns.
4) Wrong delimiter (comma vs semicolon)
id;name;email
1;Ada;ada@example.comThis is valid CSV for semicolon-delimited imports, but tools expecting commas may fail.
How to diagnose all affected rows quickly
Many importers stop at the first mismatch. CSV Checker scans the entire file and reports every row with a different field count, plus related issues like malformed quotes and delimiter problems.