---
title: How to check a GEDCOM before you import it anywhere
slug: check-a-gedcom-before-you-import-it-anywhere
description: Start with a local preflight report, review structure, links, media and privacy, then check the exact file you plan to import.
tools: [gedcom-preflight-report, inspect, gedcom-validator, gedcom-dialect-report, link-reciprocity-checker, broken-link-repair, living-person-privatiser, tree-health-score, media-portability-workbench]
difficulty: beginner
time: 30 minutes
lastChecked: 2026-09-06
published: 2026-09-02T23:15:28+02:00
---

# How to check a GEDCOM before you import it anywhere

A cousin sends you a file, or you export from a program you are leaving. Check it before combining it with your working tree. Start with a separate test tree so you can inspect the import without mixing its records into your research.

## What causes it

An importer can reject a broken pointer, ignore it or create a placeholder. Some programs report the change; others show you an incomplete tree. A successful upload does not establish that the destination retained each relationship, source or media reference.

The four kinds of fault sit at different depths, and checking them in the wrong order wastes your time.

**Structural.** A level jump, a missing trailer or a duplicate identifier can prevent a reliable import. Review these before changing individual facts.

**Referential.** A pointer names a missing record or the wrong record type. A one-way family link can also leave two records disagreeing about a relationship.

**Logical.** Dates contradict each other: a death before a birth, a mother aged 8, a marriage after a death. Importers differ in the warnings they give. Check the evidence before changing a date.

**Coverage.** Facts with no source, people with no dates, families with one parent. Nothing is wrong; a lot is missing.

## The order to check in

```mermaid
flowchart TD
  A["Keep the original unchanged"] --> B["Choose the import destination"]
  B --> R["Run the local preflight report"]
  R --> C["Inspect the working copy"]
  C --> D{"Parser errors?"}
  D -- "yes" --> E["Recover to a new file"]
  E --> C
  D -- "no" --> F["Validate structure and facts"]
  F --> G["Check destination dialect"]
  G --> H["Review broken and one-way links"]
  H --> I["Write approved repairs to a new file"]
  I --> M["Check media paths with the local folder"]
  M --> J["Review living and unknown people"]
  J --> K["Re-run checks on that exact file"]
  K --> L["Download the HTML report"]
```

## The fix

1. Keep the file you received or exported unchanged. Make a working copy and give each later output a new name. Write down where the final file will go: FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, Gramps, WikiTree, GEDmatch, or another program. The destination decides which repairs and conversions make sense.
2. Open [GEDCOM Preflight Report](/gedcom-preflight-report), drop the working copy and choose **Import destination**. The seven browser-local checks give you one starting report. They do not repair the file or check whether media files exist on your disk. Use [File Inspector](/inspect) to inspect **Records by type** and **Problems** when counts or parser findings need a closer look.
3. If File Inspector shows error rows, identify the code before changing the file. Use [the recovery guide](/how-to/fix-a-gedcom-file-that-will-not-open) for malformed or truncated input. Recovery cannot repair each kind of error. Download any recovered output under a new name, then repeat the checks.
4. Open [GEDCOM Validator](/gedcom-validator) with the current working file. Read the `errors`, `warnings` and `infos` counts, then filter by severity, category and code. Click a row to see its rationale, confidence, proposed fix and source line.
![The GEDCOM Validator severity strip reading 0 errors, 1 warning and 33 infos, above a findings table carrying a severity, a category, a code, a record, a line and a fix on every row.](/kb/shots/check-a-gedcom-before-you-import-it-anywhere-validator.jpg)
5. Review each repair before applying it. A tool can show that a pointer is broken; it cannot prove which person belongs in its place. When you approve repairs, download a new file. Do not overwrite the working input.
6. Open [Dialect Report](/gedcom-dialect-report) with that file. Read the card for the destination you chose in step 1. It names custom tags, notes, sources or GEDCOM constructs that the destination may drop or rewrite. Convert only when the destination requires another GEDCOM version.
7. Open [Link Reciprocity Checker](/link-reciprocity-checker). Every `FAMS`, `FAMC`, `HUSB`, `WIFE` and `CHIL` pointer should have a matching pointer on the other record. Treat `probable duplicate` as an identity question, not an automatic link repair. Review it in [Duplicate Individual Finder](/duplicate-finder).
![The Link Reciprocity Checker on a file with four one-way pointers: 0 probable duplicate, 3 orphaned pointer, 1 incomplete entry, then a finding showing the record's own lines beside the missing target.](/kb/shots/check-a-gedcom-before-you-import-it-anywhere-reciprocity.jpg)
8. Open [Broken Link Repair](/broken-link-repair). Review each proposed repoint, placeholder or removal. A `HUSB`, `WIFE` or `CHIL` pointer changes the shape of a family, so compare it with your evidence before accepting it. Apply approved changes and download another new file. The tool quarantines selected orphan records inside the output instead of discarding them.
9. Check photographs and scans in [Media Portability Workbench](/media-portability-workbench). Choose the local media folder, run **Check media paths**, and review proposed replacements. Follow [the missing-media guide](/how-to/find-and-fix-missing-media-links-in-a-gedcom). The workbench changes references in a new GEDCOM; it does not copy or upload media.
10. Review privacy. If another person, a public site or a shared tree will receive the file, open [Living Person Privatiser](/living-person-privatiser), inspect the `living` and `unknown` verdicts, then download a redacted copy. Treat uncertain cases as sensitive. The classification uses date rules, not proof of death, and text elsewhere in the file can name living relatives. Inspect notes, sources and media references before sharing. For a private import, read the destination's living-person policy.
11. Open [Tree Health Score](/tree-health-score) with the candidate file. Use its completeness, sourcing and consistency components to choose further research. The score measures what the file records; it does not establish that the genealogy is true.
12. Open [GEDCOM Preflight Report](/gedcom-preflight-report) with the exact candidate you plan to import, including any privacy changes. Choose the destination and review the new findings. Follow up unresolved findings in the detailed tools. Select **Private** and **Download private HTML report** to save the self-contained report with the file SHA-256 and omitted-row counts. Select **Redacted** for a report without names or GEDCOM excerpts. Redacting the report does not redact your GEDCOM.

## What to check when it worked

- The original file still has its original name and bytes. Every recovery, conversion, repair or privacy pass produced a new file.
- [File Inspector](/inspect) reports 0 error rows, and [GEDCOM Validator](/gedcom-validator) reports 0 errors on the exact candidate.
- [Link Reciprocity Checker](/link-reciprocity-checker) and [Broken Link Repair](/broken-link-repair) show no unresolved structural link faults. Any remaining probable duplicate has a documented human decision.
- [Dialect Report](/gedcom-dialect-report) shows the warnings for the destination you will use, and you have decided how to handle each affected tag.
- You reviewed the privacy preview and the output text for people you do not intend to expose. A public or shared import uses the reviewed, redacted GEDCOM, not just a redacted report.
- Media references resolve against the folder you will move with the GEDCOM. Test a photograph and a scan in the destination, since importers handle local files and external URLs differently.
- The HTML report names the candidate's checksum, destination, analyzer versions, totals and omitted counts. Its proposed repairs section says that it applied none.

## What to do when it did not

**You have not chosen a destination.** Stop before converting or deleting custom tags. A file prepared for one service can lose data in another.

**The validator reports errors you do not understand.** Every row carries a **Fix** column naming the tool. Filter one category at a time and inspect the record and line before changing anything.

**A warning says someone over 100 has no death record.** The missing death event does not prove that the person is alive or dead. The privatiser treats the uncertainty as a privacy risk until you add evidence.

**Health score sourcing is low and you have sources.** The score separates facts with citations from people with any citation. A record-level source does not show which birth, death or relationship it supports.

**The file is large and a page caps its list.** Read the omitted count. The preflight report carries the count even when the HTML includes only the first rows.

**You need to send the report to somebody else.** Download the redacted copy. It removes names, source lines and finding excerpts, but the checksum and counts can still identify a tree. Review it before sending.

## Related

- Spoke: [how to find every broken pointer in a GEDCOM](/how-to/find-every-broken-pointer-in-a-gedcom)
- Spoke: [why your dates changed when you uploaded](/how-to/why-your-dates-changed-when-you-uploaded)
- [How to find and fix missing media links in a GEDCOM](/how-to/find-and-fix-missing-media-links-in-a-gedcom)
- [How to fix a GEDCOM file that will not open](/how-to/fix-a-gedcom-file-that-will-not-open)