What causes COPY INTO (File Format Error)?

CSV delimiter in the file does not match the FILE_FORMAT option (e.g., pipe-delimited file loaded with comma delimiter). File has a header row but SKIP_HEADER is not set, causing the first row to be treated as data. Date or timestamp values in the file use a format not matching the DATE_FORMAT or TIMESTAMP_FORMAT option. File encoding (UTF-16, Latin-1) does not match the ENCODING option. A quoted field contains the delimiter character and FIELD_OPTIONALLY_ENCLOSED_BY is not configured

How do I fix COPY INTO (File Format Error)?

Use COPY INTO with VALIDATION_MODE = 'RETURN_ERRORS' to see exactly which rows fail and why without loading any data. Inspect the file format: run DESC FILE FORMAT my_format to confirm options match the actual file structure. Set SKIP_HEADER = 1 if the CSV has a header row. Add or correct FIELD_DELIMITER, DATE_FORMAT, TIMESTAMP_FORMAT, and ENCODING options in the file format. For one-off loads, specify format options inline in the COPY INTO statement rather than relying on a named file format

Medium severityexecution

Power BI Refresh Error:
COPY INTO (File Format Error)

What does this error mean?

Snowflake rejected one or more files during COPY INTO because the file content does not match the specified file format options (delimiter, header, encoding, date format, etc.).

Common causes

1CSV delimiter in the file does not match the FILE_FORMAT option (e.g., pipe-delimited file loaded with comma delimiter)
2File has a header row but SKIP_HEADER is not set, causing the first row to be treated as data
3Date or timestamp values in the file use a format not matching the DATE_FORMAT or TIMESTAMP_FORMAT option
4File encoding (UTF-16, Latin-1) does not match the ENCODING option
5A quoted field contains the delimiter character and FIELD_OPTIONALLY_ENCLOSED_BY is not configured

How to fix it

1Use COPY INTO with VALIDATION_MODE = 'RETURN_ERRORS' to see exactly which rows fail and why without loading any data
2Inspect the file format: run DESC FILE FORMAT my_format to confirm options match the actual file structure
3Set SKIP_HEADER = 1 if the CSV has a header row
4Add or correct FIELD_DELIMITER, DATE_FORMAT, TIMESTAMP_FORMAT, and ENCODING options in the file format
5For one-off loads, specify format options inline in the COPY INTO statement rather than relying on a named file format

Frequently asked questions

Does COPY INTO skip bad rows or fail the entire load?

By default, Snowflake aborts the load on the first error (ON_ERROR = 'ABORT_STATEMENT'). Set ON_ERROR = 'CONTINUE' to skip bad rows and load the rest, or ON_ERROR = 'SKIP_FILE' to skip the entire file containing errors.

How do I test a file format before a production load?

Use COPY INTO ... VALIDATION_MODE = 'RETURN_10_ROWS' to preview what Snowflake will parse from the first 10 rows, or VALIDATION_MODE = 'RETURN_ERRORS' to enumerate all errors without committing any data.