How to Download Leads from Facebook Lead Ads

You can export the leads submitted through your instant forms as a file from three places, or skip files entirely by requesting them through the API or a connected CRM. Whichever route you use, watch the clock: Meta keeps each lead available for download for 90 days from the moment the form was submitted, and older leads can’t be retrieved.

Where can you download leads from?

Place	File type	What you can choose
Ads Manager	CSV or XLS	Leads from several ads at once, filtered by ad object, location, language and date range
Instant Forms in Meta Business Suite	CSV or XLS	New leads since your last download, or a date range
Leads Center (Business Suite or your Page)	CSV	Your current Leads Center filter; fields limited to date, name, email, phone, stage, source and owner

Meta says each Leads Center CSV file shows up to 10,000 leads.

How do you download leads in Ads Manager?

1. Go to Ads Manager and click the Ads tab.
2. Find the lead ad you want leads from.
3. In the Results column, click On-Facebook leads. If you see no link, make sure you’re on the Ads tab, not the Campaigns or Ad sets tab.
4. In the Download leads window, choose leads and filter by ad object, location, language or date range.
5. Click Next and review the download information.
6. Click CSV or XLS, then Download to save the file.

How do you download leads from Meta Business Suite?

1. Go to Meta Business Suite and click All tools.
2. Click Instant forms.
3. Click Download next to the form that holds the leads.
4. Choose Download new leads for everything since your last export, or Download by date range and pick dates.
5. Click CSV or XLS in the pop-up window.

What does the downloaded file contain?

Every file has the same default columns: the lead’s id, created_time, the ad, ad set and campaign IDs and names, the form ID and name, is_organic (whether the lead came from an ad or organic reach) and platform. Answers to your questions, including prefilled ones, follow after those columns.

Meta says you need both Page admin permissions and a role on the ad account that ran the lead ad to see all the data. Blank fields can mean your permissions in Leads Access are incomplete.

Why is the ad ID missing on some leads?

Meta lists three reasons a lead has no ad ID or ad set ID: the lead came from organic reach, it was submitted through an ad preview, or you don’t have advertiser privileges on the ad account that created the campaign.

FAQ

Why can’t I download leads older than 90 days?

Meta makes leads downloadable for 90 days from submission and no longer, citing security and storage. That holds even when you view a campaign’s lifetime results. Meta recommends downloading often or using a CRM system so you don’t lose access to your leads. Messages in your Page’s inbox are not removed after 90 days.

Who is allowed to download leads?

By default, people with full control of the Facebook Page or with messaging permissions can download leads. If someone with full control of the business portfolio has customized Leads Access in Meta Business Suite, only the people they assign can. Ask that person for access if your download fails.

Can new leads go straight into a spreadsheet?

Yes. Meta says you can connect Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets directly to Meta, after which new leads are added to the spreadsheet automatically. Each lead gets a lead ID and a lead_status column for its funnel stage, such as intake, qualified, converted, lost or not qualified.