Importing a GEDCOM file into Family Trees

3 min readUpdated 19 October 2026

Short answerTo import a GEDCOM into Family Trees, open Import in the web app, choose your .ged file, check the preview of people, couples and years, and click Import. The file is read in your browser before anything is saved. GEDCOM import is part of Plus and Lifetime, and the 7-day trial includes it. Exporting a GEDCOM is free on every plan.

  1. Open Import

    Sign in at familytreesapp.com and go to Import (familytreesapp.com/family/import), or open Settings and click Import under Your family's data.

  2. Choose the file

    Click Choose a GEDCOM file or a Family Trees backup, or drag the file onto it. It takes .ged and .gedcom files, and .zip backups from Family Trees.

  3. Check the preview

    Family Trees reads the file in your browser and shows how many people and couples it holds and the years it spans, with up to six notes about problems such as people with no name or families that point to missing people.

  4. Choose where it goes

    Pick As a new tree, or Into followed by your tree's name to add the people to the tree you have open. A new tree is named after the file.

  5. Import

    Click Import. Family Trees adds the people, then the couples and dates, then the parent links, and opens the family when it is done.

How your file is read

In the fileIn Family Trees
First NAME, with GIVN, SURN, SPFX, NSFX, NICKGiven name, family name (prefixes such as van or de la kept), nickname
A second NAME with TYPE maiden or birthBirth surname
A second NAME with TYPE marriedThe married name becomes the family name, the first becomes the birth surname
SEX M, F, X or OMale, female, or another gender; anything else is unknown
DEAT, BURI, CREM or PROBMarked as no longer living
No death record, born 110 or more years agoMarked as no longer living; everyone else is living
FAM with DIVDivorced couple
FAM with a separation event or _SEPRSeparated couple
FAM with MARRMarried couple
FAM with neitherPartners
PEDI, _FREL, _MREL, ADOP with FAMCEach parent marked as birth, adoptive, step or foster
NOTE and shared note records (NOTE in 5.5.1, SNOTE in 7.0)Notes on the person or event

The full list of event and fact tags is in the GEDCOM tag reference.

Dates

  • Exact and partial dates (12 MAR 1931, MAR 1931, 1931) are kept as written.
  • ABT, CA, EST, CAL, BEF and AFT become an approximate date, shown as about. Family Trees has one approximate flag, so before and after read as about too.
  • BET 1850 AND 1855 and FROM 1850 TO 1855 keep the first date; a range between two years is marked approximate.
  • Julian dates are kept as written. Dates in the Hebrew or French Republican calendars are left empty, because their years do not line up with ours.

What is left out

  • Photos and media. GEDCOM does not carry pictures, and OBJE media links are not imported. Add portraits and tag group photos after importing.
  • Sources and repositories. Source citations are not imported.
  • Families with more than two partners. GEDCOM allows only one husband and one wife; when a damaged file lists more, the first two are kept and the preview says so.

Plans and limits

GEDCOM import is part of Plus ($39.99 a year, after a 7-day free trial) and Lifetime ($129 once), which also remove the 100-person limit of the Free plan. Exporting your family as GEDCOM is free on every plan: open Settings and click Export GEDCOM under Your family's data. A Family Trees backup (.zip, with photos and recorded memories) can be restored on Free when it fits within one tree of 100 people.

Questions

Is my GEDCOM uploaded before I decide to import?

No. The file is read in your browser to build the preview. Nothing is saved to your account until you click Import.

Will importing change the tree I already have?

Only if you choose Into followed by your tree's name, which adds the file's people to that tree. Choose As a new tree to keep your existing tree exactly as it is.

Why do some dates say about after import?

Family Trees has one way to mark a date as uncertain. Dates in the file written as about, estimated, calculated, before, after or between all become approximate dates.

Can I import a GEDCOM on the Free plan?

GEDCOM import is part of Plus and Lifetime. The 7-day Plus trial includes it, so you can import and look around before paying. Exporting a GEDCOM is free on every plan.

Questions? Email support@familytreesapp.com and a person will reply.