Running Mass Update Addresses is the bulk normalization step in a State and Country Picklist migration. The steps below cover the full workflow from extraction to post-migration validation.
- Enable State and Country Picklists
Setup > State and Country/Territory Picklists > Enable. The platform configures the picklist values; existing free-text remains.
- Extract current values
Query Account, Contact, Lead for unique BillingCountry and BillingState values. Get the full list of current free-text values needing migration.
- Build the mapping CSV
For each current value, map to the canonical picklist entry. Many variants map to one canonical (USA, U.S., U.S.A. all map to United States).
- Open Mass Update Addresses
Setup > Data > Mass Update Addresses. Upload the mapping CSV. Select object scope.
- Preview changes
Review the preview. Spot-check records for correctness. Confirm before applying.
- Apply the updates
Run the update. Monitor for governor limit failures on large volumes; batching may be needed.
- Validate and add rules
Query for any remaining free-text values. Add validation rules requiring picklist entries to prevent regression.
Account, Contact, Lead, Person Account. Custom objects not supported.
Current-to-canonical mapping for each free-text value.
BillingCountry, MailingCountry, etc. Selected per object.
BillingState, MailingState, etc. Often run alongside Country.
Records and proposed values shown before commit.
- Custom objects not supported. For custom object addresses, use Data Loader.
- Bad mappings produce silent incorrect updates. Spot-check the preview carefully.
- Triggers fire on every updated record. Plan for governor limits on large volumes.
- Post-migration validation rules are essential. Without them, future imports reintroduce free-text values.
- The tool is primarily for one-time migration. Ongoing address quality needs Data.com Clean or similar.