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IDs & naming

15 → 18 Salesforce ID Converter

Convert case-sensitive 15-character Salesforce IDs to the case-insensitive 18-character form. Paste one per line for batch mode.

15-char IDs (one per line)

18-char IDs

Output appears here.

Related dictionary terms

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About this tool

Salesforce records carry two IDs that point at the same row: a 15-character case-sensitive form used in the URL bar, and an 18-character case-insensitive form used by the API and most integrations. Mixing the two is the root cause of "this lookup works in the UI but breaks in my Apex" surprises. This converter takes either form and returns the canonical 18-character ID - paste a single value or one per line for batch mode.

How it works

The 18-character form is the 15-character ID plus a 3-character checksum that encodes the case of the first 15 characters. The converter reads the input three 5-character chunks at a time, builds a bitmap of which letters are uppercase, and translates each chunk's bitmap into one of 32 base-32 characters (A-Z, 0-5). The result is appended to the original 15 to produce the case-insensitive 18-character ID.

When to use it
  • Cleaning IDs copied from a Salesforce URL before pasting them into Data Loader, an Apex class, or a workbench query.
  • Reconciling spreadsheet exports from different tools where some columns store 15-char IDs and others 18-char.
  • Normalising IDs in a Lightning component or LWC before sending them to a server-side SOQL query.
  • De-duplicating records by ID across files where the case of the 15-char form was lost (e.g. uppercased by Excel).
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Frequently asked questions

Why does Salesforce have two ID formats?
Historical: the 15-character form predates case-insensitive systems like ODBC and Excel. The 18-character form was added so those tools could store IDs without losing identity by lowercasing them.
Are 15 and 18 character IDs interchangeable in the UI?
Yes - Salesforce accepts either form anywhere it accepts an ID. APIs and external tools should always use the 18-character form to avoid case-collision bugs.
Can I convert 18-character IDs back to 15?
Yes - drop the last 3 characters. The converter strips them automatically when it detects an 18-character input that ends with a valid checksum.
Does this tool send my IDs to a server?
No. The conversion runs entirely in your browser; nothing leaves the page.