How to Convert MDB or ACCDB to CSV
CSV is the easiest bridge from Access databases to modern spreadsheets, scripts, and SQL databases. The main thing to remember is that each Access table becomes its own CSV file.
Updated: 2026-07-07
Before you convert
An Access database is not one flat spreadsheet. It can contain many tables, relationships, queries, forms, reports, and macros. CSV only stores rows and columns, so you normally export one table at a time.
If the database has related tables, export all of the relevant tables and keep the original table names. That makes it easier to rebuild joins later in Excel, Python, PostgreSQL, MySQL, or SQLite.
Convert with MDB Viewer
- 1.Open MDB Viewer.
- 2.Select the .mdb or .accdb file.
- 3.Click the table you want to export.
- 4.Click Export CSV.
- 5.Repeat for other tables that you need.
- The export includes the full table, not only the current page of rows.
- CSV files are encoded as UTF-8.
- The conversion happens in your browser, so your database file is not uploaded.
Open the CSV in Excel or Google Sheets
For Excel, double-clicking often works. If non-English characters look wrong, use Data > From Text/CSV and choose UTF-8. Google Sheets usually detects UTF-8 automatically through File > Import > Upload.
Bulk export with mdb-tools
If you have many tables or many database files, command-line export is faster than clicking through each table.
- 1.Install mdb-tools.
- 2.List tables with: mdb-tables database.mdb
- 3.Export one table with: mdb-export database.mdb Customers > Customers.csv
- 4.Wrap the commands in a shell script if you need to export every table.
Common CSV conversion issues
- Attachment and OLE fields do not become usable files in CSV.
- Date and currency formats may need cleanup after import.
- Lookup fields may export IDs instead of friendly labels.
- Very large Access files may exceed browser memory and should be exported with desktop or command-line tools.