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Use properties to store information on CRM records. HubSpot provides a set of default properties for each CRM object, and you can also create and manage your own custom properties either in HubSpot or using the properties API.

When creating properties, it’s important to consider how to architect your data. In many cases, creating custom properties for HubSpot's standard objects is the right course of action. However, there may be times when you'll need to create a separate custom object with its own set of properties.

CRM objects are defined by a primary type and a set of properties. Each type has a unique set of standard properties, represented by a map of name-value pairs.

Learn more about default properties for different objects:

Property groups are used to group related properties. Any grouped properties will appear next to each other on HubSpot records. If your integration creates any custom object properties, a custom property group will make it easy to identify that data.

When creating or updating properties, both type and fieldType values are required. The type value determines the type of the property, i.e. a string or a number. The fieldType property determines how the property will appear in HubSpot or on a form, i.e. as a plain text field, a dropdown menu, or a date picker.

In the table below, learn about the available property type and corresponding fieldType values.

typeDescriptionValid fieldType values
boolA field containing binary options (e.g., Yes or No, True or False).booleancheckbox, calculation_equation
enumerationA string representing a set of options, with options separated by a semicolon.booleancheckbox, checkbox, radio, select, calculation_equation
dateA value representing a specific day, month, and year. Values must be represented in UTC time and can be formatted as ISO 8601 strings or EPOCH-timestamps in milliseconds (i.e. midnight UTC).date
dateTimeA value representing a specific day, month, year and time of day. Values must be represented in UTC time and can be formatted as ISO 8601 strings or UNIX-timestamps in milliseconds.date
stringA plain text string, limited to 65,536 characters.file, text, textarea, calculation_equation, html, phonenumber
numberA number value containing numeric digits and at most one decimal.number, calculation_equation
object_coordinatesA text value used to reference other HubSpot objects, used only for internal properties. Properties of this type cannot be created or edited, and are not visible in HubSpot.text
jsonA text value stored as formatted JSON, used only for internal properties. Properties of this type cannot be created or edited, and are not visible in HubSpot.text

Valid values for fieldType include:

FieldtypeDescription
booleancheckboxAn input that will allow users to selected one of either Yes or No. When used in a form, it will be displayed as a single checkbox. Learn how to add a value to single checkbox properties.
calculation_equationA custom equation that can calculate values based on other property values and/or associations. Learn how to define calculation properties.
checkboxA list of checkboxes that will allow a user to select multiple options from a set of options allowed for the property. Learn how to format values when updating multiple checkbox properties.
dateA date value, displayed as a date picker.
fileAllows for a file to be uploaded on a record or via a form. Stores a file ID.
htmlA string, rendered as sanitized html, that enables the use of a rich text editor for the property.
numberA string of numerals or numbers written in decimal or scientific notation.
phonenumberA plain text string, displayed as a formatted phone number.
radioAn input that will allow users to select one of a set of options allowed for the property. When used in a form, this will be displayed as a set of radio buttons.
selectA dropdown input that will allow users to select one of a set of options allowed for the property.
textA plain text string, displayed in a single line text input.
textareaA plain text string, displayed as a multi-line text input.

To create a property, make a POST request to /crm/v3/properties/{objectType}. In your request body, include the following required fields:

  • groupName: the property group the property will be in.
  • name: the internal name of the property (e.g., favorite_food).
  • label: the name of the property as it appears in HubSpot (e.g., Favorite Food).
  • type: the type of property.
  • fieldType: the field type of the property.

For example, to create a contact property called Favorite Food, your request would look like:

When a record is created in HubSpot, a unique Record ID (hs_object_id) is automatically generated and should be treated as a string. These IDs are unique only within that object, so there can be both a contact and company with the same ID. For contacts and companies, there are additional unique identifiers, including a contact's email address (email) and a company's domain name (domain).

In some cases, you want may to create your own unique identifier property so that you can't enter the same value for multiple records. You can have up to ten unique ID properties per object. To create a property requiring unique values via API:

  • Make a POST request to /crm/v3/properties/{objectType}.
  • In your request body, for the hasUniqueValue field, set the value to true.

Once you've created your unique ID property, you can use it in an API call to retrieve specific records. The request URL could look like this: GET https://api.hubapi.com/crm/v3/objects/deals/abc?idProperty=system_a_unique. This will return the deal with the value of abc in the system_a_unique field.

You can then use this unique identifier property value to identify and update specific records in the same way you could use hs_object_id, email (contacts), or domain (companies).

Calculation properties define a property value based on other properties within the same object record. They are defined using a formula, which may include operations like min, max, count, sum, or average. You can use the properties API to read or create calculation properties in your HubSpot account, using a field type of calculation_equation and a type of number, bool, string, or enumeration.

You can define the property's calculation formula with the calculationFormula field.

Using calculationFormula, you can write your formula with arithmetic operators, comparison operators, logic operators, conditional statements, and other functions.

  • String literal: constant strings can be represented with either single quotes ('constant') or double quotes ("constant").
  • Number literal: constant numbers can be any real numbers, and can include point notation. 1005 and 1.5589 are both valid constant numbers.
  • Boolean literal: constant booleans can be true or false.
  • String property variables: for an identifier string to be interpreted as a string property, it must be wrapped in the string function. For example, string(var1)will be interpreted as the value for the string property var1.
  • Number property variables: all identifiers will be interpreted as number property variables. For example, var1 will be interpreted as the value for the number property var1.
  • Boolean property variables: for an identifier to be interpreted as a bool property, it must be wrapped in the bool function. For example, the identifier bool(var1) will be interpreted as the value for the boolean property var1.

Operators can be used with literal and property values. For arithmetic operators, you can use prefix notation to multiply, and parenthesis can be used to specify the order of operations.

OperatorDescriptionExamples
+Add numbers or strings.property1 + 100
-Subtract numbers.property1 + 100 - property2
*Multiply numbers.10property1 = 10 * property1
/Divide numbers.property1 * (100 - property2/(50 - property3))
<Checks if a value is less than another. Supported by number properties or constants.a < 100
>Checks if a value is greater than another. Supported by number properties or constants.a > 50
<=Checks if a value is less than or equal to another. Supported by number properties or constants.a <= b
>=Checks if a value is greater than or equal to another. Supported by number properties or constants.b>= c
=Checks if a value is equal to another. Supported by both numbers and strings.(a + b - 100c * 150.652) = 150-230b
equalsChecks if a value is equal to another. Supported by both numbers and strings.a + b - 100.2c * 150 equals 150 - 230
!=Checks if a value is not equal to another. Supported by both numbers and strings.string(property1) != 'test_string'
orChecks if either or two values are true.a > b or b <= c
andChecks if both values are true.bool(a) and bool(c)
notChecks if none of the values are true.not (bool(a) and bool(c))

The following are supported functions:

FunctionDescriptionExamples
maxWill have between 2 and 100 input numbers, and will return the maximum number out of all the inputs.max(a, b, c, 100) or max(a, b)
minWill have between 2 and 100 input numbers, and will return the minimum number of out all the inputs.min(a, b, c, 100) or min(a, b)
is_presentEvaluates whether an expression can be evaluated.is_present(bool(a))= true if the property is boolean, but is_present(bool(a)) = false if the property is empty or not boolean.
containsHas two strings as inputs and will return true if the first input contains the second.contains('hello', 'ello') = true while contains('ello', 'hello') = false.
concatenateJoins a list of strings. The list of inputs can go from 2 up to 100.concatenate('a', 'b', string(a), string(b))

There are also two parsing functions:

  • number_to_string: tries to convert the input number expression to a string.
  • string_to_number: tries to convert the input string expression to a number.

For example, "Number of cars: " + num_cars is not a valid property because you can't add a string with a number, but "Number of cars: " + number_to_string(num_cars) is.

You can also write your formula with conditional statements using if, elseif, endif, and else.

For example, a conditional statement could look like: if boolean_expression then statement [elseif expression then statement]* [else statement | endif] where the [a] brackets represent that a is optional, the a|b represent that either a or b will work, and * means 0 or more. endif can be used to finish a conditional statement prematurely, ensuring that the parser can identify which if the next elseif belongs to.

The following are examples you can use to help define your own calculation formulas:

A more advanced example with conditionals:

You can retrieve information for individual properties or all properties within an object.

  • To retrieve an individual property, make a GET request to crm/v3/properties/{object}/{propertyName}. For example, to retrieve the Favorite Food property, your request URL would be https:// api.hubspot.com/crm/v3/properties/contacts/favorite_food.
  • To retrieve all properties for an object, make a GET request to /crm/v3/properties/{objectType}.

To update a property value for a record, make a PATCH request to crm/v3/objects/{objectType}/{recordId}. In your request body, include the properties and their values in an array. Learn more about updating records via the object APIs.

Time values are represented in ISO 8601 format in responses, but HubSpot APIs will accept either of two formats for date and time values:

  • ISO 8601 formatted strings: depending on the type of data, these will be one of two different formats:
    • For values that represent a specific date, the complete date format will be used: YYYY-MM-DD (e.g. 2020-02-29)
    • For values that represent a specific date and time, the complete date plus hours, minutes, seconds, and a decimal fraction of a second format will be used: YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.sTZD (e.g. 2020-02-29T03:30:17.000Z). All times are represented in UTC, so the values will always use the UTC designator "Z."
  • UNIX-formatted timestamps in milliseconds: timestamp values in milliseconds, which are represented in UTC time. For example, the timestamp value 1427997766000 translates to 02 Apr 2015 18:02:46 UTC, or April 2nd, 2015, 2:02:46 PM EDT (Eastern Daylight Saving Time).

There are two types of properties for storing dates (date and datetime) which also affect how you format values:

  • date properties store the date, not the time. date properties display the date they're set to, regardless of the time zone setting of the account or user. For date property values, it is recommended to use the ISO 8601 complete date format. If you use the UNIX timestamp format, you must use an EPOCH millisecond timestamp (i.e. the value must be set to midnight UTC for the date). For example, to represent May 1, 2015 in either format:
    • IOS 8601: 2015-05-01
    • UNIX millisecond timestamp: 1430438400000
  • datetime properties store both the date and time. Either timestamp format will be accepted. In HubSpot, datetime properties are displayed based on the time zone of the user viewing the record, so the value will be converted to the local time zone of the user.

When updating values for a record's checkbox type properties, format the values in the following ways:

  • Boolean checkbox property: to display as Yes, or checked in HubSpot, your value must be true. To display as No or not checked in HubSpot, your value must be false.
  • Multiple select checkbox property: to add or append values to a multiple checkboxes property, add a semicolon before the first value, and separate the values with semicolons without a space between. If the property has an existing value, the leading semicolon will append the values instead of overwriting the value. For example, a contact has the existing value DECISION_MAKER for the hs_buying_role property. To add additional values without replacing the existing value, your request would look like this:

When assigning users to CRM records via API, your value must be user's owner id, which you can find in your property settings or via the owners API. For example, to assign a user as owner of a contact, send a PATCH request to crm/v3/objects/contacts/{contactId}, with the body { "properties":{ "hubspot_owner_id": "41629779"}}.

You can clear an object property value via the API by setting the property value to an empty string.

For example, to clear the firstname from a contact object, send a PATCH request to https://api.hubapi.com/crm/v3/objects/contacts/{contactId} with the body { "properties": { "firstname": ""}}.