> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.encoreos.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Duplicate Contacts & Merge — User Guide
> Find and resolve duplicate contacts: the create-form warning, the review queue, field-level merge, and undoing a recent merge.
# Duplicate Contacts & Merge — User Guide
Encore continuously checks new and imported contacts against your
organization's existing records. Exact matches (same email, same phone, or
same name + date of birth) are flagged immediately; *probable* matches —
similar names backed by a corroborating detail like the same referral source —
wait in a review queue. **Nothing is ever merged automatically**: a person
with the merge permission reviews every pair.
## The duplicate warning on contact create
While you type a new contact's name, email, or phone, a warning appears if a
likely match exists:
* **Exact match** (red badge) — the email, phone, or name + DOB already
belongs to an existing contact.
* **Possible match** (gray badge) — the name is similar and a corroborating
field matches.
* Chips under each match show *why* it matched — for example **Phone exact**
and **Name similar (62%)**.
Click **Open existing contact** to use the existing record instead of
creating a duplicate, or **Dismiss & Continue** if you're sure it's a
different person.
Phone formatting never hides a duplicate: `(602) 555-0142`, `602.555.0142`,
and `+1 602 555 0142` all match each other. Email matching ignores case and
stray spaces.
## The duplicate review queue
Open **Community Engagement → Contacts → Duplicate Review**
(`/ce/contacts/duplicates`). You'll need the `ce.contacts.merge` permission.
Each pending pair shows its match score, the fields that matched, where the
pair was found (form, import, sync, or scan), and how long it has waited.
For each pair you can:
* **Compare** — side-by-side drawer of both records.
* **Merge** — open the merge dialog (below).
* **Link** — record that both rows refer to the same person without merging.
* **Dismiss** — mark the pair as *not* a duplicate. A dismissed pair never
resurfaces in the queue, even if the matching engine sees it again.
* **Bulk dismiss** — select multiple pairs with the checkboxes and dismiss
them together.
## Merging two contacts
The merge dialog shows every field where the two records disagree, side by
side. The recommended value is pre-selected (the most recently updated,
non-empty value); override any field before confirming.
When you confirm:
* All related records — activities, calls, documents, tags, leads,
relationships, messages, and external links — move to the surviving record.
* The duplicate becomes a *tombstone*: old links and bookmarks to it
redirect to the survivor, and it disappears from lists, search, and future
duplicate checks.
* The merge is fully audited on both contacts' history timelines.
## Undoing a merge
A merge can be undone within your organization's undo window (72 hours by
default). Open the surviving contact — the **Merged record** banner offers
**Undo merge**, which restores the duplicate exactly as it was, moves its
related records back, and audits the reversal. After the window closes, the
undo is rejected.
## Permissions
| Action | Permission |
| -------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------- |
| See the duplicate warning | any contact-create access |
| Review queue, merge, link, dismiss, undo | `ce.contacts.merge` |
| See dates of birth in matches and the merge dialog | `ce.contacts.view_dob` |