Missing required column

What is this issue?

One of the nine fields TikTok requires for every product has no column: sku_id, title, description, availability, condition, price, link, image_link or brand.

Why TikTok rejects this

TikTok reports an error for the whole data feed when a required field is missing.

Common causes

1. 1The feed was made for Google Merchant Center or Meta, which name the product identifier id; TikTok reads only sku_id.
2. 2The file was exported straight from a store, so its columns use the store's names, such as Handle or Variant Price, instead of TikTok's.
3. 3brand was left out because the feed was built for Meta or Google, where a GTIN or MPN can stand in for it.

Valid values / expected format

1. ✓All required column headers must appear in row 1 of the file
2. ✓Column names are case-sensitive on most platforms
3. ✓Missing columns must be added even if their values are blank
4. ✓Use the official platform template as your starting point

Fix in StriveFormats

Upload your CSV to StriveFormats to detect this issue across all rows, with clear line-by-line reporting.

Fix in Excel

1. 1Download the official TikTok template from the Templates section of StriveFormats.
2. 2Open both your CSV and the downloaded template in Excel.
3. 3Look at row 1 in both files. This is the header row.
4. 4Identify column names that appear in the template but are missing from your file.
5. 5In your CSV, click the header of an empty column and type the missing column name exactly as it appears in the template (case-sensitive).
6. 6Leave the new column's cells blank if you have no data. The column just needs to exist.
7. 7Repeat for each missing column, then save as CSV (Comma delimited).

Fix in Google Sheets

1. 1Download the official TikTok template from the Templates section of StriveFormats.
2. 2Open both files in Google Sheets (drag and drop onto drive.google.com, or File > Import in an existing sheet).
3. 3Compare row 1 in both files. Note any column names present in the template but absent in your file.
4. 4Add the missing column names to row 1 of your file, exactly as they appear in the template (case-sensitive).
5. 5Leave the new column's cells blank if you have no data. Only the header has to exist.
6. 6Go to File > Download > Comma Separated Values (.csv).

Prevent it next time

1. ✓Always start from the official platform template, never a blank spreadsheet.
2. ✓After building your file, compare your header row to the template side-by-side before exporting.
3. ✓Keep a saved copy of the correct header row as a reference for future files.
4. ✓Run every new file through StriveFormats to verify headers match the platform's requirements.

How StriveFormats detects this

StriveFormats compares your file's header row (row 1) against the full set of required columns for the TikTok format. Any column name from the required list that is absent triggers this issue.