How to Copy a SharePoint List to Another Site (with Items)

Published: 29 June 2026  |  Category: Lists and Libraries

Copying a SharePoint list to another site is straightforward when the list is empty. The moment the list has items, custom views, and column formatting, the options narrow quickly and each method leaves something behind. This guide covers four distinct approaches, what each one preserves, and when to use each.

What copying a SharePoint list actually means

A SharePoint list consists of two independent layers: the schema (column definitions, views, content types, and settings) and the data (items, metadata values, and any attachments). Most native methods copy one layer but not both. A "complete copy" preserves the schema and the data together, with lookup column relationships intact and custom views reproduced.

Understanding this distinction up front saves significant rework. The method you choose determines which of these elements survive the copy:

What is copied	Export to Excel	Save as Template	PnP PowerShell	Clone Master
Column definitions	Partial (flat types only)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Item data and metadata values	Yes (flat)	Optional	Yes	Yes
Custom views	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Lookup column relationships	No	Schema only	Schema only	Schema only
Calculated column formulas	No (static values)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cross-site-collection copy	Yes	Limited	Yes	Yes
Cross-tenant copy	Manual re-entry	No	No	Yes

Option 1: Export to Excel and reimport

This is the fastest method for simple flat lists with standard column types (text, numbers, dates, choice fields) and no lookup columns. It works across any two SharePoint sites without admin tools or scripting.

Step 1: Export the source list to Excel

1. Open the source list in SharePoint Online
2. Click the Export button in the command bar and choose Export to Excel
3. SharePoint downloads a .iqy query file; open it in Excel to pull the live list data
4. In Excel, save the resulting table as an .xlsx file, or copy the data into a clean spreadsheet and save that

Step 2: Create the destination list

1. Navigate to the destination SharePoint site
2. Click the gear icon and choose Site contents > New > List
3. Select From Excel to import a spreadsheet directly, or create a blank list and add columns manually to match the source schema

Step 3: Import the data

1. In the New list from Excel flow, upload your .xlsx file
2. Map each column in the spreadsheet to an appropriate column type in SharePoint
3. Click Create to build the list with the imported item data

What this method loses

• Custom views (the destination gets the default view only)
• Column formatting, JSON-rendered columns, and conditional formatting rules
• Original SharePoint item IDs (new IDs are assigned on import)
• Calculated column formulas (imported as static text values from the current result)
• Lookup column relationships (the column becomes a text column in the import)
• Item attachments (not exported to Excel)

Option 2: Save as template

SharePoint allows you to save a list as a template file that includes the list schema and, optionally, the existing items. The template can then be used to create an identical list in another site.

1. Go to the source list settings (gear icon > List settings)
2. Under Permissions and Management, click Save list as template
3. Enter a name and description, then check Include Content if you want items copied
4. Click OK; the template is saved to the site's List Template Gallery
5. Download the template file from the gallery (Site Settings > List Templates)
6. Upload the template to the destination site's List Template Gallery
7. In the destination site, create a new list and choose the uploaded template

Why the template method does not always work

• Microsoft has disabled the Save as Template option by default on modern SharePoint Online sites created since mid-2024. The option may not appear in list settings for newer sites.
• The Include Content checkbox is unreliable for lists with more than a few thousand items; very large lists fail silently or produce incomplete copies.
• Cross-site-collection deployment requires an admin to upload the template to the correct gallery manually; there is no automated path for non-admins.
• Lookup columns referencing lists in the source site cannot resolve to anything in the destination until equivalent lists exist there.

This method is most reliable for migrating lists within the same site collection on a tenant where classic list templates are still enabled.

Option 3: PnP PowerShell

PnP PowerShell provides the tooling to export a list schema and item data as a provisioning template and apply it to a destination site. An admin with PowerShell access can run:

1. Connect to the source site: Connect-PnPOnline -Url <sourceUrl> -Interactive
2. Export the list as a provisioning template: Get-PnPSiteTemplate -Out template.xml -ListsToExtract <ListName> -Handlers Lists
3. Open template.xml and add a <pnp:DataRows> section for list items if items are needed (or use Export-PnPListToProvisioningTemplate in newer module versions)
4. Connect to the destination site: Connect-PnPOnline -Url <destUrl> -Interactive
5. Apply the template: Invoke-PnPSiteTemplate -Path template.xml

PnP PowerShell preserves column definitions, calculated columns, and custom views fully. Item data copies over including metadata values; lookup column targets must exist in the destination before the template is applied or the lookup fields will error on import.

The practical limitation is time and scripting investment. Building a reliable extraction-import pipeline requires significant preparation before the first item moves - and runs against large lists can take hours with throttling interruptions to manage along the way. Attachment files require a separate extraction step.

Option 4: Clone Master for a complete SharePoint list copy

ShareMaster's Clone Master handles list copies across sites and site collections as part of its full-site migration capability. Select the specific list (or include it as part of a complete site migration), set the destination, and Clone Master manages the schema, items, views, and metadata transfer in a single job.

Key advantages over the other methods:

• No pre-configuration of the destination list required; Clone Master reads the source schema and creates it in the destination
• Custom views are reproduced without manual rebuilding
• Item data and metadata values are copied without flattening lookup or calculated columns
• Works across site collections and across Microsoft 365 tenants
• Resume-safe: interrupted jobs restart from the point of failure, not from the beginning

For cross-tenant scenarios (moving a list from one Microsoft 365 organisation to another during a merger or MSP client migration), Clone Master is the only method in this guide that supports the transfer without manual data export and re-entry. See the guide to migrating a SharePoint site to another tenant for the broader context of how list migrations fit into a full site move.

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Which method should you use?

Scenario	Best method
Simple flat list, no lookups, under 500 items	Export to Excel
Schema-only copy, or small list on a tenant with templates enabled	Save as Template
Complex schema, PowerShell-comfortable admin, moderate item count	PnP PowerShell
Large list, lookup columns, cross-site-collection, or cross-tenant	Clone Master
Document library with files (not just metadata)	Clone Master or SPMT

Whichever method you choose, verify the copy by checking item counts, spot-checking metadata values in several items, and confirming that at least one custom view renders correctly. Test lookup column relationships against any target lists in the destination before putting the copied list into production.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I copy a SharePoint list to a different site collection?

Yes. PnP PowerShell and Clone Master both support cross-site-collection list copies. The native Move To interface and Save as Template method have significant limitations for cross-site-collection moves. Export to Excel works across site collections but loses custom views and lookup column relationships.

Does copying a SharePoint list preserve item IDs?

No. SharePoint assigns new item IDs when items are created in the destination list, regardless of the copy method. If your workflows or integrations reference source item IDs, plan for ID remapping or rebuild those references after the copy completes.

What happens to lookup columns when I copy a SharePoint list?

Lookup columns reference another list in the same site. When you copy a list to a new site, the lookup column cannot resolve to the same target unless an equivalent list exists in the destination. Export to Excel drops lookup values entirely (the column becomes a plain text field). PnP PowerShell and Clone Master copy the column schema, but the lookup target list must exist in the destination before the relationship functions.

Can I copy a SharePoint list to a different Microsoft 365 tenant?

Cross-tenant list copies are not supported by SPMT or native SharePoint tools. Clone Master supports cross-tenant migrations as part of a full site migration, which includes the lists within that site. This is the practical option for merger and acquisition scenarios where source and destination are in separate tenants.

Does saving a SharePoint list as a template copy all the items?

The Save as Template option includes a checkbox to include list content. However, this is disabled by default on modern SharePoint Online sites and has practical limits: very large lists (tens of thousands of items) are not reliably copied this way. On many modern sites the Save as Template option does not appear at all in list settings.