Guides

Can you import a PDF into Xactimate?

By the Levelly team, written by an Xactimate estimator. Updated October 22, 2026.

You can ask the adjuster for the ESX, but many only send the PDF. That is why estimates get retyped. If the PDF is all you have, you have three options.

Your three options

1. Retype it by hand

Open the PDF and enter each line in Xactimate: code, quantity, unit, room and notes. It works, and you control every line. It is slow. In our 67-line sample estimate, retyping takes about 20 to 40 minutes, depending on how fast you work. That is one sample, not an industry figure. The other risk is a typo: one wrong quantity changes the total, and you only find out if you compare the totals yourself.

2. Send it to an estimating service

A service retypes it for you, so your time goes down. The cost and the wait depend on the service. Ask what they charge per estimate, how long it takes, and how they check that the total matches the PDF.

3. Convert it to an ESX

A converter reads the PDF and builds the ESX for you. You open it in Xactimate like any other file. Levelly does this for Xactimate estimate PDFs.

You get an ESX with every line, with its code, quantity, unit and room, and the F9 notes on their lines. A line with no code comes in as a bid item marked REVIEW. A review list checks our total against the PDF's Line Item Totals, so you see right away if something is off. Scanned PDFs work too, but they take longer. Handwritten estimates, and PDFs from other estimating software, do not work.

You see the result and the price before you pay. Your first ESX is free, up to 150 lines, with a confirmed email. After that it is $25 per PDF, or 10 conversions for $150, paid once.

What to check after you import

Whichever option you pick, check the estimate before you send it on. With Levelly, the review list covers most of this for you.

• CodesEvery line should have an Xactimate code. A line without one comes in as a bid item. Swap in a catalog item if you want that line priced from your list.
• F9 notesNotes should sit on their own lines. Open a few and compare them with the PDF.
• Bid items marked REVIEWThey keep the PDF's description and price until you change them. Look at each one before you send the estimate on.
• Labor minimumsThey are left out of the ESX, because Xactimate works them out again when you import. Levelly still counts them when it compares totals.
• The totalCompare the estimate's total with the Line Item Totals row printed on the PDF. A match means no line was lost or misread. It does not prove that each code is the one you would pick.
• RepricingPrices come from the PDF. Xactimate may reprice coded lines from your price list when you import, so the total you see in Xactimate can differ from the PDF.

See it in 40 seconds

This is a real 67-line estimate PDF, from upload to the ESX, with the review list and the steps to import it into Xactimate. The data is a sample, not a customer's.

Common questions

Last checked October 2026. Xactimate changes between versions. If yours does something different, write to us from the Contact page. Xactimate is a registered trademark of Verisk. Levelly is not affiliated with Verisk.