diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 6585c9c..a78d067 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -8,4 +8,14 @@ require (
 	github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.18
 )
 
-require golang.org/x/crypto v0.48.0 // indirect
+require (
+	github.com/richardlehane/mscfb v1.0.6 // indirect
+	github.com/richardlehane/msoleps v1.0.6 // indirect
+	github.com/tiendc/go-deepcopy v1.7.2 // indirect
+	github.com/xuri/efp v0.0.1 // indirect
+	github.com/xuri/excelize/v2 v2.10.1 // indirect
+	github.com/xuri/nfp v0.0.2-0.20250530014748-2ddeb826f9a9 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/crypto v0.48.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/net v0.50.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/text v0.34.0 // indirect
+)
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 2ae7e5c..0c2cce0 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -6,5 +6,21 @@ github.com/klauspost/compress v1.18.4 h1:RPhnKRAQ4Fh8zU2FY/6ZFDwTVTxgJ/EMydqSTzE
 github.com/klauspost/compress v1.18.4/go.mod h1:R0h/fSBs8DE4ENlcrlib3PsXS61voFxhIs2DeRhCvJ4=
 github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.18 h1:JL0eqdCOq6DJVNPSvArO/bIV9/P7fbGrV00LZHc+5aI=
 github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3 v1.14.18/go.mod h1:2eHXhiwb8IkHr+BDWZGa96P6+rkvnG63S2DGjv9HUNg=
+github.com/richardlehane/mscfb v1.0.6 h1:eN3bvvZCp00bs7Zf52bxNwAx5lJDBK1tCuH19qq5aC8=
+github.com/richardlehane/mscfb v1.0.6/go.mod h1:pe0+IUIc0AHh0+teNzBlJCtSyZdFOGgV4ZK9bsoV+Jo=
+github.com/richardlehane/msoleps v1.0.6 h1:9BvkpjvD+iUBalUY4esMwv6uBkfOip/Lzvd93jvR9gg=
+github.com/richardlehane/msoleps v1.0.6/go.mod h1:BWev5JBpU9Ko2WAgmZEuiz4/u3ZYTKbjLycmwiWUfWg=
+github.com/tiendc/go-deepcopy v1.7.2 h1:Ut2yYR7W9tWjTQitganoIue4UGxZwCcJy3orjrrIj44=
+github.com/tiendc/go-deepcopy v1.7.2/go.mod h1:4bKjNC2r7boYOkD2IOuZpYjmlDdzjbpTRyCx+goBCJQ=
+github.com/xuri/efp v0.0.1 h1:fws5Rv3myXyYni8uwj2qKjVaRP30PdjeYe2Y6FDsCL8=
+github.com/xuri/efp v0.0.1/go.mod h1:ybY/Jr0T0GTCnYjKqmdwxyxn2BQf2RcQIIvex5QldPI=
+github.com/xuri/excelize/v2 v2.10.1 h1:V62UlqopMqha3kOpnlHy2CcRVw1V8E63jFoWUmMzxN0=
+github.com/xuri/excelize/v2 v2.10.1/go.mod h1:iG5tARpgaEeIhTqt3/fgXCGoBRt4hNXgCp3tfXKoOIc=
+github.com/xuri/nfp v0.0.2-0.20250530014748-2ddeb826f9a9 h1:+C0TIdyyYmzadGaL/HBLbf3WdLgC29pgyhTjAT/0nuE=
+github.com/xuri/nfp v0.0.2-0.20250530014748-2ddeb826f9a9/go.mod h1:WwHg+CVyzlv/TX9xqBFXEZAuxOPxn2k1GNHwG41IIUQ=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.48.0 h1:/VRzVqiRSggnhY7gNRxPauEQ5Drw9haKdM0jqfcCFts=
 golang.org/x/crypto v0.48.0/go.mod h1:r0kV5h3qnFPlQnBSrULhlsRfryS2pmewsg+XfMgkVos=
+golang.org/x/net v0.50.0 h1:ucWh9eiCGyDR3vtzso0WMQinm2Dnt8cFMuQa9K33J60=
+golang.org/x/net v0.50.0/go.mod h1:UgoSli3F/pBgdJBHCTc+tp3gmrU4XswgGRgtnwWTfyM=
+golang.org/x/text v0.34.0 h1:oL/Qq0Kdaqxa1KbNeMKwQq0reLCCaFtqu2eNuSeNHbk=
+golang.org/x/text v0.34.0/go.mod h1:homfLqTYRFyVYemLBFl5GgL/DWEiH5wcsQ5gSh1yziA=
diff --git a/internal/handler/requests.go b/internal/handler/requests.go
index ccb6d5c..3dd6f15 100644
--- a/internal/handler/requests.go
+++ b/internal/handler/requests.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package handler
 
 import (
 	"bufio"
+	"bytes"
 	"encoding/csv"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
@@ -10,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 
 	"dealroom/internal/rbac"
 	"dealroom/templates"
+	"github.com/xuri/excelize/v2"
 )
 
 func (h *Handler) handleRequestList(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
@@ -73,58 +75,133 @@ func (h *Handler) handleRequestListUpload(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request
 		return
 	}
 
-	file, _, err := r.FormFile("request_list")
+	file, header, err := r.FormFile("request_list")
 	if err != nil {
 		http.Error(w, "File is required", 400)
 		return
 	}
 	defer file.Close()
 
-	// Parse CSV (supports basic CSV format: section, item_number, description, priority)
-	reader := csv.NewReader(bufio.NewReader(file))
-	reader.FieldsPerRecord = -1 // variable fields
-	reader.TrimLeadingSpace = true
-
-	var items []struct {
-		section, itemNumber, description, priority string
+	// Read entire file into memory so we can detect type and re-read if needed
+	raw, err := io.ReadAll(file)
+	if err != nil {
+		http.Error(w, "Error reading file", 500)
+		return
 	}
 
-	lineNum := 0
-	for {
-		record, err := reader.Read()
-		if err == io.EOF {
-			break
-		}
+	// Detect XLSX by filename extension or magic bytes (PK = zip/xlsx)
+	fname := strings.ToLower(header.Filename)
+	isXLSX := strings.HasSuffix(fname, ".xlsx") || strings.HasSuffix(fname, ".xls") ||
+		(len(raw) >= 2 && raw[0] == 'P' && raw[1] == 'K')
+
+	type reqRow struct {
+		section, itemNumber, description, priority string
+	}
+	var rows [][]string
+
+	if isXLSX {
+		// Parse XLSX with excelize
+		xf, err := excelize.OpenReader(bytes.NewReader(raw))
 		if err != nil {
-			continue
+			http.Error(w, "Error parsing XLSX: "+err.Error(), 400)
+			return
 		}
-		lineNum++
-		if lineNum == 1 {
-			// skip header row
-			continue
+		sheetName := xf.GetSheetName(0)
+		xlRows, err := xf.GetRows(sheetName)
+		if err != nil {
+			http.Error(w, "Error reading sheet: "+err.Error(), 400)
+			return
 		}
-		if len(record) < 3 {
-			continue
+		rows = xlRows
+	} else {
+		// Parse CSV
+		reader := csv.NewReader(bufio.NewReader(bytes.NewReader(raw)))
+		reader.FieldsPerRecord = -1
+		reader.TrimLeadingSpace = true
+		csvRows, err := reader.ReadAll()
+		if err != nil {
+			http.Error(w, "Error parsing CSV: "+err.Error(), 400)
+			return
 		}
-		item := struct {
-			section, itemNumber, description, priority string
-		}{
-			section:     strings.TrimSpace(record[0]),
-			itemNumber:  strings.TrimSpace(record[1]),
-			description: strings.TrimSpace(record[2]),
-			priority:    "medium",
-		}
-		if len(record) >= 4 {
-			p := strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(record[3]))
-			if p == "high" || p == "medium" || p == "low" {
-				item.priority = p
+		rows = csvRows
+	}
+
+	// Detect column indices from header row using common DD checklist naming conventions
+	// Falls back to positional (col 0=section, 1=item#, 2=description, 3=priority)
+	idxSection := 0
+	idxItem := 1
+	idxDesc := 2
+	idxPriority := -1
+
+	if len(rows) > 0 {
+		for ci, cell := range rows[0] {
+			h := strings.ToLower(strings.TrimSpace(cell))
+			switch {
+			case contains(h, "section", "category", "topic", "area", "phase", "workstream"):
+				idxSection = ci
+			case contains(h, "item #", "item#", "item no", "no.", "ref", "number", "#"):
+				idxItem = ci
+			case contains(h, "description", "request", "document", "information", "detail", "item") && ci != idxSection:
+				idxDesc = ci
+			case contains(h, "priority", "urgency", "importance", "criticality"):
+				idxPriority = ci
 			}
 		}
-		items = append(items, item)
+	}
+
+	var items []reqRow
+	for ri, record := range rows {
+		if ri == 0 {
+			continue // skip header
+		}
+		if len(record) == 0 {
+			continue
+		}
+		// Skip blank rows
+		allBlank := true
+		for _, c := range record {
+			if strings.TrimSpace(c) != "" {
+				allBlank = false
+				break
+			}
+		}
+		if allBlank {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		get := func(idx int) string {
+			if idx >= 0 && idx < len(record) {
+				return strings.TrimSpace(record[idx])
+			}
+			return ""
+		}
+
+		desc := get(idxDesc)
+		if desc == "" {
+			continue // must have a description to be useful
+		}
+
+		priority := "medium"
+		if idxPriority >= 0 {
+			p := strings.ToLower(get(idxPriority))
+			switch {
+			case strings.Contains(p, "high") || strings.Contains(p, "critical") || strings.Contains(p, "urgent"):
+				priority = "high"
+			case strings.Contains(p, "low") || strings.Contains(p, "nice") || strings.Contains(p, "optional"):
+				priority = "low"
+			}
+		}
+
+		items = append(items, reqRow{
+			section:     get(idxSection),
+			itemNumber:  get(idxItem),
+			description: desc,
+			priority:    priority,
+		})
 	}
 
 	if len(items) == 0 {
-		http.Error(w, "No valid items found in CSV", 400)
+		http.Error(w, "No valid items found in file — check that the sheet has a header row and a description column", 400)
 		return
 	}
 
@@ -233,6 +310,16 @@ func (h *Handler) autoAssignFilesToRequests(dealID string) {
 	}
 }
 
+// contains checks if s contains any of the given substrings.
+func contains(s string, subs ...string) bool {
+	for _, sub := range subs {
+		if strings.Contains(s, sub) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
 func (h *Handler) handleUpdateComment(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	if r.Method != http.MethodPost {
 		http.Error(w, "Method not allowed", http.StatusMethodNotAllowed)
diff --git a/templates/dealroom.templ b/templates/dealroom.templ
index a87eba5..1378a63 100644
--- a/templates/dealroom.templ
+++ b/templates/dealroom.templ
@@ -424,10 +424,10 @@ templ DealRoomDetail(profile *model.Profile, deal *model.Deal, folders []*model.
 					<form action="/deals/requests/upload" method="POST" enctype="multipart/form-data" class="space-y-4">
 						<input type="hidden" name="deal_id" value={ deal.ID }/>
 						<div>
-							<label class="block text-xs font-medium text-gray-400 mb-1">Request List File <span class="text-gray-600">(CSV: section, item_number, description, priority)</span></label>
+							<label class="block text-xs font-medium text-gray-400 mb-1">Request List File <span class="text-gray-600">(Excel .xlsx or CSV — columns auto-detected)</span></label>
 							<div class="border-2 border-dashed border-gray-700 rounded-lg p-4 text-center hover:border-teal-500/50 transition cursor-pointer" onclick="document.getElementById('reqListFile').click()">
 								<svg class="w-6 h-6 text-gray-500 mx-auto mb-1" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="2" d="M7 16a4 4 0 01-.88-7.903A5 5 0 1115.9 6L16 6a5 5 0 011 9.9M15 13l-3-3m0 0l-3 3m3-3v12"></path></svg>
-								<p class="text-sm text-gray-400">Click to upload CSV</p>
+								<p class="text-sm text-gray-400">Click to upload Excel or CSV</p>
 								<p id="reqListFileName" class="text-xs text-teal-400 mt-1 hidden"></p>
 							</div>
 							<input type="file" id="reqListFile" name="request_list" accept=".csv,.xlsx,.xls" class="hidden" required onchange="if(this.files.length){var el=document.getElementById('reqListFileName');el.textContent=this.files[0].name;el.classList.remove('hidden')}"/>