diff --git a/CRM/Member/Import/Parser/Membership.php b/CRM/Member/Import/Parser/Membership.php
index ebe659dd2d76..a66d1f2816e8 100644
--- a/CRM/Member/Import/Parser/Membership.php
+++ b/CRM/Member/Import/Parser/Membership.php
@@ -279,7 +279,8 @@ public function import($onDuplicate, &$values) {
       $session = CRM_Core_Session::singleton();
       $dateType = $session->get('dateTypes');
       $formatted = array();
-      $customFields = CRM_Core_BAO_CustomField::getFields(CRM_Utils_Array::value('contact_type', $params));
+      $customDataType = !empty($params['contact_type']) ? $params['contact_type'] : 'Membership';
+      $customFields = CRM_Core_BAO_CustomField::getFields($customDataType);
 
       // don't add to recent items, CRM-4399
       $formatted['skipRecentView'] = TRUE;