Transfer file ownership

You own the files that you create or upload on Google Drive. You can transfer ownership of these files to another account.

Transfer file ownership to another Google Workspace account in the same organization

Ownership of files existing in "My Drive" can be transferred from one Google Workspace account to another account in the same organization. An organization that owns a shared drive owns the files within it. Therefore, ownership transfers are not supported for files and folders in shared drives. Organizers of a shared drive can move items from that shared drive and into their own "My Drive" which transfers the ownership to them.

To transfer ownership of a file in "My Drive", do one of the following:

  • Create a file permission granting a specific user (type=user) owner access (role=owner).

  • Update an existing file permission with role=owner and transfer ownership to the specified user (transferOwnership=true).

Transfer file ownership from one consumer account to another

Ownership of files can be transferred between one consumer account to another. However, Drive doesn't transfer ownership of a file between the two consumer accounts until the prospective owner explicitly consents to the transfer. To transfer file ownership from one consumer account to another:

  1. The current owner initiates an ownership transfer by creating or updating the prospective owner's file permission. The permission must include these settings: role=writer, type=user, and pendingOwner=true. If the current owner is creating a permission for the prospective owner, an email notification is sent to the prospective owner indicating that they're being asked to assume ownership of the file.

  2. The prospective owner accepts the ownership transfer request by creating or updating their file permission. The permission must include these settings: role=owner and transferOwnership=true. If the prospective owner is creating a new permission, an email notification is sent to the previous owner indicating that ownership has been transferred.

When a file is transferred, the previous owner's role is downgraded to writer.