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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:
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.
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.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-18 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Transfer file ownership\n\nYou own the files that you create or upload on Google Drive. You can transfer\nownership of these files to another account.\n\nTransfer file ownership to another Google Workspace account in the same organization\n------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nOwnership of files existing in \"My Drive\" can be transferred from\none [Google Workspace\naccount](https://cloud.google.com/architecture/identity/overview-google-authentication#cloud_identity_or_g_suite_account)\nto another account in the same organization. An organization that owns a shared\ndrive owns the files within it. Therefore, ownership transfers are not supported\nfor files and folders in shared drives. Organizers of a shared drive can move\nitems from that shared drive and into their own \"My Drive\" which\ntransfers the ownership to them.\n\nTo transfer ownership of a file in \"My Drive\", do one of the\nfollowing:\n\n- [Create](/workspace/drive/api/guides/manage-sharing#create-permission) a file permission\n granting a specific user (`type=user`) owner access (`role=owner`).\n\n- Update an existing file permission with `role=owner` and transfer ownership\n to the specified user (`transferOwnership=true`).\n\n| **Note:** When a file is transferred, the previous owner's role is downgraded to `writer`.\n\nTransfer file ownership from one consumer account to another\n------------------------------------------------------------\n\nOwnership of files can be transferred between one [consumer\naccount](https://cloud.google.com/architecture/identity/overview-google-authentication#consumer_account)\nto another. However, Drive doesn't transfer ownership of a file\nbetween the two consumer accounts until the prospective owner explicitly\nconsents to the transfer. To transfer file ownership from one consumer account\nto another:\n\n1. The current owner initiates an ownership transfer by creating or updating\n the prospective owner's file permission. The permission must include these\n settings: `role=writer`, `type=user`, and `pendingOwner=true`. If the\n current owner is creating a permission for the prospective owner, an email\n notification is sent to the prospective owner indicating that they're being\n asked to assume ownership of the file.\n\n2. The prospective owner accepts the ownership transfer request by creating or\n updating their file permission. The permission must include these settings:\n `role=owner` and `transferOwnership=true`. If the prospective owner is\n creating a new permission, an email notification is sent to the previous\n owner indicating that ownership has been transferred.\n\nWhen a file is transferred, the previous owner's role is downgraded to `writer`.\n| **Note:** Service accounts don't have storage quota in Drive, so ownership transfers to service accounts will fail.\n\nRelated topics\n--------------\n\n- [Share files, folders, and drives](/workspace/drive/api/guides/manage-sharing)"]]
