Use the transfer tool to migrate unmanaged users

You must be signed in as a super administrator for this task.

Before adding users to your organization, use the Transfer tool for unmanaged users to see if you have any unmanaged personal Google accounts. If you don't have any unmanaged accounts, see Options for adding users. 

The transfer tool enables you to see what unmanaged users exist, and then to invite those unmanaged users to the domain. You can send emails to those individuals, requesting that they convert their personal accounts to Google Workspace accounts. Later, you can view the statuses of those requests and cancel them as necessary.

If an employee accepts the request from an admin to transfer their account, the admin will be granted access to their data and the ability to manage that account. If the user declines or ignores the request, they’ll be asked to rename their personal (unmanaged) account with a different email address. They’ll retain sole access to and control over all of the data in their personal account.

Note: 

• You can send requests for multiple users at once, or you can send a bulk request using a CSV file. For details, see Use CSV to migrate unmanaged users.
• You can't transfer consumer (unmanaged) users to a managed Google Workspace account if those users are members of a family group.

See if you have unmanaged accounts

Find users with unmanaged accounts

1. Sign in to your Google Admin console.

   Sign in using your administrator account (does not end in @gmail.com).

2. In the Admin console, go to Menu  DirectoryUsers.

3. At the top right of the page, click More > Transfer tool for unmanaged users.
   The Unmanaged users page displays a list of all users that are currently unmanaged.

You can also open the list of unmanaged users from the Admin console Home page:

1. At the top right of the Home page, click Open .
2. Under Tools, click Transfer tool for unmanaged users.

Why can't I find a user that I know exists?

• A synchronization hasn't updated the data yet. This usually happens if you recently verified your domain, or if an unmanaged account was recently created. It can take up to 24 hours for all accounts to appear.
• The user is on an alias domain. These accounts can't be transferred. Accounts can only be transferred if the domain in the email address is a primary or secondary domain.
• The user has their organization's email address as an alternate email on their account. Accounts can only be transferred if the primary email address of the user is an organization email address. When you create this user, their organization's email address is removed as an alternate from their existing account.
• The user has unsupported special characters in their email address. The user must update their username to remove the special characters before their account can be transferred.

If you do have unmanaged accounts

With the transfer tool, you have these two options:

• Option 1: Using the transfer tool, invite users to transfer their unmanaged account. 
• Option 2: Require users to rename their unmanaged account and keep this account separate from Google Workspace.​​​​​

For instructions, see the sections below.

Changes can take up to 24 hours but typically happen more quickly. Learn more

Option 1: Invite users to transfer their unmanaged account 

Send requests for users to transfer their account to your organization

Users that haven't been sent a request to transfer their account have Not yet invited in the Request status column.

To see only Not yet invited users:

1. Click Add a filterRequest status.
2. Select Not sent, then click Apply. 
   The list displays the selected list of users.

To send a transfer request to a single user:

1. Point to the user's email address.
   Email transfer request displays to the right of the last column.
2. Click Email transfer request.
   After the transfer request is sent, you receive a confirmation message. The user's status changes to Invited. 
   
   Note: You can send requests for multiple users at once, or you can send a bulk request using a CSV file.  For details, see Use CSV to migrate unmanaged users.

To send a transfer request to multiple users:

1. Click the User email box at the top of the list of uninvited users.
   The screen displays the number of users selected and the Email transfer requests button.
2. Click Email transfer requests.  
   After the bulk transfer request is sent, you receive a confirmation message. Each user’s status changes to Invited.
   
   Learn more about How users accept transfer requests. 

For more details about what happens when an account is transferred, see Before using the transfer tool.

Manage requests to transfer an account

Users that are asked to transfer their account to your organization's managed Google account have Sent in the Request status column. On the left, select Sent and click Apply to see all users with pending requests.

There are two actions you can take once you’ve sent a transfer request:

• Resend transfer request
• Cancel transfer request

To resend a transfer request to a single user:

1. Point to the user's email address. 
2. Click Resend transfer request.
   After the transfer request is sent, you receive a confirmation message. The user's Requests sent count is increased by 1.
   
   Note: You can resend requests for multiple users at once, or you can send a bulk request using a CSV file. For details, see Use CSV to migrate unmanaged users.

To resend a transfer request to multiple users:

1. Click the User email box at the top of the list of invited users.
   The screen displays the number of users selected and the Resend transfer requests button.
2. Click Resend transfer requests.  
   After the bulk transfer request is sent, you receive a confirmation message. Each user's Requests sent count is increased by 1.

To cancel a transfer request for a single user:

1. Point to the user's email address. 
2. Click Cancel transfer request.
   After the cancelation request is sent, you receive a confirmation message. The user's email is removed from the Sent list and their Request status changes to Not yet invited. 
   
   Note: You can cancel  requests for multiple users at once, or you can perform bulk cancellation using a CSV file. For details, see Use CSV to migrate unmanaged users.

To cancel a transfer request for multiple users:

1. Click the User email box at the top of the list of invited users.
   The screen displays the number of users selected and the Cancel transfer requests button.
2. Click Cancel transfer requests.  
   After the bulk cancelation request is sent, you receive a confirmation message. Each user’s email is removed from the Sent list and their Request status changes to Not yet invited.

For more details about what happens when an account is transferred, see Before using the transfer tool.

Option 2: Require users to rename their account

Important: If you require users to rename their account, the unmanaged account will remain as a separate Google Account and will not be part of Google Workspace.

Two accounts can’t have the same email address, so if a user with a conflicting account doesn't transfer their unmanaged account, they’ll need to rename it. Users have full control over renaming their personal accounts—administrators don't participate in this process.

To require users to rename their account:

1. Add the user to your managed Google Workspace account using the email address that they used for their personal account. For details, go to Options for adding users.
2. Tell the user to sign in to their personal account and change the email address associated with that account using one of the following options:
   • Create an account with a new Gmail address.
   • Rename their unmanaged account with a non-Gmail address that they already own.
   • Sign in to Google Workspace with a temporary username that Google provides (for example, [e-mail]).
3. If the user renames their unmanaged account with a non-Gmail address that they already own and you choose to keep the user's current email address:
   1. Delete the user’s Gmail address and set up a new Gmail address.
   2. Tell the user to validate their email at the new address.
   3. Rename the account to the user's primary email address.
   4. Invite the user to Google Workspace using the Transfer tool for unmanaged users.
4. If the user signs in to Google Workspace with a temporary username that Google provides, they’re prompted to rename the account every time they sign in until they select one of the other options.

See what users decide to do

How users accept transfer requests

Users get an email when you send them a transfer request. In the email, they can click Transfer my account. If they do, they’re prompted to sign in to their personal Google account, if they are not already signed in. 

The user must agree to certain terms to start the transfer. To read details about the agreement, go to What happens to the user’s data.

If they transfer, the user’s status changes to Accepted. To see only these users, on the left, select Accepted.

What happens if a user declines to transfer?

If the user clicks Decline request in the email, their status changes to Declined. After you create their managed Google account, they're prompted to rename their personal account the next time they sign in.

To see all users who declined a request, on the left, select Declined. You can send a new transfer request if the user declined by mistake.

What happens if a user ignores the request?

You can create an account in your organization's managed Google account with the same email address as the user. After you create their managed Google Account, they're prompted to rename their personal account the next time they sign in.

What happens to the user's data?

If the user accepts the transfer request, you can:

• Manage the account.

  Note: The new Google account can't manage any Sites or secondary calendars created by the user before the transfer. 

• Access and delete data in the account.
• Restrict access to Google services.

When a user renames their personal account, the data in their personal account:

• Stays in their personal account.
• Is safe and accessible only to them.