Before an employee’s Workspace account is deleted, identify the Drive files that must remain available and assign an authorized owner or organizational location. A folder invitation or downloaded archive alone does not prove that the original working files have been handed over.
Inventory the departing user’s content
Separate files they own in My Drive from items they merely access and content already held in shared drives. Record important original links, collaborator needs, mixed-owner folders, and any unorganized items. Review Trash before the transfer: Google’s administrator process excludes trashed files unless they are restored first.
Follow the organization’s retention, legal-hold, and access policies. Do not ask the employee to share credentials or move company records into a personal account.
Use the administrator’s supported process
Workspace administrators can transfer eligible owned files within the same organization. The proposed owner must meet account, Drive-service, and storage requirements, while restrictions such as holds need separate review.
For a bulk transfer, follow the current official preparation and transfer instructions. Google’s process includes controlling changes during transfer and waiting for completion. Avoid moving or deleting source content while the operation is unresolved.
Verify before deleting the account
Compare transferred originals with the inventory, check the new owner and required sharing, and test key project links under authorized accounts. Shared-drive files remain with the organization when a member leaves, but membership and workflows still require review. Transferred files may remain in existing shared folders rather than all appearing in one transfer folder. Keep the account under the approved offboarding process until these checks pass; a confirmation email is useful evidence, but important content still needs verification.
References
- Transfer Drive files to a new owner as an admin | Drive & Docs | Google Workspace Help
- Make someone else the owner of your file
- How file access works in shared drives
Reviewed against the linked official product guidance on November 3, 2026. Features, limits, screen labels, and access can vary by account, platform, region, and organization policy.