Transferring a personal Google Drive file gives another eligible account ownership of the original. It is more consequential than granting Editor access: after acceptance, the new owner can control your access. Confirm the recipient and the file before starting.
Check eligibility and scope
You must own the item and have already shared it with the intended recipient. Google’s guide states that a personal account cannot transfer a file directly to a work or school account. Workspace ownership transfers follow different same-organization rules.
Inspect the original’s contents, owner, and link. If it is a folder, remember that transferring the folder does not automatically transfer ownership of every file inside it. Agree exactly which items are part of the handover.
Send the ownership request
On a computer, find the item in Drive, open Share, and use the menu beside the recipient’s name to select Transfer ownership. Read the confirmation before proceeding. The recipient becomes a pending owner and receives a notification.
For the personal-account request workflow, you remain the owner until the recipient accepts. The pending owner receives Editor access if they did not already have it. A declined request leaves ownership with you.
Verify the completed transfer
After acceptance, check the sharing dialog and confirm the new owner. You normally become an Editor, and the new owner can later remove you. The file’s storage responsibility also changes according to the ownership rules. Do not assume your continued access is guaranteed. If the handover was mistaken, coordinate with the new owner; the old owner cannot simply cancel an already accepted transfer. Preserve the agreed project record and check any related folder permissions separately.
References
- Make someone else the owner of your file
- Share and manage access to files and folders in Google Drive
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.