How to Change the Owner of a File in Google Drive

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By default, you’re the owner of any file you upload or create on Google Drive. However, if you want to transfer ownership of a file to someone else, it’s an easy process. Here’s how.

Before we continue, we should note that once you transfer ownership of a file to someone else, you won’t be able to revoke the changes yourself. In fact, the new owner can even remove you entirely from the file whenever they want. In addition, you won’t be able to delete the file or share it with anyone else.

Personal Google accounts can transfer the ownership of the following Google Drive file types:

Google Docs
Google Slides
Google Forms
Google Sheets
Google My Maps
Google Drawings
Folder

To change the ownership of a file, you must first share the file with the person you want to transfer it to.

For this guide, we’ll be using a Google Docs file in our examples, but all other files noted previously will work virtually the same way.

Fire up your browser and head to your Google Drive homepage. Next, navigate to the file you want to transfer ownership of, right-click on it, and then select “Share.”

Right-click the file and click on "Share."

If you haven’t shared the file with anyone yet, you can add someone from the “Share” settings window that appears. Under “People,” enter the email of the person you want to share the file with and then click “Send.”

If you haven't already shared the file, type the email of the person into the field below, and then click

From there, click “Advanced” at the bottom of the Share settings window.

Click "Advanced" to see the list of people shared on this document.

Under the “Who Has Access” section, click the drop-down box and then select “Is Owner” from the list provided.

Click the dropdown menu next to their name and click on "Is owner" from the list provided.

Click “Save Changes” to apply the ownership change.

Click "Save changes" to update the permissions of the file.

Drive will prompt you with one last chance to change your mind because you won’t be able to reverse this action afterward. Click “Yes” to continue.

Click "Yes" to commit the changes and remove yourself as the sole owner of the file. There is no going back. Only the new file owner may restore you as the primary owner... if they so choose.

Note: If you change the ownership of a folder, only the folder—not any of the files inside—will transfer to the new person.

After you transfer ownership, the new owner will receive an email notifying them of the change.

An email notifying the new owner of their new responsibilities is sent to their inbox.

That’s all there is to it. Unless the new owner decides to change your access, you can still edit the file from which you transfered ownership.