Transfer ownership of your Square account
About transferring your Square account
You can transfer your Square account to a new owner or accept a transfer to become the new owner of an existing Square account. Transferring an account changes all the personal information associated with an account, such as the owner’s name, email address, date of birth, and Social Security Number (SSN).
Before you begin
Before beginning an account transfer, make sure you have:
Tax Information: Taxpayer information must be on file at all locations attached to the Square account.
Presence of existing owner: The existing owner of the account must be able to sign in to their Square account on their Square Dashboard, verify their identity, and transfer ownership.
Set aside time: Once the existing owner starts the account transfer process, the new owner must complete the final steps within 24 hours. If the new owner waits longer than 24 hours, the ownership transfer request will expire and must be re-requested by the existing owner.
Review transfer eligibility for account owners
There are a few reasons why an ownership transfer might not be supported for your Square account.
Your account must have taxpayer information with an EIN or SSN on file for all locations, including inactive locations. Learn how to update your Taxpayer Identification Number.
If you have an active Square loan, you can transfer your account 10 days after your loan balance is fully paid off. If you have a pending application, you can cancel it to transfer your account. Visit the Loans section of your Square Dashboard to manage your loans.
If you have an active hardware financing plan from Square, you can transfer your account when your balance is fully paid off.
If your account is frozen, or your payments have been disabled, you must resolve the issue before initiating an account ownership transfer.
If your account has a negative balance, you must resolve the issue before initiating an account ownership transfer.
If your account has a Square Payroll subscription, but you meet all of the other eligibility requirements, contact the Square Payroll Support team for help completing your account transfer.
If your account has an active Square Savings account but you meet all of the other eligibility requirements, contact our Square Savings Support team for help closing the Square Savings account before proceeding with the account transfer.
If your Square account is not eligible for transfer, or if you’re the new business owner and the original account holder is no longer associated with the business or organization, we recommend the following:
Download the previous account’s sales history. Learn how to view sales summaries.
Contact the previous account holder and request they deactivate the current Square account.
Activate a new Square account using your information. You can use the same EIN and bank account regardless of whether these were used with the previous account. Learn how to create a Square account with the Square setup guide.
Start a Square account transfer
Sign in to your Square Dashboard and select Settings > Account & Settings.
Select Business information > About my business > Transfer business.
Fill out the form to verify your identity, including your legal name, date of birth, and last four digits of your SSN.
Enter the new account owner’s email address. Square sends an identity verification form to the new owner.
Select the box for Transfer of Account Agreement, then select Agree & Continue.
Read the Transfer of Account Agreement and select OK.
-
Check your email inbox for the automated Transfer Account Confirmation email.
Select Confirm Transfer.
Accept a Square account transfer
If you are the new account owner, you must complete these steps within 24 hours of the transfer initiation.
Open the Transfer Account Verification email sent to the email address attached to the Square account and select Verify Identity.
Fill out the identity verification form, including your legal name, home address, last four digits of your SSN or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), and phone number. Your personal information will only be used to confirm your identity and will not be used to perform a credit check.
Check the box for Transfer of Account Agreement and select Agree & Continue. If the identity verification is successful, then the ownership transfer is complete.
Check your email for a password reset notification email from Square. Open the email and select Reset Password.
Enter your new password, and select your language and time zone preferences.
Select Save Changes.