About account transfers in Apple Business
Overview
After the account transfer process starts, unmanaged (personal) Apple Accounts using that domain are notified in the following ways:
An email is sent to the account, as well as to all reachable email addresses added to the account.
If the user is signed in on a device with iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15.1, visionOS 2, or later, they also receive a notification.
If the unmanaged Apple Account is:
The user’s primary email on the account, they need to either transfer their account to the organization or change their email address.
Listed as a verified email address for another unmanaged Apple Account, that user is also notified but doesn’t need to take any action and the email is removed after the capture period is completed.
See What is the Account Transfer process? and Account transfer example.
What if an Apple Account can’t be transferred?
Users may be prompted to make changes before they’re eligible to transfer their account. These changes may include the following:
Note: The country or region for their account needs to match the country or region of the organization.
Note: The account needs to be removed as a recovery contact for another Apple Account.
Apple Pay or Apple Wallet cards, including expired and parked cards (cards associated with the account but not provisioned on the particular device)
To help users maintain access to personal data and services, users may also be presented with only one option—to rename the Apple Account and keep using it as a personal account. Here are some examples of when an Apple Account can’t be transferred to an organization:
The account was created for a child (minimum ages may differ across countries and regions).
The account has a Legacy Contact configured. (The Legacy Contact relationship needs to be removed before the account can be transferred.)
The user has temporarily disabled their account in the Data and Privacy portal.
The user has Apple pre-orders.
The account is using one of the following:
What if an Apple Account can be transferred?
When the account can be transferred and the user chooses to do so, full ownership of the account and associated data is transferred to the organization. The list of services that Managed Apple Accounts can access (listed in Service access with Managed Apple Accounts) are also available and remain accessible after the transfer.
Transferred accounts get assigned the role of Staff. If necessary, a user whose role has permissions to view, edit, and delete other roles can change the transferred account’s role.
To view what the user needs to do before they transfer their account, see the Apple Support article If you are asked to transfer your Apple Account or keep it as a personal account.
How do I decide when to transfer an Apple Account?
There are different aspects users need to consider when determining whether or not to transfer their personal Apple Account.
Users may want to keep their Apple Account if:
The account is used to store personal photos, iCloud Keychain items, or other personal data
The account is used to make app, music, or movie purchases
The account is used with Apple Pay
The account is part of Family Sharing and provides subscriptions, music, movie purchases, or app licenses to other family members
Users may want to transfer their Apple Account if the account was created to:
Be used primarily on work devices and to collaborate with other people in the organization
Access services related to the organization, like the Apple Developer Program, the Apple Push Notification service portal, or Apple Business Register
Note: If you need assistance to change the Account Holder, purchase the paid developer account, or encounter any access issues, contact Apple Developer Support via phone or email.
What if a user wants to keep their Apple Account?
If the user decides to keep their account as a personal account, they may want to transfer services they have been using in the organizational context. See Transfer Apple services.
What happens to apps and books after the transfer?
Apps and books that your organization purchased before the transfer remain associated with the account and can be installed and updated by the user using the App Store.
Note: The licenses remain associated with the specific account and can’t be transferred to another one.
Other content, like music, movies, TV shows, Fitness+, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade, aren’t available. Also, after the transfer, the user can use existing and active subscriptions, but can’t renew them. The Apps & Books section in Apple Business, together with the device management framework, offer an easy and scalable way to distribute content in a managed environment.