How to transfer ownership of a YouTube channel

Yes, but not through YouTube Studio's channel permissions. That system gives people roles such as Owner, Manager, Editor and Viewer so they can work on your channel with their own Google Account, and YouTube recommends it for day-to-day access. Its Owner role can do everything except transfer ownership.

Ownership moves through a Brand Account, where the account has one primary owner. If your channel isn't linked to a Brand Account, you can change managers but not owners. Selling a business or handing a channel to a client or agency usually means the primary owner role has to move.

Sources: YouTube Help: Add or remove access to your YouTube channel with channel permissions, checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Change channel owners & managers with a Brand Account, checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Migrate from Brand Account user access to channel permissions, checked 15 October 2026

YouTube says to opt out only if you need to complete a transfer. If your channel uses channel permissions:

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. Select Settings, then Permissions.
3. Remove the people you gave access through channel permissions.
4. Select Opt out of permissions in YouTube Studio.

Sources: YouTube Help: Migrate from Brand Account user access to channel permissions, checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Move your YouTube channel from one Brand Account to another, checked 15 October 2026

An existing owner sends the invite from their Google Account:

1. Go to the Brand Accounts section of your Google Account.
2. Under Your Brand Accounts, select the channel's account.
3. Select Manage permissions.
4. Choose Invite new users and enter the person's email address.
5. Under their name, choose the Owner role.
6. Select Invite, then Done. They must accept the email invitation.

Source: YouTube Help: Change channel owners & managers with a Brand Account, checked 15 October 2026

The person must have been an owner of the Brand Account for 7 days or more, or they'll get an error. Then:

1. Go to the Brand Accounts section of the Google Account.
2. Under Your Brand Accounts, select the account.
3. Click Manage permissions.
4. Find your name and click the down arrow next to it.
5. Select Primary owner.
6. In the confirmation window, click Transfer.

• YouTube recommends having at least one other owner as well as the primary owner.
• If you opt back in to channel permissions later, you have to invite everyone again.

Source: YouTube Help: Change channel owners & managers with a Brand Account, checked 15 October 2026

Check these before trying again:

• They haven't been an owner for 7 days yet. New owners have to wait.
• Your name isn't in the list. Another owner must add you as an owner first, then the 7 days start once you accept.
• The channel is still opted in to channel permissions. Opt out in YouTube Studio under Settings, Permissions.
• You're a Manager. Managers can't change the primary owner role.
• The channel isn't on a Brand Account. Without one, you can change managers but not owners.

Sources: YouTube Help: Change channel owners & managers with a Brand Account, checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Migrate from Brand Account user access to channel permissions, checked 15 October 2026

A few rules protect the channel during and after the move:

• Deleting the primary owner's Google Account deletes the channel, so don't close the old owner's account until the transfer is confirmed.
• Never share a password to hand over access. Roles exist so each person signs in with their own account.
• Moving a channel from one Brand Account to another is a different process. It only works when both are tied to the same Google Account, and if the destination already has a channel, that channel's videos, messages, playlists, history and verification badge are permanently deleted.
• Supervised accounts can't move their channel.

Sources: YouTube Help: Change channel owners & managers with a Brand Account, checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Move your YouTube channel from one Brand Account to another, checked 15 October 2026

A handover is a good moment to check who can publish to the channel and from which tools. Zolyp, which publishes this guide, publishes to YouTube as one of 9 platforms (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads). It creates video uploads and Shorts with titles and descriptions written for search, can set a custom thumbnail on a standard video, and schedules them with the posts on your other networks. You approve the week before anything goes live.