How to Transfer Facebook Ad Account Ownership

Transferring ownership of a Facebook Ad Account can feel like a high-stakes process, but it’s a necessary step when agencies take over, businesses are sold, or team structures change. This guide provides a clear walkthrough of the entire process, including the critical nuances that Meta's own help articles sometimes gloss over. We'll cover how to correctly move an ad account from one Business Manager to another, what to do with accounts tied to personal profiles, and how to troubleshoot common roadblocks.

Before You Start: Understand Roles vs. True Ownership

Working with Facebook Ads involves different levels of access, and knowing the difference is fundamental. Most confusion around transferring ad accounts stems from mixing up administrative roles with account ownership.

In Meta’s world, a Facebook Ad Account isn’t owned by a person, it's owned by a Meta Business Manager (now often called Meta Business Portfolio or found within Meta Business Suite). A Business Manager is the central hub that holds all of your business assets, including ad accounts, pages, pixels, and people.

• Roles (Like Admin, Advertiser, Analyst): Assigning someone a role gives them permission to work on the ad account. An Admin can manage campaigns, billing, and add other users. However, they don’t own the ad account itself. They're like a trusted manager with keys to the building, but their name isn't on the deed.
• Ownership: The Business Manager that the ad account is attached to is the legal owner. Transferring ownership means moving the ad account from one Business Manager's portfolio to another. This is a permanent move that gives the new Business Manager ultimate control.

Think of it this way: You are transferring the deed, not just handing over the keys. This is why the process involves two distinct Business Manager accounts - the current owner and the new one.

The Prerequisites: What You Need in Place First

Before you get into the settings, make sure you have everything lined up for a smooth transfer. You can’t move forward if any of these pieces are missing.

• You Must Be an Admin on Both Ends: You need to have a full "Admin" role on both the current owning Business Manager and the receiving Business Manager. If you don't, you'll need the current owner to grant you access first.
• The Ad Account ID: You need an easy way to identify the exact account you're moving. The recipient needs this ID to initiate the request. The quickest ways to find it are in the URL when you're in Ads Manager (`act=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx`) or in the top-left dropdown showing your account name and ID.
• A Target Business Manager: The ad account must have somewhere to go. The new owner must have a verified Meta Business Manager set up and ready to receive the account.
• An Account in Good Standing: The ad account should be in good health with no outstanding balances or unresolved ad policy violations. Active restrictions can prevent an account from being transferred.

The Safest Method: How the New Owner Starts the Transfer

While the current owner can "assign" the ad account to a partner, the cleanest and safest method is for the new owner to request it. This prevents the previous owner from accidentally giving up ownership before the new owner has accepted and confirmed access. It's a handshake process where the recipient asks first, and the owner approves.

Step 1: The New Owner Requests the Ad Account

The first move is made from the new owner's Business Manager.

1. Navigate to your company's Business Settings. You can typically find this by going to business.facebook.com/settings.
2. In the left-hand navigation menu, under Accounts, click on Ad Accounts.
3. Click the blue Add dropdown button. You'll see three options here - this is a critical step, so pay close attention.
4. Select "Request access to an ad account."
   • Important: Do NOT select "Add an ad account." That option is for claiming an ad account that is currently not owned by any Business Manager (like a personal ad account) and is an irreversible action. "Request access" is the correct choice for moving an account already housed in another BM.
5. Enter the Ad Account ID you collected earlier.
6. You’ll be asked which permissions you need. Toggle on "Full Control" - this grants full Admin-level permissions to your Business Manager. Then click Confirm.

Step 2: The Current Owner Approves the Request

After the request is sent, the Admin(s) of the original Business Manager will get a notification. It's now their turn to approve the incoming request for access.

1. The original owner navigates to their own Business Settings.
2. On the left-hand menu, look for the Requests tab.
3. Under the Received tab, you should see the pending request from the new owner's Business Manager. It will clearly state which business is requesting access to which ad account.
4. Review the request and click Approve.

At this point, congratulations! The new owner's Business Manager is now a "partner" with full admin control over the ad account. They can see it in their list of ad accounts, add their own team members to it, update payment methods, and run campaigns. For many agency-client relationships, this is often the final step. The original owner stays on as an owner, and the agency is a managing partner. But for a true ownership transfer, there's one final, permanent step.

Finalizing the Handover: Removing the Original Owner

To complete the transfer and make the new Business Manager the sole owner, the original owner must remove their own Business Manager's access from the ad account. Once this is done, only the new owner will remain.

Heads Up: This action is permanent and cannot be undone on your own. Once you release ownership, you cannot get it back unless the new owner decides to grant you access again as a partner.

1. The original owner should go back to their Business Settings > Ad Accounts.
2. Select the ad account you just approved for the partner.
3. On the right side of the screen, you will see a list of "Assigned People" and "Partners." You should see both your own Business Manager and the new Business Manager listed here.
4. Click the trash can icon next to your own Business Manager name to remove it. You will be prompted with a final warning. Confirm that you want to remove your Business Manager from the account.

The transfer is now complete. The ad account now lives exclusively inside the new owner’s Business Manager. The new owner will need to immediately add a valid payment method to the account if they haven't already to avoid any campaign interruptions.

What If the Ad Account Belongs to a Personal Profile?

This is a common headache for freelancers and new marketers. An ad account created directly from a personal Facebook profile isn't owned by any Business Manager yet, so it can't be "transferred" the same way. You first have to move it into a Business Manager - a process Facebook calls "claiming."

Step 1: The New Owner 'Claims' the Ad Account

In this scenario, a permanent Admin of the personal ad account (usually the original creator) must approve the move into a Business Manager.

1. Go to the Business Settings of the Business Manager that will be owning the account.
2. Navigate to Ad Accounts and click the Add button.
3. This time, you will choose "Add an Ad Account."
4. Enter the ad account ID.

Because you are an Admin on the ad account through your personal profile, Facebook recognizes you have permission to make this change. The ad account will be permanently moved from your personal assets into the Business Manager. Once this is done, the account is now owned by that BM and you can follow the steps in the previous sections if you need to transfer it again to a different Business Manager.

Troubleshooting Common Roadblocks

Sometimes things don't go as planned. Here are a few common issues and why they happen.

• The "Remove" Button is Grayed Out: If you are trying to remove your Business Manager but can't, it’s likely because the ad account was created inside that specific Business Manager. Facebook considers this its permanent home, and you cannot transfer ownership. The only workaround is to add another Business Manager as a partner with Full Control. This grants them the ability to do everything, but your BM will always remain the technical owner.
• "This account cannot be moved as it has reached its move limit.": An ad account can only change owning Business Managers once. This is a security feature to prevent fraudulent activity. If it's already been transferred before, it's stuck. Again, the only solution is to use the partner access model.
• Billing Information Transfer: Payment methods do not transfer with the ad account. As soon as the new owner gains access, they must add their own credit card in the Ad Account's settings. Campaign delivery will stop until a valid payment method is added. It's best practice to pause all campaigns momentarily during the transfer to prevent any billing snags.

Final Thoughts

Moving a Facebook Ad Account is a methodical process focused on swapping ownership from one Business Manager to another. By having the new owner initiate the request and the current owner approve, you ensure a secure handover where control is shared before it's fully transferred. Be mindful of the permanent nature of removing an owner - once it's done, it's done.

Of course, handling administrative tasks is just setting the stage. The ads you run are fueled by your organic content, and managing that content effectively is its own challenge. When we were dealing with account handovers, the first step after securing the ad account was always to get a solid content strategy in motion across all social platforms. That's why we built our social media management tool, Postbase. Being able to visualize our entire organic content calendar from day one let us immediately align our Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok efforts with the ad campaigns we were about to launch, making the entire strategy feel connected and cohesive right from the start.