Recover Access After an Owner Leaves the Organization

Is this your situation?

Do this first

Which situation is yours?

• You still have Manager access to the Brand Account
• A Brand Account must have one primary owner
• If the channel is not connected to a Brand Account, only managers can be changed
• You can't find your name in the Brand Account permissions list
• If the 7-day ownership condition isn't met, you get an error message
• You need to check who manages the account via Brand Accounts in your Google Account
• Owners can take the most actions and control who manages the account

How YouTube handles this

• A Brand Account must have one primary owner at all times.
• Owners can take the most actions and control who manages the account, more than any other role.
• Managers will not have the option to change the primary owner role on a Brand Account.
• If the channel is not connected to a Brand Account, you can change channel managers but not owners.
• To assign yourself as primary owner, you must have been an owner for 7 days or more.

Which recovery path is yours?

1. Are you currently an owner of the Brand Account? To assign yourself as primary owner of a Brand Account, you must have been an owner for 7 days or more.
2. Have you been an owner for less than 7 days? If the 7-day ownership condition isn't met, you will get an error message when trying to become primary owner.
3. Are you only a manager, not an owner, of the Brand Account? Managers will not have the option to change the primary owner role on a Brand Account.
4. Is the channel not connected to a Brand Account? If the channel is not connected to a Brand Account, you can change channel managers but not owners.
5. Can't find your name in the Brand Account permissions list? If you can't find your name in the Brand Account permissions list, you must be added as an owner by another channel owner.

What not to do

• Trying to claim primary owner too soon Attempting this before 7 days as owner produces an error message.Why it happens: To assign yourself as primary owner, you must have been an owner for 7 days or more.
• Assuming manager access is enough Managers will not have the option to change the primary owner role.Why it happens: Owners take the most actions and control who manages the account.
• Expecting ownership transfer on a non-Brand Account channel If the channel is not connected to a Brand Account, only managers can be changed, not owners.Why it happens: Check whether the channel uses a Brand Account.
• Having only one owner on the Brand Account It is recommended to have at least one other owner besides the primary owner.Why it happens: This is recommended for a Brand Account in addition to the primary owner.

What to have ready

• Check if the channel uses a Brand Account You want to know whether owner roles can be changed.
• Check who manages the Brand Account Go to the Brand Accounts section of your Google Account.
• Check the Manage permissions list Find the list of people who can manage the account, including owners.
• Check your own role Confirm whether you are listed as owner or manager.
• Check how long you have held owner status You must have been an owner for 7 days or more.
• Check for other existing owners You must be added as an owner by another channel owner.

Stop this happening again

Quick reference

Keeping track of who has access