What happens to Airtable accounts when the owner dies
Formagrid, Inc. (Airtable) has a formal process for transferring accounts after an account holder dies
Airtable Support
Airtable Support (workspace and base ownership transfer)
When a surviving collaborator already has access, promoting a new workspace owner takes effect immediately. When the deceased was the sole owner and Airtable Support has to intervene, there is no published timeline; Airtable handles these requests case by case. Note that automations and syncs created by the deceased can fail or stop updating once their account is deactivated, so existing data persists but live integrations may break before a new owner takes over.
Airtable does not publish a dedicated death or bereavement policy. What matters at death is the WORKSPACE and its BASES, not the personal login. A workspace owner owns all underlying bases and interfaces within that workspace, and ownership is transferred by promoting another collaborator to the "Owner" permission level from the workspace Share dialog. Airtable's own guidance is to do this proactively: upgrade at least one additional collaborator to Owner before the original owner becomes unavailable, because Airtable Support states it is "unable to remove previous workspace owners and/or add new owners to workspaces" for privacy and security reasons. If the deceased was the sole owner of a workspace, the surviving collaborator or executor has to contact Airtable Support, who handle each situation case by case; on Enterprise and Business plans an account admin can reassign ownership through the admin panel's Workspaces tab. Individual bases can also be moved to another workspace, which transfers each base's ownership to the destination workspace owner. Because billing follows the workspace, the credit card on file keeps being charged even after a complete ownership transfer until the new owner updates the payment method. While anyone retains access, the data can be preserved by exporting each view to CSV or pulling records through the Web API.
How to request a transfer
To request a transfer of Airtable accounts after an account holder's death, follow these steps:
- •Access to the deceased's Airtable login, or being an existing collaborator on the workspace
- •Coordinating with any other collaborators who already hold access
- •The deceased account holder's name and the email address on the Airtable account
- •The name of the workspace or bases involved
- •A death certificate and documentation showing you are authorized to act for the estate (for example, Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration)
Required Documents
- Deceased account holder's name and the email address on the Airtable account
- Name of the workspace and bases involved
- Death certificate
- Documentation showing you are authorized to act for the estate (for example, Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration)
Timeline
When a surviving collaborator already has access, promoting a new workspace owner takes effect immediately. When the deceased was the sole owner and Airtable Support has to intervene, there is no published timeline; Airtable handles these requests case by case. Note that automations and syncs created by the deceased can fail or stop updating once their account is deactivated, so existing data persists but live integrations may break before a new owner takes over.
Frequently asked questions
The personal Airtable login is not transferable, but the data the person built survives in their workspaces and bases. A workspace owner owns all of the bases and interfaces inside that workspace, and ownership can be moved to another collaborator. If a surviving collaborator already has access, they can promote themselves or someone else to Owner from the workspace Share dialog. If the deceased was the only owner, the estate has to contact Airtable Support, who review these situations case by case.
Yes, but the path depends on existing access. A current collaborator can be promoted to Owner of the workspace, which carries all of its bases and interfaces. If no surviving collaborator can do that because the deceased was the sole owner, Airtable Support has to step in; for privacy and security reasons Airtable states it is unable to add or remove workspace owners through normal channels, so the request is handled case by case. On Enterprise and Business plans, an account admin can reassign ownership from the admin panel.
Open each view, click the view name in the toolbar, and choose Download CSV; the file includes the records and attachment filenames and URLs. Attachment download URLs in a CSV export expire (Airtable states they stay active at least two hours), so download any attached files promptly. For larger or automated extraction, a personal access token can read records through the Airtable Web API while access exists.
Billing follows the workspace, but the payment method does not change automatically. Airtable states the credit card used for a workspace will continue to be charged even after a complete workspace ownership transfer. The new owner has to update the workspace payment method themselves. Coordinate the payment-method change as part of the handoff so the workspace is not charging the deceased's card.
The records they created persist, but live integrations can break. When the account that built an automation or sync is deactivated, native syncs can stop updating and automations can fail, with notifications going to the deactivated account. The underlying base data remains, but a new owner may need to recreate or reauthorize the automations and syncs after taking over the workspace.
Airtable publishes no estate document checklist. A written request to Airtable Support that identifies the deceased account holder's name and account email, names the workspaces and bases involved, and encloses a death certificate together with the estate authority document (for example, Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration) supplies what a custodian typically asks for to establish that the requester acts for the estate. Airtable reviews each situation individually and states that for privacy and security reasons it is unable to add or remove workspace owners through normal channels.
After the transfer is complete, the recipient can use the accounts according to the program's standard terms. Document the deceased account holder's details to make this process easier for your executor or family.
Sources
Data sourced from Formagrid, Inc. (Airtable) primary sources (7 pages reviewed). How we research.
Airtable Support
Airtable Support (workspace and base ownership transfer)
When a surviving collaborator already has access, promoting a new workspace owner takes effect immediately. When the deceased was the sole owner and Airtable Support has to intervene, there is no published timeline; Airtable handles these requests case by case. Note that automations and syncs created by the deceased can fail or stop updating once their account is deactivated, so existing data persists but live integrations may break before a new owner takes over.
