What to do when a Canva account holder dies
Canva Pty Ltd has a formal process for transferring accounts after an account holder dies
OverviewWhen someone dies
Canva Support
WebsiteVisit website→
Canva Privacy Team (no dedicated estates team; use privacy contact for next-of-kin and data deletion requests)
Emailprivacy@canva.com
Mailing Address
Head of Privacy, Canva Pty Ltd, 110 Kippax St, Surry Hills NSW 2010, Australia
Timeline
No published timeline for estate requests. Account deletion has a 14-day recovery window. Bulk data downloads take 24-72 hours. Privacy data deletion requests are processed within 28 days.
WebsiteFile estate claim→
Verified Apr 2026
Canva has no publicly documented bereavement, estate, or deceased account process. There is no dedicated form, memorial account option, or support path for next-of-kin. The Terms of Use state the license is "non-exclusive, limited, non-transferable, freely revocable" and that accounts may not be assigned without Canva's written consent. Upon termination, users "lose access to your Designs, User Content, and any other information uploaded to the Service (and Canva may delete all such data unless legally prohibited)." Family members would need to contact Canva support directly. For team accounts, admins can transfer design ownership when removing a member, but this requires admin access and a 5-day waiting period.
How to request a transfer
Follow these steps to initiate a transfer of Canva accounts after the account holder's death:
1
Contact Canva Support for general account questions, and email [privacy@canva.com](mailto:privacy@canva.com) for any next-of-kin, data access, or account deletion request. Canva has no dedicated bereavement form, phone number, or memorialization process.
2
Provide documentation in the privacy@canva.com email (no published estate requirements; expect Canva to ask for at least the following):
- •Death certificate of the account holder
- •Proof of legal authority (letters testamentary, court order, or power of attorney)
- •Government-issued photo ID of the requestor
- •Account email address registered with Canva
3
For Team accounts: if you are a Team Admin, you can independently transfer design ownership from the deceased member to another member by removing them from the team. This triggers a design ownership transfer option with a 5-day waiting period. Transferred content includes folders, designs, templates, videos, audio, media uploads, and shared content.
4
For Team ownership transfer: if the deceased was the Team Owner, a new owner must be nominated. Only the current Owner can initiate this, so Canva Support intervention is required. The nominee has 30 days to accept.
5
Export designs before account closure. Bulk download is available on desktop only, takes 24-72 hours, and the download link is valid for 14 days. Only the Team Owner can initiate bulk downloads for team content.
6
Be aware of the 14-day deletion window. When an account is deleted, all designs, folders, templates, uploads, and apps are scheduled for permanent deletion. If someone logs back in within 14 days, everything is restored. After 14 days, deletion is permanent and irreversible.
Required Documents
- Death certificate
- Proof of legal authority (letters testamentary, court order, or power of attorney)
- Government-issued photo ID of the requestor
Timeline
No published timeline for estate requests. Account deletion has a 14-day recovery window. Bulk data downloads take 24-72 hours. Privacy data deletion requests are processed within 28 days.
Frequently asked questions
No. Canva has no publicly documented bereavement or estate process. There is no dedicated form, memorial account option, or support path for next-of-kin. Families must contact Canva support directly.
Yes, but only when removing the member from the team. Team Admins can transfer design ownership during member removal, which includes folders, designs, templates, videos, audio, media uploads, and shared content. There is a mandatory 5-day waiting period before transferred content becomes accessible. If the member leaves voluntarily (rather than being removed), their content cannot be transferred.
Subscriptions auto-renew and are not automatically cancelled. The card on file continues to be charged. Only Team Owners and Admins can cancel team plans. Cancelling stops future payments but does not issue a refund; access continues until the end of the current billing period. Designs and Brand Kit data remain saved after cancellation.
Once transferred, accounts are subject to the program's standard terms. Having the deceased account holder's details documented in advance makes the transfer process significantly easier for the family.
Canva Support
WebsiteVisit website→
Canva Privacy Team (no dedicated estates team; use privacy contact for next-of-kin and data deletion requests)
Emailprivacy@canva.com
Mailing Address
Head of Privacy, Canva Pty Ltd, 110 Kippax St, Surry Hills NSW 2010, Australia
Timeline
No published timeline for estate requests. Account deletion has a 14-day recovery window. Bulk data downloads take 24-72 hours. Privacy data deletion requests are processed within 28 days.
WebsiteFile estate claim→
Verified Apr 2026