What happens to a Claude account when someone dies
Anthropic PBC publishes no process specific to a deceased person's account; a written request goes by email to privacy@anthropic.com.
Under Anthropic PBC's terms, a Claude account closes when the holder dies and nothing in it passes to anyone.
Anthropic PBC publishes no process specific to a deceased person's account; a written request goes by email to privacy@anthropic.com. The request takes 6 documents.
What to do
- •Web or desktop sign-up: cancel in the account's Settings > Billing.
- •Claude for iOS or Android sign-up: cancel through the App Store or Google Play, whose payment and refund terms apply.
- •Subscription out of the estate's reach: close or freeze the card or bank account it bills, and write to Anthropic to cancel. Never sign in as the decedent.
- •The death certificate
- •Letters testamentary or letters of administration, and the executor's government-issued photo ID
- •The digital-assets (RUFADAA) authorization clause from the will or trust, if there is one
- •The email address on the Claude account
- •A hold on the account data while the estate is opened, since deleted conversations leave back-end storage within 30 days.
- •A catalogue of the Claude Projects, uploaded files and artifacts, to check against the decedent's own records and earlier exports.
- •The account data export. Save the file itself, because the emailed download link expires 24 hours after delivery.
- •Decide what to do about any prepaid credit balance before closing the account. Closing destroys the credits, and they expire one calendar year from issue.
- •Opt out of the Balance Maintenance Service auto-reload if it is on. Cancelling Pro or Max does not stop it.
- •Warn anyone relying on the account's API keys that integrations stop when billing fails or the keys are rotated.
Required Documents
- Death certificate
- Letters testamentary or letters of administration: Naming the executor or personal representative.
- Government-issued photo ID for the executor
- Digital-assets authorization clause from the will or trust: if the estate documents contain one. The RUFADAA authorization clause.
- The email address on the Claude account: Anthropic identifies the account by it.
- The billing platform the subscription was purchased through: Anthropic web, Apple App Store or Google Play; cancellation and refund terms differ by platform.
Timeline
Anthropic responds to privacy requests within the period the applicable data protection law requires: one calendar month under the EU or UK GDPR, extendable by up to two further months.
What Anthropic PBC's terms say at death
- Section 12
“Upon termination of these Terms, a Subscription, or your access to the Services, we may at our option delete any Materials or other data associated with your Account.”1
What Anthropic PBC says happens9
- Verifying the requester
Where a third-party representative submits a request on behalf of a data subject, Anthropic requires evidence of authorization to act on behalf of the data subject.2
- How requests are reviewed
The Privacy Policy's authorized-representative route is the intake an executor can use without the decedent's credentials, and Anthropic answers it at its discretion.2
- Passwords and login
Export, cancellation and deletion are self-service actions built for a signed-in account holder, which an executor is not; a written request is the substitute for them.1
- Inactive accounts and expiry
Anthropic may terminate an account inactive for over a year without a paid subscription, giving notice before doing so.1
- Subscriptions and billing
A Pro or Max subscription renews automatically and the payment method on file is charged for each successive term, so it keeps billing the estate until it is cancelled.1
Cancelling less than 24 hours before the next billing date does not stop that period's charge. A subscription bought in Claude for iOS or Android is cancelled through the App Store or Google Play, not through Anthropic.3
The Balance Maintenance Service on an API account charges the payment method on file on a recurring basis to top the balance back up until the customer opts out; cancelling Pro or Max does not stop it.4
- Balances, payouts and refunds
Payments are generally non-refundable; a pro-rata refund arises only where Anthropic itself terminates a paid subscription.1
Prepaid API credits automatically expire if the Anthropic account is closed, and cannot be recovered.4
- Closing the account
A paid subscription must be cancelled and the billing period allowed to lapse before the account can be deleted, and some accounts have to be closed by contacting Anthropic's team rather than from Settings.5
Deletion is permanent and forfeits any remaining subscription time.5
- Deletion and data retention
Deleted conversations leave chat history immediately and are removed from back-end storage within 30 days.6
Where the user allowed chats to improve Claude, Anthropic may retain them in de-identified form for up to 5 years in its training pipelines.6
- What carries over to a new account
After deletion the account email is blocked from creating a new Claude account for 30 days, and permanently if the account was disabled for a Usage Policy violation.7
Other companies and product lines involved3
- Anthropic Data Protection Officer
Privacy rights requests addressed to the Data Protection Officer2
Email: dpo@anthropic.com
- Anthropic API (Claude Platform console)
A separate API account with prepaid credits and the Balance Maintenance Service, under the Commercial Terms8
- Apple App Store and Google Play
Cancelling and refunding a subscription bought through Claude for iOS or Android3
Not in Claude's published guidance7
- A process for a deceased account holder
- A form for estate requests
- A complete list of the documents to send
- Whether a certified death certificate is required
- Memorialization
- A phone number for this
- A response time for estate or deceased-user requests
Sources8
- 1.Consumer Terms of Service, effective October 8, 2025
- 2.Privacy Policy, effective September 10, 2026
- 3.Cancel your Pro or Max subscription
- 4.Supplemental Credit Terms, effective March 4, 2024
- 5.Deleting Claude accounts
- 6.How long do you store my data
- 7.Creating a new account after deletion
- 8.Commercial Terms of Service, effective June 17, 2025
A written request to Anthropic PBC can ask it to preserve the account while the estate is opened, disclose a record of the account’s communications, disclose the account’s content and close the account.
Nothing in the account survives the holder, and Anthropic PBC allows no lifetime transfer of it either.
Digital Assets Recovery Letter for Claude drafts that request from the estate's details.
Sources
Data sourced from Anthropic PBC primary sources (13 pages reviewed). How we research.
Claude estate claims
Anthropic Privacy Team
Mailing address
Website
Is this your situation?
Get a complete guide for your specific circumstances.
Forms for Settling an Estate
Free forms for settling an estate: the probate petition, small estate affidavit, notice to creditors, inventory, and closing forms.
Affidavit of Death
Put a joint owner's or a transfer on death deed owner's death on the land records with the affidavit your state's statute names, laid out for recording.
IRS Form 56
Notify the IRS that you are the fiduciary of an estate, a trust or a person, or end a notice filed before, on the official form.
Digital Assets Recovery Letter
Prepare a letter requesting a deceased person's online accounts, points, and balances from the program that holds them.
Petition for Probate and Letters
Open probate and ask the court to appoint you and issue Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
Notice to Creditors
Notify estate creditors and start the claim period — the published notice plus mailed copies for known creditors.
Renunciation of Executor
Decline an appointment as executor named in a will — the writing filed with the court before anyone is appointed.
Tools for Settling an Estate
Free tools for settling an estate: whether probate is needed, executor and trustee pay, creditor deadlines, and inheritance taxes.
How Many Death Certificates Do I Need?
Calculate how many certified death certificates you need and see ordering info for your state.
Do I Need Probate?
Find out if an estate needs probate or qualifies for simplified procedures.
What Happens to Jointly Owned Property When an Owner Dies?
See what your state records when a joint tenant with right of survivorship dies: an affidavit, the death certificate or a new deed.
Do I Have to File Tax Returns for Someone Who Died?
Find out which tax returns need to be filed after someone dies and whether tax clearance is required.
How Do I Settle an Estate?
Personalized plan for settling an estate after someone passes away.
What Do I Do When Someone Dies?
A step-by-step checklist for the days, weeks, and months after a death, with state rules noted where they apply.
