What happens to an eBay account when someone dies
eBay publishes its own process for a deceased person's account; a request goes in through eBay's online form.
eBay decides what happens to an eBay account after a death case by case; its terms promise no transfer.
eBay publishes its own process for a deceased person's account: eBay Deceased member report form; a request goes in through eBay's online form. The request takes 6 documents.
How to request a transfer
- •The reporter's name, email address, phone number and relationship to the deceased.
- •The deceased member's full name, date of birth and date of death, plus eBay IDs, email and phone if known.
- •An official copy of the death certificate.
- •For a balance release or closure: the court order admitting the will to probate or appointing the executor, and the executor's photo ID.
- •Files in .jpg, .jpeg, .pdf or .png, up to 10 at a time at 5MB each, and a comment of up to 1,000 characters.
- •Send proof of identity and proof of address with the request.
- •Closing the account ends the feedback and the purchase and sales history.
- •Pay outstanding fees and selling costs, and bring available funds to zero.
- •End open bids and pending transactions.
- •Cancel subscriptions, and ask eBay to waive the early termination fee on a yearly eBay Store subscription cancelled before its last calendar month.
Required Documents
- Official copy of the death certificate: A required upload on the Deceased member report form.
- Reporter's full name, email address, phone number and relationship to the deceased
- Deceased member's full name, date of birth and date of death: The deceased member's eBay IDs, email address and phone number are optional, given if known.
- Court order admitting the will into probate or appointing the executor: to release a positive balance or to close the account. eBay names a court order admitting the deceased's will into probate and/or a court order appointing the executor; the form also accepts a Certificate of Inheritance or a Testament.
- Reporter's photo identification: to release a positive balance or to close the account. A passport or driver's license with all information displayed; the ID number, title, place of birth, nationality, date of issue, height, eye color, photo and signature may be hidden if the card stays recognisable.
- Charity Letter of Authorization: where a charity is the party making the request
Timeline
For account closure, a status update within 24 hours of the request; closure generally takes 14 days, or up to 60 days after transactions, payments, claims or disputes in the previous 30 days.
What eBay Inc.'s terms say at death
- 3. Using eBay
“In connection with using or accessing our Services you agree to comply with this User Agreement, our policies, our terms, and all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, and you will not: ... transfer your eBay account (including feedback) and user ID to another party without our consent”1
What eBay Inc. says happens9
- How requests are reviewed
eBay responds with an update on the account status once it has received and reviewed the documents submitted through the Deceased member report form.2
- Balances, payouts and refunds
To release a positive balance, eBay requires a court order admitting the deceased's will into probate and/or a court order appointing the executor, plus the requester's own photo identification. The same documentation is required to close the account.2
Where the payout entity is eCI, eCA or eCCA, eBay may keep a portion of funds after closure to cover refunds or Disputes, and returns unused amounts to the Linked Financial Account within 190 days of closure, unless the law requires otherwise.3
Payouts go to the Linked Financial Account on file. In certain circumstances eBay may permit payouts to a Linked Financial Account owned or controlled by a legal representative, and it may require a reserve on funds to manage risk.3
A gift card and any remaining balance become non-transferable once used on the eBay website or app, are not refundable or redeemable for cash except as required by law, and do not expire or carry inactivity or service fees.4
- Closing the account
The Deceased member report form notes that "Closing the account is not required to resolve recent account activity."5
Before an account is closed, eBay asks that fees and selling costs be paid, available funds be at zero, subscriptions be cancelled, and no bids or transactions be open. Closure also closes other eBay businesses on the same identity, such as the eBay Partner Network.6
- Deletion and data retention
Closing an account means losing the feedback and the purchase and sales history; after closure the account is permanently closed and its data is deleted.6
- Verifying the requester
For a personal-data request made outside the account, eBay asks for proof of identity and proof of address before releasing personal information, so that it goes only to authorized parties.7
- Subscriptions and billing
Under the Stores Subscription Terms of Service, cancelling a yearly subscription before the last calendar month of the Subscription Term incurs an early termination fee, plus billing at the current rate for the month of cancellation.8
- Who owns the asset
Graded trading cards sent to the PSA Vault are stored and insured by PSA and appear in the member's Collection under My eBay > PSA Vault. They are physical property in a third party's custody, not an eBay account balance.9
Items previously sent to the eBay Vault by direct submission remain visible for record keeping.9
- Continuing a shop, channel or listing
A Team access delegate acts only within the permissions granted and cannot take over the account.10
- Inactive accounts and expiry
The User Agreement lets eBay cancel unconfirmed accounts or accounts that have been inactive for a substantial period of time.1
Forms eBay uses1
- Deceased member report form
Reporting the death of an eBay member, with the death certificate and the authority documents eBay needs to release a positive balance or close the account.5
Completed online.
Other companies and product lines involved2
Not in eBay's published guidance8
- A phone number for this
- Disclosure of account content
- A route to obtain eBay's consent to transfer an account
- A way for a Team access delegate to keep the account after a death
- A processing timeline specific to a deceased-member request
- A waiver of the Stores early termination fee for a deceased subscriber
- A death or estate provision in the Gift Cards terms
- A separate estates channel for eBay Payments
Sources11
- 1.User Agreement, effective June 28, 2026
- 2.Reporting the death of an eBay member
- 3.Payments Terms of Use, effective July 30, 2026 for sellers accepting at registration on or after that date and August 13, 2026 for all other sellers
- 4.Gift Cards: terms and conditions
- 5.Deceased member report form
- 6.Closing your account
- 7.Requesting your personal data
- 8.eBay Stores Subscription Terms of Service
- 9.How the PSA Vault works with eBay
- 10.Team access
- 11.Depop acquisition completed (eBay Inc. press release)
A written request to eBay can ask it to preserve the account while the estate is opened, provide purchase and transaction records for the estate inventory, refund an unspent balance and close the account.
Digital Assets Recovery Letter for eBay drafts that request from the estate's details.
Sources
Data sourced from eBay Inc. primary sources (11 pages reviewed). How we research.
eBay estate claims
Deceased member account closure (Deceased member report form)
Website
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