What happens to LinkedIn accounts when the owner dies
LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft) has a formal process for transferring accounts after an account holder dies
LinkedIn Help Center
LinkedIn Deceased Member Requests
LinkedIn publishes no processing time for either request. The documented timing facts are what happens after a request is granted: on memorialization, mobile and desktop sessions expire immediately and notifications to the member stop within 48 hours; after the account is marked as closed, LinkedIn states it "can take up to 30 days to completely delete the data from our system."
LinkedIn publishes a deceased-member process with two outcomes. Memorialization preserves the profile with a memorialized badge and locks access; anyone can trigger it by reporting the member as deceased with the member's name, profile URL, and the reporter's relationship to them. Closure requires an authorized representative and court-issued legal documentation, and after the account is marked closed LinkedIn states it "can take up to 30 days to completely delete the data from our system." Nothing about the account transfers to an heir or to the estate: LinkedIn states "We won't disclose any usernames or passwords to anyone, including family members, under any circumstances," and the User Agreement (2.2) forbids members from "shar[ing] or transfer[ring] your account or any part of it." On memorialization, mobile and desktop sessions expire immediately, LinkedIn products are cancelled "(except Apple subscriptions)," and notifications to the member stop within 48 hours. Posts, articles, recommendations, skills, endorsements, and accomplishments stay visible on the memorialized profile. LinkedIn documents no way to release a deceased member's messages, connections, or downloadable account data to a family member or executor.
How to request a transfer
Follow these steps to initiate a transfer of LinkedIn accounts after the account holder's death:
- •Memorialization: the profile is preserved with a memorialized badge and locked. Anyone can request it by reporting the member as deceased, through Report a deceased member.
- •Closure: the account is closed and the data deleted. Only an authorized representative with court-issued documentation can request it, through Close the account of a deceased member.
- •The member's full name and LinkedIn profile URL
- •Your relationship to the deceased member
- •The member's email address and date of passing
- •A link to an obituary or a relevant news article
- •Letters of Administration issued by a court
- •Letters of Testamentary issued by a court
- •Letters of Representation issued by a court
- •A court order appointing you as an authorized representative of the deceased member's estate
Required Documents
- The member's full name, LinkedIn profile URL, email address, and date of passing
- Your relationship to the deceased member
- A link to an obituary or a relevant news article
- A copy of the death certificate (closure requests)
- A court-issued document for closure requests: Letters of Administration, Letters of Testamentary, Letters of Representation, or a court order appointing you as an authorized representative of the estate. LinkedIn does not accept wills, powers of attorney, identity documents, email authorizations, or screenshots.
Timeline
LinkedIn publishes no processing time for either request. The documented timing facts are what happens after a request is granted: on memorialization, mobile and desktop sessions expire immediately and notifications to the member stop within 48 hours; after the account is marked as closed, LinkedIn states it "can take up to 30 days to completely delete the data from our system."
Frequently asked questions
LinkedIn offers two outcomes: memorialization or closure. Anyone can report a member as deceased, which routes to memorialization, where the profile is preserved with a memorialized badge and access is locked. An authorized representative with court-issued documentation can instead request closure, after which LinkedIn states it can take up to 30 days to delete the data. LinkedIn does not disclose usernames or passwords to anyone, including family members, under any circumstances.
Memorialization preserves the profile: a memorialized badge appears, posts, articles, recommendations, skills, and endorsements stay visible, mobile and desktop sessions expire immediately, LinkedIn products are cancelled (except Apple subscriptions), and notifications stop within 48 hours. Anyone can trigger it by reporting the member as deceased. Closure removes the account, requires an authorized representative with court-issued documentation, and deletes the data within about 30 days. Closure cannot be undone, so capture anything the family wants from the public profile first.
A copy of the death certificate plus one court-issued document: Letters of Administration, Letters of Testamentary, Letters of Representation, or a court order appointing you as an authorized representative of the estate. LinkedIn does not accept wills, powers of attorney, identity documents, email authorizations, informal documents, or screenshots. You also supply the member's full name, profile URL, email address, date of passing, your relationship to them, and a link to an obituary or news article.
LinkedIn documents no path for it. The data download tool works only for a signed-in account holder, LinkedIn states it will not disclose usernames or passwords to anyone, and the User Agreement says LinkedIn "is not a storage service" with "no obligation to store, maintain or provide you a copy of any content." The deceased-member channel memorializes or closes the account; it does not release its contents. Anything the family needs from the public profile should be saved before requesting closure.
No. The User Agreement requires members to "not share or transfer your account or any part of it," including by transferring connections. There is no legacy contact, delegate access, or account succession on LinkedIn, and the profile does not pass to an heir. The only outcomes after death are memorialization or closure.
If other admins remain, they keep access and can add a replacement. If the deceased was the sole admin, the Page is treated as not actively managed. A current employee who lists the organization in their profile Experience section, verifies their workplace with a current company email address, and follows the Page can request admin access; LinkedIn states that where a Page has no active admins, access may be granted automatically.
LinkedIn products are cancelled when the account is memorialized, with one exception: subscriptions purchased through Apple are not cancelled by LinkedIn and keep billing until they are cancelled through Apple. Check the decedent's Apple subscriptions for a LinkedIn charge, because that is the one that continues.
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 LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft) primary sources (7 pages reviewed). How we research.
LinkedIn Help Center
LinkedIn Deceased Member Requests
LinkedIn publishes no processing time for either request. The documented timing facts are what happens after a request is granted: on memorialization, mobile and desktop sessions expire immediately and notifications to the member stop within 48 hours; after the account is marked as closed, LinkedIn states it "can take up to 30 days to completely delete the data from our system."
