What happens to Netflix accounts when the owner dies

Netflix, Inc. accounts are forfeited under the program's terms when the account is closed

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Timeline

Cancellation takes effect at end of current billing cycle. Account data preserved for 24 months. Personal data download takes up to 30 days to process. Gift card balances can be used until depleted (cards do not expire and are non-refundable).

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(General customer service)

Verified Jul 2026

Under Netflix, Inc.'s terms, Netflix accounts do not constitute property of the account holder and are forfeited when the account is closed upon death. There is no established process for transferring accounts to heirs or the estate.

Families have occasionally received goodwill accommodations from Netflix, Inc., but these are not part of the published terms and cannot be relied upon.

What to do

If a Netflix account holder has passed away, here is what to do:

1
Cancel the deceased member's account:
  • •With account access: click "Cancel Membership" on the Account page.
  • •Without access: gather the deceased's email/phone and payment information, then contact Netflix support.
2
Before cancelling, use Profile Transfer to migrate family members' profiles to their own accounts (new or existing). Each profile's viewing history, recommendations, My List, game saves, and settings transfer. The original profile is copied and remains on the source account after transfer to a new or existing account; it can be deleted manually afterward. Profile transfer must be initiated while the source account is still active.
3
Sign out all devices connected to the account during cancellation to prevent unauthorized access.
4
Request a copy of the account's personal information at netflix.com/account/getmyinfo. Processing takes up to 30 days. Data includes account details, payment history, viewing activity, and device information from the past 90 days. For assistance, contact privacy@netflix.com.
5
Account data is preserved for 24 months after cancellation. The account can be restarted during this window.
6
Gift card balances: if the account has a gift card balance, the member can continue watching until the balance runs out (gift cards do not expire and are non-refundable per the gift card help article).
7
Downloaded content on devices becomes inaccessible after account closure. There is no way to preserve downloaded titles.
8
If billed through Apple or another third party: cancel through that service as well, as Netflix cancellation alone may not stop charges from the billing partner.

Required Documents

  • No formal documentation required by Netflix
  • Account email/phone and current payment information needed if lacking login access

Timeline

Cancellation takes effect at end of current billing cycle. Account data preserved for 24 months. Personal data download takes up to 30 days to process. Gift card balances can be used until depleted (cards do not expire and are non-refundable).

Download instructions for the whole estate

Frequently asked questions

If you have account access, click "Cancel Membership" on the Account page. If not, gather the deceased's email/phone and payment information and contact Netflix support. Netflix has a dedicated help article for this process at help.netflix.com/en/node/110165. No death certificate is mentioned as a requirement.

The account itself cannot be transferred. The Terms of Use grant a "limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right" to access the service, and the terms do not address death or succession, so the account does not pass to an estate or beneficiary. What can carry over is data, not the account: individual profiles can be copied to a family member's own new or existing account using Profile Transfer, preserving viewing history, recommendations, My List, game saves, and settings.

Account data (viewing history, ratings, recommendations) is preserved for 24 months after cancellation. The account can be restarted during this window. A personal data download can be requested at netflix.com/account/getmyinfo (processing takes up to 30 days). For assistance with data requests, contact privacy@netflix.com.

Gift card balances remain on the account and do not expire (the no-expiration policy is printed on the back of each card). If a balance remains, the account can continue running until the balance runs out. Gift cards are non-refundable per Netflix's gift card help article, so any remaining balance cannot be recovered as cash for the estate.

Not on the same account long-term. Family members should use Profile Transfer to migrate their profiles to their own accounts before the original account is cancelled. Extra Members (paid add-on) also lose access when the primary account closes.

Netflix's help article on cancelling a deceased member's account does not mention requiring a death certificate. If you have account access, you can cancel directly. Without access, Netflix asks for the account email/phone and current payment information to verify the account before cancellation.

While signed into the account, visit netflix.com/account/getmyinfo and follow the instructions. Netflix produces the export within up to 30 days of verifying the request. The download includes account details, notification and privacy settings, billing records, profile information, viewing activity, and device information for devices signed in within the last 90 days. For assistance, contact privacy@netflix.com.

Since Netflix accounts are forfeited at death under the official terms, accounts can only be used during the account holder's lifetime. Redeeming, transferring, or sharing accounts while the account is active preserves their value.

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Sources

Data sourced from Netflix, Inc. primary sources (8 pages reviewed). How we research.