What happens to Udemy revenue when the owner dies
Udemy, Inc. has a formal process for transferring revenue after an account holder dies
Udemy Support
Udemy Support (no dedicated estate or deceased-user channel; use the Contact Us flow)
Udemy publishes no timeline for handling a deceased user's account or releasing an instructor balance to an estate. For context on ordinary payouts, Udemy's Instructor Terms say payment is made within 45 days of the end of the month in which the fee was received or the course consumption occurred, provided the amount payable is at least $25 USD; smaller amounts are held until the cumulative amount reaches $25 USD or the end of the calendar year in which they were earned, whichever comes first. The Help Center's Instructor Payment Overview describes the same cycle as a three-month schedule (sales in month 1, refunds and adjustments in months 1 and 2, payment in month 3), with payments "typically sent within the first 10 business days of the payment month" and balances under $25 USD issued in December.
Udemy's Terms of Use (last updated July 31, 2026) state in the Accounts section: "In the event of the death of a user, the account of that user will be closed." The same section says a user "may not transfer your account to someone else or use someone else's account," and section 12.8 says a user "may not assign or transfer these Terms (or the rights and licenses granted under them)." What that closure means differs by side of the marketplace. For a student, purchased courses are a "limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license," and Udemy's closure article states that closing an account means losing access to all enrolled courses, so the course library ends with the account. For an instructor, the Instructor Terms (last updated July 29, 2026) say that when an account is deleted, Udemy will "use commercially reasonable efforts to make any remaining scheduled payments that are owed to you before deleting your account," and that students who enrolled may keep access to the courses. The Instructor Terms also say that if Udemy "cannot settle funds into your payment account" after the period set by unclaimed property laws, it may submit those funds to the appropriate government authority. Udemy publishes no deceased-user form or estate procedure describing how a payout owed to a deceased instructor is redirected to an estate, so that part is handled case by case through Udemy Support.
How to request a transfer
Follow these steps to initiate a transfer of Udemy revenue after the account holder's death:
- •The email address on the Udemy account
- •For an instructor: the payout method on file (PayPal, Payoneer, Tipalti, or U.S. direct deposit), as shown in statements or payout emails
- •A death certificate
- •Documentation showing authority to act for the estate (for example, Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration)
Required Documents
- Email address on the Udemy account
- Payout method on file (PayPal, Payoneer, Tipalti, or U.S. direct deposit), for an instructor account
- Death certificate
- Documentation showing authority to act for the estate (for example, Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration)
Timeline
Udemy publishes no timeline for handling a deceased user's account or releasing an instructor balance to an estate. For context on ordinary payouts, Udemy's Instructor Terms say payment is made within 45 days of the end of the month in which the fee was received or the course consumption occurred, provided the amount payable is at least $25 USD; smaller amounts are held until the cumulative amount reaches $25 USD or the end of the calendar year in which they were earned, whichever comes first. The Help Center's Instructor Payment Overview describes the same cycle as a three-month schedule (sales in month 1, refunds and adjustments in months 1 and 2, payment in month 3), with payments "typically sent within the first 10 business days of the payment month" and balances under $25 USD issued in December.
Frequently asked questions
Udemy's Terms of Use state: "In the event of the death of a user, the account of that user will be closed." Udemy publishes no deceased-user form, so an executor contacts Udemy Support through the Contact Us flow. Because closing an account deletes or anonymizes personal data and ends access to purchased courses, the estate can ask Udemy to hold the account until its purchase and payout records are documented and any amount owed has been paid.
The unpaid amount appears as "Amount To Be Paid" on the instructor's Payout Report. Udemy's Instructor Terms say that before deleting an account, Udemy will use commercially reasonable efforts to make any remaining scheduled payments owed, and that funds it cannot settle into the payment account may be submitted to a government authority under unclaimed property laws. Udemy does not publish how a payout owed to a deceased instructor is redirected to an estate, so the executor asks Udemy Support how the balance will be released and also checks the PayPal, Payoneer, Tipalti, or bank account the payouts went to.
No. Udemy's Terms of Use grant students a "limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license" to view the courses they paid for, and say not to transfer or resell content. Closing an account ends access to all enrolled courses. A survivor can ask Udemy, as a discretionary courtesy, whether access can be moved to their own account, but Udemy has no obligation to agree.
Udemy credits are a balance applied automatically to course purchases on Udemy.com. Udemy's credits FAQ states that credits cannot be exchanged or reversed to a different payment method and cannot be transferred to other accounts, and that unused credits may be reported and escheated under unclaimed property laws. An executor can ask Udemy Support how the balance will be treated; any refund is at Udemy's discretion.
Udemy's Instructor Terms say that if students previously enrolled in an instructor's content, the instructor's name and that content may remain accessible to those students after the account is deleted. Udemy's closure article also says that instructors with enrolled students must contact Support to close the account, and that an account with payments due cannot be closed until the last scheduled payout is sent.
Use the "Contact Us" button on any Udemy Help Center article. English-language users are connected to Udemy's virtual agent "Alex," which can route the request to an email ticket. Udemy's contact article lists no phone line and there is no dedicated estate channel. Have the account email, the payout method on file (for an instructor), a death certificate, and estate authority documents ready.
The recipient can use transferred revenue under the program's normal terms. Keeping the deceased account holder's account number and contact details on file simplifies this process for the executor or surviving family.
Sources
Data sourced from Udemy, Inc. primary sources (12 pages reviewed). How we research.
Udemy Support
Udemy Support (no dedicated estate or deceased-user channel; use the Contact Us flow)
Udemy publishes no timeline for handling a deceased user's account or releasing an instructor balance to an estate. For context on ordinary payouts, Udemy's Instructor Terms say payment is made within 45 days of the end of the month in which the fee was received or the course consumption occurred, provided the amount payable is at least $25 USD; smaller amounts are held until the cumulative amount reaches $25 USD or the end of the calendar year in which they were earned, whichever comes first. The Help Center's Instructor Payment Overview describes the same cycle as a three-month schedule (sales in month 1, refunds and adjustments in months 1 and 2, payment in month 3), with payments "typically sent within the first 10 business days of the payment month" and balances under $25 USD issued in December.
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