Move business work from a personal email account into a business-owned service without unnecessarily copying private information. The migration should establish a durable business address and preserve the records the organisation is authorised to keep.
01 Prepare and complete the move
- Identify the business messages, contacts, calendars and files in the personal account. Agree the authorised scope with the account owner and separate unrelated private material.
- Choose a business domain and an email product that meets the team's storage, collaboration and security requirements. Confirm account ownership before setup.
- Create the new named account and any department addresses. Configure MFA, recovery and the approved sharing model.
- Test the source provider's supported export or migration method on a small sample. Check dates, attachments, folders and duplicate handling in the destination.
- Transfer the approved data and reconcile representative records. Move calendar and file-sharing arrangements separately where the email method does not cover them.
- Update business contact details, website forms, signatures and third-party account recovery addresses. Inform relevant contacts through an approved communication plan.
- Use any permitted temporary forwarding or reply notice carefully, and review it after the transition. Keep the personal account separate from business administration.
Common questions
Can the business take ownership of the whole personal account?
Do not assume that. Use the provider's supported process and the account owner's authorisation for the business data that needs to move.
Will changing my reply address move old messages?
No. Address presentation and historical-data migration are separate tasks.
What if an important service is registered to the personal address?
Change its account contact or ownership through that service's verified process. Test the new recovery route before relying on it.