Ownership transfer may involve contract, billing, and access handoff. Document all assets, DNS, and credentials. Use a checklist and ensure the new owner has support and payment details. Revoke old access after cutover.
What to document
- Assets: List every server, VPS, dedicated host, load balancer, object storage bucket, and database instance. Include provider, region, ID, and purpose. Add domains and DNS zones.
- Credentials: Root/sudo, panel logins, API keys, SSH keys (who has which), DB passwords, and any third-party services (CDN, DNS, email) tied to the account. Do not send passwords in clear text over insecure channels; use a secure handoff (vault, encrypted share, or in-person).
- Contracts and billing: Who pays what, payment method, renewal dates. Transfer billing to the new owner per provider process (e.g. change payment method, or create new account and migrate resources). Some providers support "transfer account" or "change org"; others require new account and manual migration.
- Support: Support tier, ticket history (if transferable), and main contact. New owner should have access to open a ticket and know SLA.
Handoff process
- Checklist: Create a checklist: inventory assets, document credentials, notify provider(s), change billing, grant new owner access (create user or transfer account), verify new owner can log in and pay, revoke old access (remove old user, rotate credentials the old owner knew). Tick off each step.
- Provider process: Each provider has a process for billing change or account transfer. Some allow adding a new billing contact and removing the old; others require new account and migration. Start early; some steps take days or require support ticket.
- DNS and domains: If domains are in the same account, plan transfer (registrar transfer or move to new account). Update nameservers if DNS is hosted with the same provider. Ensure new owner has access to DNS and domain renewal.
After cutover
- Revoke: Remove old owner from all panels, SSH access, API keys, and billing. Rotate any shared secrets (DB passwords, API keys) so the old owner no longer has access even if they kept a copy. Revoke or delete old SSH keys from
authorized_keys. - Confirm: New owner confirms they can access servers, DNS, billing, and support. Document handoff date and any remaining items (e.g. "domain transfer in progress").
- Retention: Agree on how long the old owner keeps copies of docs or logs (if any) and then delete. Avoid the old owner retaining access "just in case"—clean break is safer.
Summary
Ownership transfer involves contract, billing, and access handoff. Document all assets, DNS, and credentials. Use a checklist; ensure the new owner has support and payment details. Revoke old access after cutover and rotate shared secrets.
