Transfer office 2019 from one account to another

You can transfer a qualifying Office Home & Business 2019 installation to the new computer, but you cannot simply move the associated purchase from the former user’s Microsoft account to a new Microsoft account.

Transfer Office to the new computer

Office Home & Business 2019 is a one-time purchase licensed for one computer. Microsoft’s documented Office 2019 transfer process is:

1. Review the applicable license terms.
   On the existing computer, open Word or Excel and select File > Account > About Word/Excel > View the Microsoft Software License Terms. For Office 2019, review Section 3: Transfer to a Third Party.
2. Obtain the Office 2019 installer.
   Ordinarily, this requires signing in to the Microsoft account originally associated with Office, selecting Office apps, finding Office 2019, and selecting Install.^1^
3. Install Office on the new computer.
4. Activate by telephone.
   If automatic activation reports that the activation limit has been reached, use the telephone option in the Microsoft Office Activation Wizard. Microsoft specifically documents telephone activation when moving Office 2019 to another computer.^2^
5. Uninstall Office from the former computer.
   The transferred copy must not remain installed or in use on the previous computer.^2^

The account issue

Transferring the installation is different from changing the Microsoft account that owns the purchase. Microsoft personal accounts cannot be merged, and account purchases cannot be transferred between them through the account-management interface.^3^

Because the original account no longer exists:

• If it was recently closed: it may be reopened during its 30- or 60-day grace period. After that period, a permanently deleted account cannot be reopened.^4^
• If it cannot be reopened: contact Microsoft Support for Office activation assistance. Provide the purchase receipt, product key if retained, company ownership records, and details of the previous installation. Support agents cannot access or change account details, so proof of purchase will be important; Microsoft does not document a self-service method for assigning this Office 2019 purchase to another account.^5^
• If this was a volume-license installation rather than a retail purchase: use your organization’s volume-licensing deployment and activation process instead. Volume-licensed Office 2019 editions are administered differently from retail Office Home & Business.^6^

Office 2019 reached end of support on October 14, 2025 and no longer receives security fixes. For a company computer, replacing it with a supported Office release or Microsoft 365 should be considered even if the transfer succeeds.^6^

References

1. Download and install or reinstall Office 2021, Office 2019, or Office 2016
2. Activate Office after reinstalling or installing on a different device | Microsoft Support
3. Combining Microsoft accounts | Microsoft Support
4. Reopen your Microsoft account | Microsoft Support
5. Contact Microsoft customer support | Microsoft Support
6. Overview of Office 2019 (for IT Pros)