Move iCloud Drive Files to Another Apple ID: Before, During and After the Switch

Apple has no way to move iCloud Drive files between Apple Accounts. Here is how to prepare both accounts, copy the files three ways, and retire the old ID.

Introduction

Apple does not transfer iCloud Drive files from one Apple Account (formerly Apple ID) to another. There is no merge, no export to a second account, and Apple's own support answers point to the same workaround: get the files out of the old account and put them into the new one. People hit this when they set up a new Apple Account after a school or work address expires, when a shared family ID is split into personal ones, or when an old account with years of Documents and Desktop files is being retired.

The copy itself is the easy part. What makes or breaks the switch is the preparation — storage on the new plan, two-factor codes for both accounts, Advanced Data Protection — and the clean-up afterwards. This guide follows that order: what can move at all, what to set up on both accounts before moving day, three ways to copy the files, and what to check before you stop using the old Apple Account.

The Short Answer
What Can Move Between Apple Accounts
Before Moving Day: Prepare Both Accounts
Moving Day: Three Ways to Copy the Files
After the Switch: Retire the Old Apple Account
Frequently Asked Questions

The Short Answer

You can't move iCloud Drive files between Apple Accounts inside iCloud — you copy them. For a few folders, share them with the new account and copy them on a device. For a whole iCloud Drive, either download it on a Mac and upload it again, or connect both accounts to a cloud-to-cloud service and copy without a download. Either way, prepare both accounts first: storage, verification codes and Advanced Data Protection decide how smooth it is.

What Can Move Between Apple Accounts

Data in the old Apple Account	Can it go to the new one?
Files and folders in iCloud Drive	Yes, as copies — the subject of this guide
Desktop and Documents folders synced from a Mac	Yes; they are ordinary folders in iCloud Drive
Pages, Numbers and Keynote documents	Yes; they sit in iCloud Drive folders named after the apps
Sharing settings and collaborators	No; copies start unshared, so re-share from the new account
Earlier versions of files	No; only the current version is copied
iCloud Photos, Notes, Messages, Contacts, Calendars	Not through iCloud Drive; each needs its own export
App Store purchases and subscriptions	Not part of iCloud Drive; check Apple's options for the account itself

Before Moving Day: Prepare Both Accounts

Most failed switches stall here rather than during the copy. Go through the list for each account:

Check	Old Apple Account	New Apple Account
Storage	Note how much iCloud Drive uses (Settings → your name → iCloud)	Pick a plan with room for it: 5 GB free; iCloud+ 50 GB, 200 GB, 2 TB, 6 TB or 12 TB
Files only on one Mac	Make sure every file has finished uploading to iCloud before you start	—
Verification codes	A trusted device or phone number you can still reach	The same, for the new account
Password	The regular password you use at icloud.com	The regular password
Advanced Data Protection	Off on both accounts if a web or cloud tool will read or write the files; turn it back on afterwards
Pending account updates	Sign in at appleid.apple.com once and accept any new terms or phone verification Apple asks for

Also decide where the files will land. Copying the old Desktop and Documents straight into the new account's folders of the same names mixes them with whatever a Mac signed in to the new account is already syncing. A separate folder, such as From old Apple Account, keeps the two apart until you have sorted through them. Files larger than 50 GB can't be stored in iCloud Drive at all.

Moving Day: Three Ways to Copy the Files

iCloud Drive folders can be shared with another Apple Account from a Mac running macOS 10.15.4 or later, an iPhone or iPad on iOS 13.4 or later, or icloud.com. Share each folder from the old account with the new account's email address, allowing changes. On a Mac or iPhone signed in to the new account, open the shared folder in Files or Finder and copy its contents into a folder the new account owns.

The share alone is not a move: the folder still belongs to the old account and uses its storage, and it disappears for the new account once the old one stops sharing it. The copy step is what moves the data, and the device downloads every file while copying. This is the right tool for a handful of folders and for keeping one folder in use by both accounts during the switch.

Option 2: Download on a Mac, upload as the new account

On a Mac signed in to the old Apple Account, turn off Optimize Mac Storage for iCloud Drive, or right-click the top folders and choose Download Now, and wait until nothing is left in the cloud only.
Copy the iCloud Drive folders to an external drive or a folder outside iCloud Drive.
Sign out of the old Apple Account in System Settings and sign in with the new one, turning on iCloud Drive.
Copy the folders from the external drive into the new iCloud Drive, ideally into a separate folder, and leave the Mac on until uploading finishes.

This works without any third-party service but needs a Mac with enough free disk space for the whole iCloud Drive, and the upload runs over your home connection. A second macOS user account signed in to the new Apple Account avoids signing out of the old one on your main user.

Option 3: Copy between both iCloud Drives with CloudsLinker

CloudsLinker can hold two iCloud Drive connections at once — one per Apple Account — and copy from one to the other on its servers. Nothing is downloaded to your devices, so no Mac and no free disk space are needed; what you do need is the regular password and a verification code for each account.

Step 1: Connect the Old Apple Account's iCloud Drive

Turn off Advanced Data Protection on the old account (Settings → your name → iCloud → Advanced Data Protection). In CloudsLinker, click Add Cloud, choose iCloud Drive and enter the account's email address — or its phone number with the country code — and the regular password you use at icloud.com; app-specific passwords are rejected. Click I got it, Authorize Now iCloud Drive and type the six-digit code Apple sends to the account's trusted devices. If no code arrives, open Having trouble with the verification code? in the dialog to have it sent by SMS.

CloudsLinker Connect Your Cloud Drive dialog for iCloud Drive with a notice to turn off Advanced Data Protection under Settings, your name, iCloud, a Having trouble with the verification code section, Apple ID and password fields and the I got it, Authorize Now iCloud Drive button

If the code is accepted but Apple asks for an account update first — confirming the trusted phone number or accepting new terms — sign in at appleid.apple.com, complete what Apple shows, and connect again.

Step 2: Connect the New Apple Account's iCloud Drive

Repeat the same steps with the new Apple Account: Advanced Data Protection off, Add Cloud → iCloud Drive, its email and regular password, and the code sent to its own trusted devices. Both connections now appear under your clouds, each named after its Apple Account, which keeps them apart on the Transfer page.

Step 3: Pick Folders and a Landing Folder

Open Transfer. In Source, expand the old account and tick the folders to copy. In Target, expand the new account, hover over it and create a folder such as From old Apple Account, then select it. Keep Copy selected: Move would delete each file from the old account after copying it.

CloudsLinker Create transfer task page with two iCloud Drive connections: alex.old@example.com as the source with Documents, Pages, Numbers, Scans, Taxes and Projects ticked, and a new From old Apple Account folder selected in alex.new@example.com as the target, with Copy checked

Step 4: Start the Copy and Check It

Click Create transfer. Task monitor shows files and bytes done, and the copy continues after you close the browser. When it finishes, open a few folders on a device signed in to the new account and compare their sizes with the old account before deleting anything.

CloudsLinker Task monitor with All, Running, Scheduled and Failed tabs, a running task with progress and a Cancel button, and finished tasks with Retry buttons (example tasks from other clouds)

After the Switch: Retire the Old Apple Account

Check the copy. Open files from each top-level folder on a device signed in to the new account, including a large video and a Pages or Numbers document.
Sort the landing folder. Move files from From old Apple Account into the new Desktop, Documents or app folders as you need them.
Re-share. Folders that others used were shared by the old account; share the new copies and send the new links.
Tidy up access. Remove both iCloud Drive connections from CloudsLinker, and turn Advanced Data Protection back on for each account.
Handle everything that isn't iCloud Drive — photos, notes, contacts, purchases and subscriptions — before deleting or abandoning the old Apple Account.
Free the old storage last. Delete the old files, or downgrade the old iCloud+ plan, only once the new account has been in use for a while.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Apple has no transfer or merge for iCloud Drive between Apple Accounts. You can share folders from the old account with the new one, download and re-upload the files on a Mac or PC, or copy them cloud-to-cloud with a service that connects to both accounts.

You need a verification code for each account. Apple sends it to that account's trusted devices; if none is at hand, the CloudsLinker dialog can have the code sent by SMS to the account's trusted phone number instead. Plan the connection for a moment when you can receive codes for both accounts.

With Advanced Data Protection on, iCloud Drive is end-to-end encrypted with keys that live only on your devices, so no web or server-side tool can read the files. Turn it off on both accounts in Settings → your name → iCloud → Advanced Data Protection before connecting, and turn it back on once the copy is finished and the connections are removed.

The regular password you use at icloud.com. iCloud Drive access works like a web sign-in followed by a two-factor code, and Apple does not accept app-specific passwords (the abcd-efgh-ijkl-mnop kind) for it. After two wrong attempts CloudsLinker shows what to check, and after a third it pauses sign-in for a minute, because repeated failures can make Apple lock the account.

If Desktop and Documents syncing was on, those folders are part of the old iCloud Drive and copy like any other folder. Land them in a separate folder such as From old Apple Account rather than directly in the new account's own Desktop and Documents, which a Mac signed in to the new account may already be filling.

At least as much as the old iCloud Drive uses — check it in Settings → your name → iCloud. Every Apple Account includes 5 GB; iCloud+ adds 50 GB, 200 GB, 2 TB, 6 TB or 12 TB. Single files are limited to 50 GB in iCloud Drive.

Use Copy. Move deletes each file from the old iCloud Drive after it is copied, which leaves no fallback if something goes wrong on the new side. Copy everything, check the new account, then delete the old files or the old account yourself.

No — those are separate iCloud services, not iCloud Drive. This guide covers files and folders in iCloud Drive only. Photos, notes, messages, contacts and calendars each need their own export or transfer, and app purchases and subscriptions are tied to the Apple Account itself.

Conclusion

For a few folders, share them from the old Apple Account and copy them into the new one on a Mac or iPhone. For a full iCloud Drive with a Mac at hand, download everything, switch accounts and upload it again. To skip the download — or when there is no Mac — CloudsLinker connects both Apple Accounts and copies the folders from one iCloud Drive to the other on its servers; you only need the regular password and a verification code for each account, with Advanced Data Protection switched off during the copy. Whichever route, land the files in their own folder, compare counts, then re-share what others used and turn Advanced Data Protection back on.

Related: iCloud Drive connection notes, iCloud Drive to Google Drive and iCloud Drive to OneDrive.

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