# Account recovery

If a former employee owned a Neon account and didn’t shut it down or transfer access before leaving, you can follow the steps outlined below to recover the account.

::::steps
:::step{title="Regain access through the original login method"}
First, determine how the account was accessed.

### A. If the account used a third-party login

If the former employee signed up with a third-party identity provider (for example, Google, GitHub, Microsoft, Hasura), you must recover access to that account through your organization's identity provider. Neon cannot bypass third-party authentication.

### B. If the account used email and password

If you have access to the former employee's company email account:

1. Go to the [Neon login page](https://console.neon.tech/login)
2. Click **Forgot Password**
3. Enter the former employee's email address
4. Access the password reset link from their inbox
5. Set a new password and sign in

Once signed in, you can:

- [Update the email address](/guides/manage-operate-manage-accounts#dt-step-update-personal-information)
- [Transfer project ownership](/guides/manage-operate-manage-orgs-project-transfer)
- [Add an admin](/guides/manage-operate-manage-orgs-manage#dt-step-set-permissions) to your projects or organization
- [Update billing details](/guides/plans-billing-manage-billing)

#### note

For security reasons, we recommend immediately revoking access to company email accounts when employees leave your organization.
:::

:::step{title="If you cannot access the email or login method"}
If the original login method is inaccessible, we can assist through a manual identity verification process.

To begin:

1. Open a [Neon Support ticket](https://console.neon.tech/app/projects?modal=support) from your Neon account.

2. Provide:

   - A signed statement on company letterhead explaining the situation
   - Contact details for another employee at your company

Neon will:

- Notify the email address associated with the account and wait 24 business hours (Mon–Fri) for a response
- Send you a document to sign electronically
- Schedule a short video call to verify your identity (please have a government-issued ID ready)

#### info

Neon will not store or copy your ID. It's used only to confirm that the person on the call is who they say they are.

Once all steps are complete, we'll grant access to the account or transfer project ownership as needed.

#### important

Neon Support may request additional information during or after the verification process. Manual account recovery is a sensitive procedure designed to protect your organization's data and prevent unauthorized access.
:::
::::

## Need help?

Join our [Discord Server](https://neon.com/discord) to ask questions or see what others are doing with Neon. For paid plan support options, see [Support](/guides/postgres-introduction-support).

## Related pages

- [Accounts](./manage-operate-manage-accounts.md)
- [Get started with project permissions](./manage-operate-manage-project-permissions-get-started.md)
- [User permissions](./manage-operate-manage-user-permissions.md)
- [Organizations](./manage-operate-manage-organizations.md)
- [Project collaboration](./manage-operate-guides-project-collaboration-guide.md)
- [Manage database access](./manage-operate-manage-database-access.md)
- [Manage API Keys](./manage-operate-manage-api-keys.md)

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