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If you’re here because you’re having a frustrating issue and haven’t given Upwork support a chance to resolve it, please do — they’d love to try to help. If you’re ready to leave, follow the steps below.
Important:
If you have a freelancer and client profile, your entire Upwork account (both freelancer and client areas) will be closed when you close either profile type.
Close my account
- If you want to close your account on Upwork, there are a few important steps first to make sure everything is resolved and secure:
You may be asked to answer the security question you previously set up or create one before being able to close your account. If you don’t see the button to close your account under your Settings (see drop-downs below for specific steps based on your user type), you’ll likely need to set up a security question and answer. If you’ve forgotten your security question and answer, get help here. - Ensure that all your current activity is cleared, including pending, active, and open issues (such as contracts, proposals, etc.). Learn more in the drop-downs below.
Before you close your freelancer account, you must first:
- Complete and end all contracts
- Withdraw all proposals
- Ensure all payments have been received and withdrawn
Once all your activity is resolved, to close your freelancer account:
- Go to Settings › Contact Info
- Choose Close my account within the account section
- Choose Confirm
Only the company owner can close a client company. First, you must:
- Remove all other team members from the company
- Close all contracts (hourly and fixed-price) associated with the company. If you close any hourly contracts, the weekly billing cycle must end before you can close your company
- Close all open jobs associated with the company
- Ensure all outstanding billing is paid within Upwork
Once all your activity is resolved, to close your company client account:
- Go to Settings › My Info
- Choose Close account at the bottom of the page
To close your admin or manager account and are not also a freelancer, agency owner, or client company owner:
- Go to Settings › My Teams
- Select Leave Team under Actions
- Repeat if you are on multiple teams. Once you leave all teams your account will be closed
Note:
If you are a colleague or team member, reach out to your admin/manager for help in closing your account.
Only the agency owner can close an agency. First, you must:
- Remove all members of the agency
- Close all contracts associated with the agency
- Withdraw all proposals associated with the agency
- Ensure all payments have been received and withdrawn
Once all your activity is resolved, to close your agency account:
- Go to Settings > Agency Profile
- Select Close my agency at the bottom of the page
Your agency will be closed, but your freelancer account will remain active.
- Your agency profile will be deleted
- Your freelancer profile will remain as-is, except that it will no longer be tied to an agency
- Your Job Success Score and other stats will update to reflect only your own personal contract history. This will include agency contracts where you were the one hired
Before you close your freelancer account, you must first:
- Complete and end all contracts
- Withdraw all proposals
- Ensure all payments have been received and withdrawn
Once all your activity is resolved, to close your freelancer account:
- Go to Settings > Account management and control
- Select Close account
- Choose Confirm
Only the company owner can close a client company. First, you must:
- Remove all other team members from the company
- Close all contracts (hourly and fixed-price) associated with the company. If you close any hourly contracts, the weekly billing cycle must end before you can close your company
- Close all open jobs associated with the company
- Ensure all outstanding billing is paid within Upwork
Once all your activity is resolved, to close your client account:
- Go to Settings > My info
- Select Close account
- Choose Confirm
Frequently Asked Questions
You may need to set a security question and answer it to bypass our security protocols before closing your account. Also, make sure all activity is closed. Use the Get Support button to access our chatbot in the bottom corner of this article or any Help page if you’re instructed to contact support.
Important security protocols require you to answer a security question before you can close your account. You may need to set a security question (if you haven’t yet) and answer it before closing your account.
If you close an agency, your freelancer account (and client account, if you have one) will remain active. Your agency profile will be deleted but your freelancer/client profiles will remain as-is, except your freelancer account will no longer be tied to an agency. Your Job Success Score will update to reflect only your own personal contract history, however this will include agency contracts where you were the one hired.
Closing a freelancer or client profile will close your entire account. If one of your account profiles isn’t needed anymore, but the other is, you should not close your account. For example, if you no longer plan to use Upwork as a client to hire freelancers but want to continue to seek work as a freelancer here, you shouldn’t close your account. It’s OK for the unused profile (either client or freelancer) to remain and not be used.