To close an Upwork account, users must first resolve all active items—ending contracts, withdrawing proposals, and ensuring payments are processed. Steps differ based on account type (freelancer, client, agency, or team member), but all involve navigating to account settings and selecting the close account option once criteria are met.
How do I close my account?
Before you close your account, 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, you’ll likely need to set up a security question and answer.
- If you've forgotten your security question and answer, get help here
Once you've answered your security question, you'll need to make sure all your activity is closed and follow the steps below for your specific account type:
Freelancer or agency member
Before you close your freelancer account, you must:
- Complete and end all contracts
- Withdraw all proposals
- Ensure all payments have been received and withdrawn
Once all your activity’s resolved, to close your freelancer account on desktop:
- Go to Account settings > Contact info
- Choose Close my account within the account section
- Choose Confirm
Once all your activity’s resolved, to close your freelancer account on the Upwork mobile app:
- Go to Settings > Account management and control
- Select Close account
- Choose Confirm
Client company owners
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 on desktop:
- Go to Account settings > My info
- Choose Close account
To close your client account on the Upwork mobile app:
- Go to Settings > My info
- Select Close account
- Choose Confirm
Client or agency admin, manager, or team member
To close your admin or manager account and are not also a freelancer, agency owner, or client company owner:
- Go to Account Settings > My Teams
- Under Actions, select Leave Team
- 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.
Agency
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 Account settings > Agency Profile
- Select Close my agency at the bottom of the page
What happens if I close my agency?
- Your freelancer account will remain active
- Your agency profile will be deleted
- Your freelancer profile 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
Why don’t I see an option to close my account?
You may need to set a security question and answer it to go through our security protocols before closing your account. Also, make sure all activity is closed.
Why am I redirected to set up a security question when I try to close my account?
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.
I have both a freelancer and client account. Can I close one?
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.