Move users between resellers and rename accounts in DirectAdmin

Hosting accounts do not always stay where they started. A customer moves from one reseller to another, a username should match a new brand, or a domain is replaced. DirectAdmin's admin tools handle these changes without rebuilding the account from scratch.

Before you start

• Admin-level access.
• A fresh backup of the user; see Admin Backup/Transfer.
• Check the target reseller has enough resources and users left in its package.

Change a user's owner (move to another reseller)

1. At Admin Level, go to Account Manager → Change Users Owner (in some versions Admin Tools → Change User Owner).
2. Select the user and the new owner (another reseller or the admin).
3. Confirm.

Files, email and databases stay in place – only ownership changes. The user's package belongs to the old reseller, so assign one of the new reseller's packages afterwards; see reseller packages. If the user had an IP owned by the old reseller, change it to one available to the new reseller.

Rename a user

1. Open the user in List Users.
2. Choose Modify User and find Change Username (or use Account Manager → Change Username).
3. Enter the new username and confirm.

DirectAdmin renames the home directory, system user, mail paths and, depending on version and settings, database and database-user prefixes. Applications with hard-coded paths (for example /home/olduser/) or database names in config files must be updated. Test sites afterwards.

Change a domain name

Users (or admins logged in as them) can rename a domain in Account Manager → Domain Setup → Change Domain (where enabled). DirectAdmin renames the domain folder, email addresses and DNS zone. Update CMS URLs, re-issue SSL for the new name and point DNS. Keep the old domain as a pointer with a redirect for SEO; see domain pointers.

Move a user to another server

1. On the old server, back up the user with Admin Backup/Transfer.
2. Copy the backup to the new server (FTP target or rsync).
3. Restore it there with Select IP from list to give it a new IP.
4. Update DNS (or Multi Server DNS takes care of it) and suspend the old account until the move is confirmed.

Troubleshooting

• Owner change refused: the target reseller has no free users or resources.
• Site broken after rename: hard-coded paths or old database prefixes in config files.
• Email stopped after domain change: MX and SPF records still reference the old domain.

Next steps

• Create reseller accounts.
• Multi Server DNS.
• IP management.