You cannot change the address itself, but you can create a new Gmail account and transfer your data

Gmail does not offer a built-in tool to change your email address once it is created. The address you choose at signup is permanent. However, you can set up a new Gmail account with a different address and move your emails, contacts, and settings to it. This takes a few hours of work but keeps your data intact.

The process involves creating the new account, forwarding your old emails to it, updating your contacts and passwords, and then deciding whether to keep the old account open for incoming mail or close it. Most people keep the old account active for at least a few months to catch messages sent to the wrong address.

Key Takeaways

  • Gmail addresses cannot be changed after creation, so you must create a new account with the address you want.
  • You can set up email forwarding from your old account to your new one so messages sent to the old address still reach you.
  • Gmail's data transfer tool lets you read your emails, contacts, and calendar to move them to the new account.
  • Updating your password recovery options and two-factor authentication on the new account takes 10 to 15 minutes and prevents lockouts.
  • Notifying important contacts of your new address prevents messages from getting lost in forwarded mail or spam filters.

Create a new Gmail account with your preferred address

Go to accounts.google.com and click "Create account". Choose "For myself" unless you are setting up a business account. Enter your first and last name, then the username you want — this becomes the part before @gmail.com. Gmail will tell you if the address is taken; if it is, you can add numbers or periods to make it unique.

Complete the rest of the signup: add a recovery email address (use a different email you control), set a strong password, and verify your phone number. Google uses the recovery email and phone to help you regain access if you forget your password, so choose ones you will still have access to in a year.

Set up forwarding from your old account to the new one

Sign into your old Gmail account. Click the gear icon in the top right, then select "See all settings". Go to the "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" tab. Click "Add a forwarding address" and enter your new Gmail address. Gmail will send a confirmation email to the new address — open it and click the confirmation link.

Once confirmed, go back to the forwarding settings and choose "Forward all incoming mail to [new address]" and "Keep Gmail's copy in the inbox". This way, every new email sent to your old address arrives in your new inbox, and you have a backup copy in the old account. You can change this setting later if you want to stop forwarding.

read your existing emails and contacts

To move emails you already have, use Google's Takeout tool. Go to takeout.google.com, sign in with your old account, and select "Mail" and "Contacts". Click "All Mail" to read everything. Choose the file format (MBOX works with most email programs) and let Google prepare the read — this can take hours if you have thousands of emails.

Once the read is ready, open it on your computer. For emails, you can import the MBOX file into your new Gmail account by going to settings, clicking "Forwarding and POP/IMAP", enabling IMAP, then using a tool like Gmail Backup or your email client to import the file. For contacts, read the CSV file from Takeout and import it into your new account's contacts by clicking the import button in Google Contacts.

Update passwords and recovery information on the new account

Go through your most important accounts — email, banking, social media, work — and change the email address on file to your new Gmail address. Start with accounts that have financial or security consequences if you lose access. Update the password recovery email in each one so that if you forget a password, the reset link goes to your new Gmail address.

If you use two-factor authentication (a code sent to your phone or email when you sign in), update those settings too. Remove your old Gmail address from any accounts that send codes to email, and add your new address instead. This prevents you from being locked out of accounts if you stop checking the old Gmail inbox.

Notify your important contacts of the address change

Send an email from your new account to friends, family, and colleagues letting them know your new address. Include a note that your old address will forward messages for a while, so they do not need to update their contacts when ready, but using the new address going forward is better. Be specific about which services or accounts the new address applies to — for example, "use this for work emails" or "this is my personal email now".

Check any online services where your email is listed publicly — professional websites, social media bios, business directories — and update those too. These are often where people find your contact information, and an outdated address there can cause messages to go to the wrong place.

Decide whether to keep or close your old account

You do not have to close your old Gmail account. Many people keep it open with forwarding enabled for six months to a year to catch messages sent to the wrong address. After that time, you can decide to close it or leave it dormant. If you close it, any emails still in that inbox are deleted permanently, so read or forward anything important first.

If you want to close the account, go to myaccount.google.com, click "Delete your account or services" on the left, then "Delete a service". Select Gmail and follow the prompts. Google will ask you to confirm and may require you to enter your password. The account closes within a few days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will people still be able to email my old Gmail address?

Yes, as long as you have forwarding enabled. Emails sent to the old address will arrive in your new inbox. If you close the old account, emails to it will bounce back to the sender, so keep the old account open for at least a few months.

Can I use both Gmail addresses at the same time?

Yes. You can sign into both accounts in the same browser using Google's account switcher (the profile icon in the top right). You can also send emails from either address by going to settings in your new account, clicking "Accounts and import", and adding the old address as a "send-as" address.

What if I forgot the recovery email for my old account?

You can still access it if you remember your password. Sign in normally and set up a new recovery email in the security settings. If you forgot the password too, use the "Forgot password?" link on the login page and answer security questions or use a recovery phone number if you set one up.

Do I need to read my emails, or is forwarding enough?

Forwarding only sends new emails going forward. If you want to keep old emails in your new account, read them using Takeout. If you only care about new messages, forwarding alone is sufficient and takes no extra work.

How long does it take to move everything to the new account?

Setting up the new account and forwarding takes 15 to 20 minutes. Downloading emails via Takeout can take several hours depending on how many you have. Importing them into the new account takes another hour or two. Updating passwords across your other accounts is the longest part and depends on how many services you use.