Copy, transfer or import files to your personal OneDrive

When you change jobs or graduate from a school or college, you will leave behind all files that were in your work or school OneDrive account. 

If you want to keep those files, you will need to copy or transfer them to the OneDrive of your own personal Microsoft account.  

Note: If you don’t have a personal Microsoft account, create one.

There are a couple of ways to move or transfer your files: 

Use File Explorer or Finder to copy files to another OneDrive

If you have OneDrive setup for both work/school and personal accounts, you can copy your files from one folder to another. If you only have one account set up, learn How to add an account in OneDrive.

  1. Use File Explorer or Finder to select the files or folders you want to keep.

  2. Select Copy.

    Notes: 

    • We recommend to copy/paste rather than drag/drop as it’s less prone to errors caused by dropping in the wrong place.  

    • Be careful you don’t copy more data than you have room for in your personal account. 

  3. Use File Explorer or Finder to go your personal OneDrive.

  4. Select Paste

  5. OneDrive will now sync your copied files to your own personal account. 

See also

Import other cloud files using the OneDrive mobile app

Need more help

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Contact Support For help with your Microsoft account and subscriptions, visit Account & Billing Help.

For technical support, go to Contact Microsoft Support, enter your problem and select Get Help. If you still need help, select Contact Support to be routed to the best support option.

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Admins Admins should view Help for OneDrive Admins, the OneDrive Tech Community or contact Microsoft 365 for business support.

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