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Change an account administrator or legal representative

This guide helps partner support teams handle requests to change an account administrator (admin) or legal representative: what to collect, what to tell your user, how to track progress, and when to escalate.

For user-facing instructions in Swan's web banking, share Change your account's legal representative.

For the technical API reference, including mutations, status values, and rejection types, see Change account administrator.

Key takeaways
  • Changing an account admin or legal representative can't be done through the Dashboard alone. It requires a Swan Support request.
  • The secure form link is valid for 7 calendar days, and progress isn't saved.
  • The change applies to all accounts belonging to the account holder, not just one.
  • You can only have one active request at a time per account holder. Starting a new request while one is active will delay both.
  • Complete documents are the best way to avoid delays. Missing documents move the request back into information collection.
  • Once the change is complete, Swan doesn't automatically remove or downgrade the previous admin.
TermWhat it means
Legal representativeThe person legally authorized to represent the company or legal entity.
Account adminThe person with administrative control over the Swan account.

For company accounts, Swan records one person as both the legal representative and the account admin. This means that when an account admin change is approved, Swan also updates the legal representative recorded on the account. This process applies only to company accounts, including companies, associations, homeowner associations, and other legal entities. It doesn’t apply to individual or self-employed account holders.

For full details on account memberships and permissions, see Account memberships.

Prepare to submit the request​

Before starting the change request, gather as much context as possible from your user so Swan can process it without repeated follow-ups.

  • Identify the company and who the new admin or legal representative should be.
  • Check whether your user already provided supporting documents.
  • Include all known context and attachments in the first support request.
  • Don't ask your user for information you already have in your own tools, such as account references or previously attached documents.
  • Ask for missing information in one complete request, not across multiple follow-ups.
Account verification

Swan still verifies the identity of any new administrator. This guide covers what you need to do on your side beforehand.

Verification renewal

An ongoing verification renewal (Re-KYC) doesn't block an admin change request. The two processes can run at the same time.

Phone number changes

If the user also needs a phone number change, complete that separately before or after the admin change, not at the same time.

Prepare documents​

Missing documents cause most delays. Required documents vary based on the company type, situation, and who is filling out the form. Not all items apply to every case. Share this with users before they open the form so they can prepare. Swan will confirm the necessary documents after reviewing the request. For the full list, see required supporting documents. For country-specific registration documents, see proof of company registration.

No progress saving

Tell your user to gather documents before opening the link. If the form isn't completed in one session, your user will have to start over.

Submit the request​

Once you've gathered the information and documents, raise a support request using the Partner support request form. Include all context and attachments from the preparation steps.

Swan processes the request, creates the change, and sends you a secure form link to forward to your user (or to the person completing the form). The form link is valid for 7 calendar days.

Update access after the change​

Swan doesn't automatically remove or downgrade the previous admin. Their membership and permissions stay the same.

Once Swan confirms the change is complete, advise the new administrator to:

  • Disable the previous admin's account membership if they should no longer have access.
  • Downgrade the previous admin's permissions if they should keep limited access.

If your product doesn't let support teams manage account memberships directly, ask your development team to add this capability using Swan's Account Membership API. Consider integrating this into your product more broadly, so your users can manage membership changes themselves going forward. Otherwise, gather this information and submit a Swan Support request.

Security risk

Leaving the previous administrator with full permissions creates a security risk. They can still perform sensitive actions on the account, including initiating transactions or managing other account members.

Fix common issues​

The form link expires after 7 calendar days and doesn't save progress. Your user needs to submit a new request for a new link. There's no way to recover what was entered.

Troubleshoot form submission issues​

Ask your user for a screenshot of the issue, then raise a support request in your Dashboard. See Contact Swan Support.

Help your user understand a document request​

Swan shares a separate upload link in the support ticket. Check the ticket and forward the link to your user if they need help identifying what to upload.

Common missing items:

  • Proof of the legal representative change (board resolution or general assembly minutes)
  • Power of attorney (when someone other than the new legal representative completes the form)
  • Updated articles of association
  • Supporting identity document

Follow up after form submission​

  1. Confirm the user actually completed and submitted the form, not just opened it.
  2. Check spam and junk folders for emails from Swan.
  3. If confirmed, raise a support request in your Dashboard. See Contact Swan Support.

This is common for homeowner associations and companies where the previous legal representative is no longer with the organization:

  1. Ask your user to gather documentation proving the change, such as a resignation letter, updated company registry, or general assembly minutes appointing a new representative.
  2. Have the new legal representative or an authorized person submit a Swan Support request, including the supporting documentation along with the standard required documents.
  3. If the outgoing representative is unreachable and their identity document isn't available, note this in the support request. Swan will advise on alternative documentation.

Resolve a blocked membership​

If the new admin or legal representative's membership is blocked, Swan can't complete the change until the blocker is resolved. Raise a Swan Support request. See Contact Swan Support. Don't try to work around it.

Resend the new administrator's invitation​

Once Swan validates the documents, the new administrator receives an invitation email to join all accounts belonging to the account holder. If the invitation isn't received:

  1. Ask the new administrator to check their spam and junk folders.
  2. Check the support ticket; Swan may have shared information there.
  3. If still not received, reply in the existing support ticket. Don't open a new ticket.

If your product is integrated with the Swan API, your development team can also resend the invitation with the sendAccountMembershipInviteNotification mutation, up to five times per day per membership. See Resend membership invitation notification.

Cancel a change request​

You can't cancel requests through the Dashboard; you can only check their status there.

  • If the status is Ongoing (form not yet submitted): the link expires automatically after 7 calendar days. No action is needed.
  • If the status is Pending or WaitingForInformation: raise a support request in your Dashboard and ask for a refusal. See Contact Swan Support.

Once the request expires or is refused, you can start a new request if needed.

For bulk legal representative changes, raise a support request in your Dashboard and include enough context for Swan to identify the affected accounts and process the change.

In your request, include:

  • Account holder or company name
  • Current legal representative
  • New legal representative
  • Reason for the change
  • Whether the change applies to all related accounts or only a specific subset
  • Any supporting documents already available

If the affected accounts can't be clearly identified from this information, include a CSV or account list. Swan needs to confirm exactly which accounts are included before creating the bulk change requests.

Contact Swan Support​

Raise a request using the Partner support request form.

Contact Swan Support if:

  • Your user submitted the form and hasn't received a response.
  • Your user received a document request they don't understand.
  • Your user can't submit the form.
  • The form link expired.
  • The change was approved but the account doesn't reflect the update.
  • The previous legal representative is no longer part of the entity and you need guidance on alternative documentation.
  • The new admin or legal representative's membership is blocked.

Always include​

  • Account holder or company name
  • IBAN
  • Names of the current and new admin or legal representative
  • Date the form was submitted
  • Screenshots, if the issue is form-related
  • Any reference numbers from previous communications

Share these articles with your users​

When your users have questions about updating account details, share these support articles directly:

Help center content

You can also use these articles as a starting point to create your own help center content, tailored to your product's terminology and your users' specific context.