How do I close the PayPal account of a deceased relative?

We’re very sorry to hear of your loss. Please note that we can only take instructions from the authorised executor or administrator of the deceased estate to close a PayPal account previously held by a deceased person. If you wish to close the account of a loved one, please contact the relevant executor or administrator.

If you are an executor or administrator of a deceased estate and want to close the PayPal account of the deceased person, please email all the following documents to us at bereavementSEA@paypal.com:

• A cover sheet stating that the account holder is deceased and that the account's executor wants to close the account.
• The death certificate of the account holder.
• Legal documentation that identifies the executor of the estate.
• A valid government-issued photo ID of the executor.
• A letter specifying what to do with any funds remaining in the account.

Upon receipt of all the required documents, we'll review them and close the account in 1-2 days if the request is approved.

If there are remaining funds in the PayPal account, we'll also inform you how to proceed to release the funds. We'll transfer any remaining funds to the bank account linked to the PayPal account.