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You can copy historical messages from one Gmail account to another, but Google does not provide a general account-merge button. For a straightforward personal-account transfer, try Gmail’s one-time import if it appears in the destination account; use an IMAP mail client if you need more control or the import option is unavailable. Set up forwarding separately if you also need new messages sent to the old address to reach the new one. Before starting, keep the old account active and make a Google Takeout backup if the mail matters.
Choose the right transfer method
These methods solve different problems: importing or copying moves existing mail, forwarding delivers future incoming messages, and Takeout creates an archive that needs another step before it appears in Gmail.
| Your situation | Best starting point |
|---|---|
| You need only new messages sent to the old address | Set up automatic forwarding. |
| You need historical mail and the destination shows Gmail’s import option | Try Gmail’s one-time import. |
| You need to choose specific labels or batches, or import is unavailable | Copy mail through an IMAP-capable desktop client. |
| You want a separate backup before migrating or closing an account | Export Gmail with Google Takeout, then use a mail client or migration tool to copy the archive into the new account. |
| You are moving several work or school accounts, or other Google data too | Ask the Workspace administrator about an organization migration workflow. |
For many individual users, a sensible sequence is to back up with Takeout, attempt the one-time import if available, turn on forwarding for incoming mail, and use an IMAP client if the importer misses data or does not meet your needs.
Before you start
- Check storage. Make sure the destination Google Account has room for the imported mail. Check its current storage indicator in Google One, Gmail, or Drive; available storage and limits can change.
- Keep access to both accounts. Have the old account’s sign-in and any two-step verification method available. A work or school administrator may restrict POP, IMAP, exports, or third-party applications.
- Do not close or delete the old account. The usual transfer is a copy, not a move. Keep the source intact until you have verified the destination and arranged continued access to the old address.
- Choose one historical-mail method. Running an importer, forwarding, and an IMAP copy over the same messages can create duplicates. Forwarding is useful for new mail, but it is not a substitute for copying the archive.
- Consider a backup first. Google Takeout downloads an archive without deleting the data from Google. See Google’s Takeout instructions.
Method 1: Import existing messages with Gmail
Use this for a relatively straightforward transfer if the destination still offers Import mail and contacts. Google’s current help explains that importing from another Gmail address requires POP to be enabled in the source account; the available controls can vary. See Google’s import troubleshooting guide.
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Enable POP in the old account
- On a computer, sign in to the old/source Gmail account.
- Open Settings (gear icon) → See all settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP.
- Under POP download, enable POP for the messages you want, if the option is available. Follow the account’s displayed choices and save changes.
POP behavior depends on the setting selected: messages can be left in the source inbox, archived, or deleted from the source. Choose a setting that retains the source copy while you verify the transfer. Google notes that POP does not download messages in Chat, Spam, or Trash. See Gmail’s POP settings guide.
Start the import in the new account
- Sign in to the new/destination Gmail account.
- Open Settings → See all settings → Accounts and Import.
- Look for Import mail and contacts, start the import, and enter the old Gmail address.
- Complete Google’s sign-in and authorization prompts, then select the options offered and start the import.
- Leave the old account available while the import runs. It may process mail in batches rather than finish immediately.
If Import mail and contacts is missing, that does not necessarily mean you have made a configuration mistake. Account type, organizational restrictions, and Google’s changing interface affect availability. Use the IMAP method or Takeout instead.
Important 2026–27 distinction: Google has announced the retirement of Gmail’s continuous web feature that checks third-party accounts through POP. Google says new configurations will be restricted after the first quarter of 2026 and existing users may continue until January 2027. That announcement concerns ongoing Check mail from other accounts fetching; it does not mean that every one-time import or IMAP connection has stopped working. Check Google’s retirement notice and related guidance, and rely on the controls actually available to your account.
Method 2: Forward new messages to the new address
Forwarding is for mail that arrives after you set it up. It does not copy the old mailbox, sent mail, drafts, contacts, or existing labels. Gmail excludes spam from forwarding by default. Google’s steps are in its automatic forwarding guide.
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- Sign in to the old account and open Settings → See all settings → Forwarding and POP/IMAP (or the Forwarding tab).
- Choose Add a forwarding address and enter the new Gmail address.
- Open the verification message delivered to the new account and follow its confirmation link or code instructions.
- Return to forwarding settings in the old account. Select Forward a copy of incoming mail to the new address.
- Choose what Gmail should do with the old account’s copy. To reduce risk during the transition, keep a copy in the old inbox.
- Save changes. Send a test message to the old address and confirm that it arrives in the new account.
You can use a filter to forward only matching incoming messages. Before enabling forwarding, review existing filters and forwarding addresses in both accounts so messages are not forwarded back and forth or duplicated. An auto-reply can tell people about the new address, but it does not update websites or senders for you. Continue checking the old mailbox for messages that did not forward, including spam.
Method 3: Copy mail with an IMAP desktop client
An IMAP-capable client such as Thunderbird, Outlook, or Apple Mail can connect to both accounts and copy messages from the old account to the new one. It is a useful free fallback when the web importer is unavailable, and gives you more control over which labels or date ranges you copy. Google recommends using Sign in with Google when a mail client offers it rather than handing the client your Google password. For personal Gmail accounts, IMAP is always enabled as of January 2025; managed accounts may still be subject to administrator policies. See Google’s mail-client setup guidance.
- Install and open a reputable mail client on a computer.
- Add the old Gmail account using its Google sign-in/OAuth flow. Approve the requested access.
- Add the new Gmail account in the same way.
- Wait for the source folders and messages to synchronize. Large mailboxes may take hours or longer, and the client may need local disk space.
- Copy a small test batch first: select messages or a label in the old account and use the client’s Copy to command, or drag them into a destination folder/label. Prefer copying over moving so the old account remains intact.
- Check Gmail on the web in the destination account. If the test is correct, continue in manageable batches, such as by label, year, sender, or search results.
- Wait for uploads to finish and verify each batch before proceeding.
Gmail labels can be applied to the same message in several ways, while many clients represent mail as folders. Nested labels and system folders may not map exactly as they appeared on Gmail’s website. Pay particular attention to Sent, Drafts, Spam, Trash, and custom labels. Copying All Mail and then separately copying every label can also copy the same message more than once.
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Gmail documents support for up to 15 simultaneous email-client connections per account; too many active clients can trigger a “Too many simultaneous connections” error. Close other mail clients or pause unnecessary synchronization and retry. Avoid running several large migrations against the same account at once.
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Method 4: Use Google Takeout as a backup
Takeout is an export tool, not a button that fills a second Gmail inbox. Gmail data is generally provided as mail archive files, such as MBOX; after downloading the archive, you still need a compatible mail client or migration service to import it and copy messages to the new account.
- Open Google Takeout and sign in to the source account.
- Deselect products you do not need; select Gmail if email is the only data you are exporting.
- Choose the export format and delivery method, create the export, and wait for Google to prepare it.
- Download the archive to a computer and keep a second copy in a safe place if it is your backup.
- Use a mail client or migration tool that can read the archive, then copy the messages into the destination Gmail account.
Google says downloading data does not delete it from its servers and recommends viewing Takeout exports on a desktop computer. Gmail labels are included in exported message metadata in an X-Gmail-Labels header, but a later importer may not reconstruct the original Gmail label structure exactly. Google’s current documentation also says Takeout exports cannot be restricted to a timeframe, so it is not the easiest choice for exporting only a particular year. See Google’s export details and its Gmail export guidance.
What transfers—and what needs separate attention
| Data | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Message text and attachments | Usually copied with a message when that message is included and the transfer completes. Check important attachments in the destination. |
| Dates, sender, recipient, read status | Often retained by migration methods, but do not assume every client or import path reproduces all details identically. Verify representative messages. |
| Inbox, Sent, custom labels | May be represented differently by an importer or mail client. Inspect Sent and custom or nested labels explicitly. |
| Spam, Trash, Chat | POP does not download messages in Gmail’s Chat, Spam, and Trash areas. Use another approach if those messages matter and verify them separately. |
| Drafts | Do not assume drafts transfer as usable drafts; check them separately and save important text or attachments. |
| Contacts and other Google data | A mail transfer does not automatically move Drive files, Photos, Calendar data, YouTube history, purchases, or account settings. Contacts may be offered by a particular import flow, but verify them. |
| Filters, signatures, aliases, delegation, recovery details | These are account settings, not ordinary messages. Recreate or review them separately in the new account. |
Gmail labels are not conventional folders: one message may carry several labels. Takeout can preserve label names in message metadata, but that is not a guarantee a later import recreates every label relationship. A Gmail transfer also does not merge Google Accounts or change who owns an account.
Work, school, and custom-domain accounts
A managed Google Workspace account may have POP, IMAP, third-party OAuth, export, or external-sharing restrictions set by its administrator. Contact that administrator before relying on personal Gmail instructions. For organization-wide migrations, Google’s Workspace migration guide describes administrator-oriented options; these are not ordinary consumer Gmail features.
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Moving mail from an address such as [email protected] into [email protected] does not move the custom-domain address itself. To keep receiving mail sent to the old address, the domain and its mail service must remain active and be configured to forward or host that mail. Copying historical messages, receiving future mail, sending from the old address, and retaining control of the domain are separate tasks.
Verify the transfer before you rely on it
- In the destination Gmail search box, search
in:anywhere. Then search for a distinctive sender, subject, date, phrase, and attachment filename. Messages may have arrived under an unexpected label rather than in Inbox. - Check representative old and recent messages, including attachments and sender/recipient details.
- Inspect Inbox, Sent, important custom and nested labels, and any Spam or Trash mail you needed to preserve. Check drafts separately.
- Compare a few source and destination searches or counts. A migration can run in batches, so do not treat an apparently quiet importer as proof that it is complete.
- Send a test message to the old address if forwarding is enabled. Confirm it reaches the new account and that the old account retains its copy if that is the setting you chose.
- Keep monitoring the old inbox and leave both accounts active until critical senders and services have been updated and you are confident nothing important is missing.
Troubleshooting
“Import mail and contacts” is missing
Check whether the account is managed and whether the source supports the required POP connection. Google may change or restrict the interface. Use forwarding for future messages and an IMAP client or Takeout for historical mail; contact an administrator for Workspace.
The import started, but messages seem to be missing
Search the destination with in:anywhere, then by sender, date, subject, or attachment name. Check labels and folders, allow time for batches, and confirm POP was enabled at the source. POP-based copying excludes Chat, Spam, and Trash. Google’s import troubleshooting page recommends checking the destination search and import status.
Google or the client denies access
Confirm the source username, sign-in approval, POP setting if importing, and two-step verification. Use Google’s sign-in flow in a client rather than entering your Google password into an older application. A Workspace administrator may block the connection. Check for a Google security alert or temporary account restriction before trying again.
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Messages disappeared from the old account
Review the source account’s POP setting for options that archive or delete Gmail’s copy after retrieval. If messages were archived, look in All Mail; if deleted, check Trash promptly. For future attempts, select a setting that retains the old copy and do not delete the source account until you have verified the destination.
There are duplicates
Duplicates can result from repeating an import, copying the same messages through multiple labels, or combining a historical transfer with forwarding. Stop overlapping transfers, note which batches have completed, and copy only the missing batch rather than rerunning everything.
The IMAP client reports too many connections
Close other mail applications or devices temporarily, reduce simultaneous synchronization, and retry after the client has settled. Google documents up to 15 simultaneous email-client connections per account; see its client connection guidance.
Before deleting the old account
Do not delete it merely because an import says it finished. First confirm historical and recent mail, Sent messages, important labels, attachments, messages arriving during the transition, and access to recovery methods. Update banking, shopping, work, social, and other services that use the old address. If you need people to keep reaching you there, preserve the account or keep the custom domain and forwarding service active; a copied archive does not reserve or transfer an email address.
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