# The person who built your flows left: what happens and what to do

> For the full documentation index, see https://250highstreet.com/llms.txt

> When the person who built your flows leaves, they can fail. Add co-owners, move flows into a solution, fix connections before they go, and keep a flow list.

Short answer: if a flow owner leaves, the flow keeps running as long as it still has an active owner, but steps that use the leaver's connections might fail. Add a co-owner to every flow now, then replace any connection that uses the leaver's sign-in. A flow outside a solution cannot have its owner changed in place, so move important flows into a solution, or make a copy. Keep one list of all your flows with an owner and a backup owner.

## What can happen when the owner leaves

Microsoft describes an orphaned flow as a flow that no longer has a valid owner. Such flows can fail if they use connections tied to the former user account.

What breaks first depends on what went missing:

- Owner gone: the flow is orphaned. An admin can find it and add a co-owner.
- Connection gone: Microsoft says actions that use the leaver's connections might fail, even when the flow still has an active owner.
- License gone: Microsoft's licensing FAQ says a flow that loses its licensed owner is downgraded, owners are notified, and the flow is turned off in 14 days if no action is taken.

Microsoft also says that if a shared flow still has an active owner, the flow continues to run. But any actions that use connections belonging to the person who left might fail. So there are two separate questions:

- Does the flow still have an owner who can open it?
- Do its connections still sign in with an account that works?

You need a yes to both. Exactly what happens on the day the account is turned off can depend on your tenant settings. Check with your admin.

## Signs your team is at risk

- Only one person knows which flows exist.
- Nobody else can open the flow in the Power Automate list.
- The flow sends email or posts messages "from" one person.
- No one can say who gets the error emails.
- There is no written list of flows anywhere.

## Step 1. Make a list of every flow

You cannot protect flows you cannot find. Ask the owner to open My flows and write down each flow. Record what it does, what it connects to, and who depends on it. See the list design below. Admins can also see flows in an environment, so ask your admin to check that your list matches.

## Step 2. Add a co-owner to each flow

Microsoft says any owner of a cloud flow can view run history, manage properties, edit the flow, add or remove other owners (but not the flow's creator), and delete the flow. This is why a second owner matters. Use a person who works in the same team. For a flow connected to SharePoint, Microsoft also describes adding a SharePoint list as a co-owner, so everyone with edit access to the list gets edit access to the flow. Use a group in other cases.

To add an owner, one way is:

1.  Sign in to Power Automate and open My flows.
2.  Open the menu on the flow and choose Share.
3.  Enter the name, email or group of the new owner.

Exact names may differ. Microsoft's help page is linked in the sources below.

Note that Microsoft says you must be the creator or owner to add or remove owners. So do this while the owner still works with you.

## Step 3. Move important flows into a solution

A solution is a container for flows. Microsoft says an owner, co-owner or admin can change the owner of a solution-aware flow to another user. It also says a flow outside a solution cannot have its owner changed in place, because the owner is part of the flow identity. For those flows the options are to add the flow into a solution (if your environment has Dataverse) or to make a new flow by export and import, Save as, or Send a copy.

One way to start:

1.  In Power Automate, open Solutions.
2.  Create a solution for the team, or open the one you have.
3.  Choose Add existing, then Automation, then Cloud flow.
4.  Pick the flow and select Add.

Microsoft notes that some flows outside a solution cannot be added, and that solutions need Dataverse. Ask your admin whether your environment has it.

## Step 4. Change the owner and check the license

After you change the owner of a solution-aware flow, Microsoft says the original owner and the new owner both become co-owners. The new owner gets access to the run history and connection references.

Two licensing points from Microsoft:

- For a scheduled or automated flow, the flow then runs under the new owner's license. This can take up to seven days to take effect. Editing and saving the flow forces it to use the new owner right away.
- If the new owner has no premium license and the flow uses premium features, the flow runs for 30 days. After that, Power Automate turns it off until a license is in place.

Which license your team has is a question for your admin.

## Step 5. Replace connections before the exit date

Connections are separate from owners. Microsoft says that when you remove an owner whose credentials are used by the flow, you should update the credentials for those connections so the flow keeps running.

One way to do it:

1.  Open the flow and choose Edit.
2.  Find each step that uses the leaver's connection.
3.  Open the step menu and pick a connection from a working account, or add a new connection and sign in.
4.  Save, then run the flow once and read the result.

Microsoft also says owners cannot change the credentials of a connection that another owner created, which is another reason to do this before the person leaves. In Power Automate, the Connections page can show which flows use a connection, and it has a Fix connection link for connections that stopped working. Exact names may differ.

If a flow should not depend on any one person, Microsoft describes making a service principal application user the owner. That needs an admin. Connections must be shared with that user. Microsoft says it cannot have a user license and is subject to non-licensed user limits. Check with your admin before you try it.

## If the owner has already left

Ask your admin to look. Microsoft describes how an admin can find flows with no owner in the Power Platform admin center (open the environment, then Resources, then Flows, and look for an empty Owners column) and assign a new co-owner with Share. Then fix the connections as in Step 5. Microsoft's licensing FAQ adds that when the owner of a non-solution flow has left, any co-owner can add it to a solution and then change the owner, or export and import the flow so the co-owner becomes the owner of the new copy. It also says a flow that loses its licensed owner can be downgraded, owners are notified, and the flow is turned off after 14 days if no action is taken.

## For admins: reassign flows in bulk with PowerShell

Microsoft says administrators can run the Power Apps cmdlets for administrators to manage orphaned flows. The steps from Microsoft's orphaned flow page:

1.  To list the flows a user created, run Get-AdminFlow with the environment name and the CreatedBy parameter set to the user's object ID.
2.  For each flow, run Get-AdminFlowOwnerRole with the environment name and flow name to see the current users and roles.
3.  To add a co-owner, run Set-AdminFlowOwnerRole with the environment name, flow name, PrincipalType User, RoleName CanEdit and the new owner's Microsoft Entra object ID.
4.  Run Get-AdminFlowOwnerRole again to check that the new owner is in the list.

Microsoft's page gets the object ID with Get-AzureADUser from the AzureAD module. It also says the Azure AD and MSOnline PowerShell modules are deprecated and recommends Microsoft Graph PowerShell. Ask your admin which module your tenant uses.

For a single flow in the admin center, Microsoft's steps are to select the flow in the environment's Flows list, select Share, enter the new owner and select Save.

## Offboarding checklist

Use this once per person who builds or owns flows. Do it before the last day.

1.  Pull up the flow list and filter to flows this person owns.
2.  For each flow, add a co-owner from the team.
3.  Move each important flow into a solution.
4.  Change the owner on solution flows to the new main owner.
5.  Replace every connection that signs in as the leaver.
6.  Run each flow once and check the run history.
7.  Update the list: new owner, backup owner, date checked.
8.  Tell your admin the exit date so flows can be reviewed.
9.  Only after all of this, let the account be turned off.

## Flow inventory list in SharePoint

A SharePoint list works well for the inventory. If you want a first list, see "[Replace a spreadsheet tracker with a SharePoint list](/guides/replace-spreadsheet-with-sharepoint-list/)". Suggested columns:

- Title: the flow name. Rename it to Flow name.
- Purpose (multiple lines of text): what it does in one sentence.
- Owner (Person)
- Backup owner (Person)
- Criticality (Choice): 1 Critical, 2 Important, 3 Nice to have
- Connections (multiple lines of text): which accounts and apps it uses
- In a solution (Yes/No)
- Last checked (Date)

Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: to see flows that need work, filter Criticality to 1 Critical, then scan the Backup owner column for empty cells.

For a similar list that tracks dates and reminders, see "[Recurring task reminders for a team](/guides/recurring-task-reminders/)". For alerts when work goes late, see "[Late tasks nobody notices: setting up late alerts](/guides/late-tasks-nobody-notices/)". For another case where one person being away stops a flow, see "[Approvals stuck when the approver is out](/guides/approval-stuck-approver-out/)".

## What to avoid

- Do not wait for the last day. Only an owner or creator can add or remove owners.
- Do not make the new person the only owner. Always have two.
- Do not use a shared personal login to keep a connection alive. Check with your admin for a service account or other approved option.
- Do not assume a flow is fine because it ran last week. Run it after the change.
- Do not keep the list in someone's head.
- Do not add every user as a co-owner. Microsoft advises co-owners only where shared editing is needed, and run-only access for people who just need to use a flow.

## Honest limits

This guide covers cloud flows in Power Automate. Your tenant may have rules, license types or settings that change what you see. Some features, such as solutions, need Dataverse. A co-owner does not remove the need to fix connections. Review the list on a regular schedule, since people change roles.

## When to get help

You can build all of this yourself in Microsoft 365. If you would rather have it built and tested for your team, I do that. A tracker like this is a fixed price: \$5,000 for one, built in 2 weeks. See "[What a SharePoint tracker costs to build](/guides/what-a-sharepoint-tracker-costs/)". Bring one example of the problem to a free call.

I am Al Davies. I run 250 High Street LLC and build SharePoint trackers and Power Automate flows for operations teams. I work remotely. The first call is free, and I will not try to sell you anything.

See trackers I built: [Tools I built](/portfolio/)

## FAQ

### What happens to a Power Automate flow when the owner leaves?

Microsoft says a flow with an active owner continues to run, but actions that use the leaver's connections might fail. A flow with no valid owner is called orphaned and can fail.

### How do I change the owner of a Power Automate flow with PowerShell?

Microsoft's steps: run Get-AdminFlowOwnerRole to see the roles, then Set-AdminFlowOwnerRole with RoleName CanEdit and the new owner's object ID to add a co-owner.

### How do I change the owner of Power Automate flows in bulk?

Microsoft says to run Get-AdminFlow with the CreatedBy parameter to list the flows a user created, then add a co-owner to every flow on the list with Set-AdminFlowOwnerRole.

### How does an admin change the owner of a Power Automate flow?

In the Power Platform admin center, Microsoft says to open the environment, go to Resources, select Flows, select the flow, choose Share and enter the new owner.

### Can I change the owner of any flow?

Only flows in a solution. Microsoft says the owner of a flow outside a solution cannot be changed in place. You add it to a solution first, or make a new flow by export and import, Save as, or Send a copy.

## Sources

- [Share a cloud flow (add owners, remove owners, connections, what happens when the creator leaves)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/create-team-flows)
- [Change the owner of a cloud flow (solution-aware, licensing, service principal)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/change-cloud-flow-owner)
- [Create a cloud flow in a solution (add an existing flow)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/create-flow-solution)
- [Overview of solution-aware flows (Dataverse requirement)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/overview-solution-flows)
- [Manage connections in Power Automate (fix connection, flows using a connection)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/add-manage-connections)
- [Manage orphaned flows when the owner leaves the organization](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/power-platform/power-automate/flow-management/manage-orphan-flow-when-owner-leaves-org)
- [Power Automate licensing FAQ (owner left, 14 days)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/power-automate-licensing/faqs)

## Related guides

- [Company holiday calendar in SharePoint for 2027](/guides/sharepoint-company-holiday-calendar/)
- [Document approval in SharePoint: built-in approval or a flow?](/guides/document-approval-sharepoint/)
- [Transfer a Microsoft Form to another owner](/guides/microsoft-forms-transfer-ownership/)

Source: https://250highstreet.com/guides/power-automate-flow-owner-left-company/