Requesting Access to Board When Admin Has Left Company

Katharine Wilson-Jarvis

I am trying to regain access to an old Trello board that we used when my previous manager worked at the company. My account says it has sent the administrator a request for me to join the board, but as my manager's work email address has been closed down, there is no way for the request to be approved. Is anyone able to assist? 

HEMANT SAINI

@Katharine Wilson-Jarvis 

This issue often happens when the only board admin leaves. Trello sends the access request to their email, but if that account is deactivated, the request goes nowhere.

Here are the options that actually work:

What you can try now

Check for other admins on the board
If you can access the board link, click “Request access” again. Sometimes it shows a list of admins. You might find a co-admin or someone from your team who was added but forgotten.

Go through a Workspace admin
If the board is inside a Trello Workspace, any Workspace admin can add you without needing the old admin. They can go to: Workspace → Boards tab → find your board → Add members.
Your IT team or Trello license managers can usually tell you who the Workspace admins are. Typically, it’s whoever created the Workspace or anyone with a matching company domain.

No other admins? Contact Trello Support
This happens when the sole admin has left the company. Trello can transfer ownership but needs to verify the board belongs to your organization.
Go to https://trello.com/support → Select “I’m an admin” → “I can’t access a board or workspace.”
Have these ready:

The board URL
Your work email on the same company domain as the old admin
If possible, a note from IT or HR confirming the previous admin left
Support usually resolves this within 1–2 business days after confirming ownership.
For next time
Make sure to set up at least two admins on any critical board. Or keep important boards in a company Workspace so Org admins can always recover access, even if someone leaves.