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How to Transfer a Client to Another Agency

ClientsUpdated 8 min read

Required permissions
  • transfer clients
or Super Admin

The Transfer tool on a client record copies that one client, and the related records you choose, into another agency. Use it when a single person moves to another jurisdiction and you do not need a bulk action.

Overview​

  • What it is: An option in the client record's Tools menu that opens the Transfer Client window. You choose a To Agency, pick the Related Records to send, and decide whether to archive the client in your agency afterward.
  • Why it matters: The receiving agency gets the client's contacts, cases, events, and other records without retyping them, and your agency stops messaging a client it no longer supervises.
  • Who uses it: Staff whose role can transfer clients and who coordinate moves between agencies.
  • Expected outcomes: The client appears in the receiving agency with the record types you selected, you get an email confirming the result, and the client is archived in your agency if you asked for that.

To move many clients at once, use a Transfer Clients bulk action instead. See How to Transfer Clients via Bulk Actions.

Prerequisites​

  • Your role must include the transfer_clients permission. Without it, Transfer does not appear in the Tools menu.
  • Your agency must list the receiving agency's UUID in Allow Transfers To under Admin > Settings > Agency Transfers. The To Agency list is built from that setting.
  • The receiving agency must list your agency's UUID in its own Allow Transfers From setting. Both settings are required, so coordinate with the receiving agency before you start.
  • Both agencies must be active.
  • For events to keep their flow and location, the receiving agency needs a flow and a location with the same names as yours.

How-To Steps​

Step 1: Open the transfer window​

  1. Click Clients in the top navigation.
  2. Click the client you want to transfer.
  3. Click Tools at the top of the client record.
  4. Click Transfer to open the Transfer Client window. The window shows "Loading configured agencies..." while it reads your Allow Transfers To setting.

Step 2: Choose what to send​

  1. Select the receiving agency in the To Agency dropdown.
  2. Click Refresh agencies if an agency you just added to Allow Transfers To is missing from the list.
  3. Select one or more record types in the Related Records list. Hold Ctrl (Cmd on a Mac) while you click to select more than one. The list contains addresses, cases, comments, contacts, documents, events, payments, photos, sent_files, tasks, and warrants.
  4. Leave Archive After Transfer is Complete checked to archive the client in your agency once the transfer finishes. Uncheck it to keep the client active in both agencies.

Step 3: Start the transfer​

  1. Click Transfer Client.
  2. Read the confirmation prompt, which names the receiving agency and the record types you selected.
  3. Click OK to queue the transfer.

What to Expect​

A "Processing transfer" message appears and the window locks, so the same client cannot be queued twice by accident. The transfer then runs in the background.

  • Email confirmation: When the transfer finishes, you receive an email titled "Transfer Client Complete" with a link to the original client, a link to the new client in the receiving agency (or "Not Created"), any record types listed under "Not Transferred", and whether the client was archived in your agency.
  • What is copied: The client record and the active records of each type you selected. Records that are already archived or trashed stay behind.
  • Records that already exist: If an earlier transfer already copied the client or a record to the receiving agency, it is skipped, not copied again or updated. A copy the receiving agency has since archived or trashed is also left as it is. The Transfer Client window has no sync option. To update records that are already there, use a Transfer Clients bulk action with Sync with Target Agency checked.
  • Events: Each event is linked to the receiving agency's flow and location with the same name. If no name matches, update the event's flow and location in the receiving agency.
  • Archiving: When Archive After Transfer is Complete is checked and every selected record type was copied, the client is archived in your agency along with its active contacts, cases, events, payments, addresses, documents, bonds, warrants, citations, and tasks, including types you did not send. Any unsent outbound messages scheduled for the client are deleted, so your agency stops reminding them. Comments, photos, and sent files are left as they are.
  • Partial transfers: If any selected record type cannot be copied, the other types are still copied, but the client is not archived. The email lists the type under "Not Transferred" and reads "Archive in From Agency: not archived".

Best Practices​

  • Confirm with the receiving agency that both Allow Transfers To and Allow Transfers From are set before you start.
  • Leave photos unselected. Client photos are stored as files, not records, so the transfer cannot copy them and the client is not archived.
  • Select only the record types the receiving agency needs. Contacts, cases, and events are what most agencies use to keep reminding the client.
  • Run the transfer again with the same settings if the first one stopped partway. Records already copied are skipped, so the receiving agency does not get duplicates.
  • Keep the "Transfer Client Complete" email until you confirm the client looks right in the receiving agency.

Frequently Asked Questions​

Why do I have to select at least one related record?

The Transfer Client window requires it and shows "Choose at least one related record to transfer." if you leave the list empty. Contacts is a good minimum, since the receiving agency needs a phone number or email to reach the client.

Why are bonds and citations missing from the Related Records list?

The Transfer Client window offers addresses, cases, comments, contacts, documents, events, payments, photos, sent_files, tasks, and warrants. To send bonds or citations, use a Transfer Clients bulk action, whose Related Records list includes both.

Will the client keep getting messages from my agency?

Not if you archive the client. Archiving deletes the client's unsent scheduled messages and archives their events, so your agency's reminders stop. If you uncheck Archive After Transfer is Complete, the client stays active in your agency and keeps receiving your messages.

What happens if I transfer the same client twice?

The receiving agency does not get a second copy. The client and every record the first transfer copied are skipped, and only records added since then are copied.

Can I undo a transfer?

There is no undo button. To bring the client back in your agency, search with the Archived checkbox selected, open the client, and click Restore. Scheduled messages deleted by the transfer are not restored. To remove the copy, the receiving agency archives or trashes it on their side.

Can the receiving agency send the client back to me?

Yes, if their Allow Transfers To setting lists your agency and your Allow Transfers From setting lists theirs. They then use the same Tools > Transfer option on their copy of the client.

Troubleshooting​

Transfer is missing from the Tools menu.

Symptoms: The Tools menu on the client record shows other options, such as Merge, but not Transfer.

Solution: Ask an administrator to add the transfer_clients permission to your role. If your role already has it, check whether the role's Hidden Navigations section hides the transfer option.

No To Agency dropdown appears.

Symptoms: The Transfer Client window shows a warning that reads "Set transfer agencies in Settings" or "The configured transfer agencies could not be loaded."

Solution:

  1. Go to Admin > Settings and type transfers in the Search Settings field.
  2. Add the receiving agency's UUID to Allow Transfers To, separating several UUIDs with commas, then save.
  3. Click Refresh agencies in the Transfer Client window. If the warning says the agencies could not be loaded, confirm each UUID is correct.
The client never appears in the receiving agency.

Symptoms: The "Transfer Client Complete" email reads "To Client: Not Created".

Solution: Ask the receiving agency to add your agency's UUID to their Allow Transfers From setting under Admin > Settings > Agency Transfers, and confirm your Allow Transfers To still lists them. Then open Tools > Transfer and run the transfer again.

The client was transferred but not archived.

Symptoms: The email lists a record type under "Not Transferred" and reads "Archive in From Agency: not archived".

Solution: If the type is photos, leave it unselected, since photos cannot be transferred. Click Archive on the client record yourself once you confirm the receiving agency has what it needs. For any other type, create a ticket with the email so support can check the failed records.

If the transfer still does not behave as expected, sign in to eCourtDate and create a ticket by clicking the ticket button in the bottom right corner of the screen.