Transferring Record Ownership in Bullhorn ATS

Learn how to transfer record ownership in Bullhorn ATS. Record ownership determines which user a record (candidate, contact, job, opportunity, or lead) is attributed to. You may need to transfer ownership when a user leaves your organisation, changes roles, or when records have been automatically parsed to the Unassigned user and need distributing.

There are three methods available, each suited to a different scale of transfer. Use the table below to choose the right approach for your situation.

All notes, attachments, and email messages associated with a record are retained when ownership changes — none of this data is lost during a transfer.

Choosing the Right Method

Situation	Scale	Recommended Method
You need to update a single record's owner.	1 record	Method 1: Transfer a Single Record
A user is leaving and you need to move all their records to one person or to the Unassigned user.	All records, one entity at a time	Method 2: Transfer All Records via the Users Page
A user is leaving and owns more than 2,000 records for a single entity — or the Records Transfer via the Users page timed out.	Up to 500 records at a time	Method 3: Transfer Records Using the List View
You want to distribute records among multiple new owners, or transfer records from automatically parsed resumes.	Selected records only	Method 3: Transfer Records Using the List View
You need to add, remove, or transfer the Assigned To field on jobs, opportunities, or leads.	Selected records	Method 3: Transfer Records Using the List View (Jobs / Opportunities / Leads steps).

Transferring Ownership of Placements and Companies

Placements: Bullhorn does not manage placement record ownership separately. When you transfer a job record, ownership of all related placements updates automatically.
Companies: Company record ownership is determined by the owners of the contacts associated with that company. To transfer a company, transfer its associated contacts.

Before You Begin: Disabled User Accounts

You cannot transfer records from a disabled user account using Methods 2 or 3. If the user whose records you need to transfer has already been disabled, you'll need to temporarily re-enable their account first.

See How to Disable a User Account in Bullhorn ATS for re-enable steps.

If you re-enable to transfer records, complete the transfer and re-disable the account on the same working day to minimise any billing impact.

Method 1: Transfer a Single Record

Use this method when you need to change the owner of one specific record — for example, reassigning a candidate to a new recruiter who is taking over that relationship.

Open the record you want to transfer.
Select the Edit tab.
Find the Owner field and change it to the new owner.
Click Save.

Method 2: Transfer All Records via the Users Page

Use this method when you need to move all records owned by a user to a single new owner in one operation — for example, when a user is leaving and their entire record set needs to go to their replacement or to the Unassigned user.

This method transfers one entity type at a time (e.g. all candidates, then all contacts, then all jobs). Repeat the steps for each entity type you need to transfer.

If the user owns more than 2,000 records for a single entity, this method may time out before completing. If that happens, use Method 3 (List View Transfer) instead, which processes records in smaller batches.

Go to Menu > Admin > Users.
Click the pencil icon next to the user you want to transfer records from.
Click Records Transfer at the top right of the screen. The Record Ownership Transfer window opens.
Using the Records dropdown, select the entity type you want to transfer (for example, Candidates).
Using the Transfer Ownership To dropdown, select the user who will take ownership of the records.
- If no specific person is taking over, or you want to avoid attributing the previous user's work to the new user, select Unassigned User.
Click Transfer.
Click Back and repeat steps 1–6 for each additional entity type you need to transfer.

Method 3: Transfer Records Using the List View

Use this method when you need to transfer records in batches, distribute records among multiple users, or when Method 2 has timed out due to a large record count. The list view method transfers up to 500 records at a time and must be repeated in batches for larger volumes.

The steps differ slightly depending on whether you are transferring candidates or contacts versus jobs, opportunities, or leads. Both are covered below.

A Note on Joint Ownership for Candidates and Contacts

If the Owner field on your candidate or contact records is configured to allow multiple values (set in Field Mappings), more than one user can own a record at the same time. Be aware of this when transferring:

If you filter the list by a specific user and transfer those records, you're adding the new owner alongside any existing owners — not replacing them — unless you specify the user to replace in the Change Owner dialogue.
- To replace a specific owner, set the From User field to the user you are replacing.
Jobs can be transferred together regardless of current ownership and won't create unintended joint ownership.

Transfer Candidates and Contacts via the List View

Go to the Candidates or Contacts list view and confirm no filters are active.
Click the Users filter at the top of the list to display your list of enabled users.
Select the user you want to transfer records from, then click Save.
- On the New Candidate List, click Apply.
You cannot transfer records from a disabled user account via the list view. If the user is disabled, re-enable the account first — see How to Disable a User Account in Bullhorn ATS.
Click the checkbox at the top left of the list to select all visible records. If the user has more records than the default page size, you'll repeat this process in batches.
Click the # Selected button.
Select Manage Ownership.
If Manage Ownership doesn't appear in the menu, your user type may not have the required entitlement. Contact Bullhorn Support to have it enabled.
In the Manage Ownership dialogue:
- Set the Current Owner field to the user who currently owns the records. Leave this blank only if you want to replace all owners on the selected records regardless of who they are.
- Set the New Owner field to the user who will take ownership. If no specific person is taking over, select Unassigned User.
Click Save. The Owner field on the selected records updates immediately.
If required, repeat steps 1–8 until all records have been transferred.

Transfer Jobs, Opportunities, and Leads via the List View

Jobs, opportunities, and leads use a Manage Ownership dialogue that offers more actions than the Candidates/Contacts flow — including the ability to manage the Assigned To field as well as the Owner field. Choose the action that matches what you need to do using the reference table below.

Action	What It Does	Notes
Transfer Owner	Replace the current owner of selected records with a new owner.	Leave Current Owner blank to replace the existing owner. Set New Owner to Unassigned User if no specific person is taking over.
Transfer Assigned To	Replace the user in the Assigned To field with a new user.	Leave Current Assigned To blank to replace the existing user for all selected records. Set New Assigned To to Unassigned User if no specific person is taking over.
Add Assigned To	Add a user to the Assigned To field without removing the existing user.	Set New Assigned To to the user you want to add.
Remove Assigned To	Remove a user from the Assigned To field without replacing them.	Set Current Assigned To to the user you want to remove.
Transfer All Owner/Assigned To	Replace a user in both the Owner and Assigned To fields in one operation.	Useful when the same user needs to be fully replaced across both fields at once.

To transfer jobs, opportunities, or leads:

Go to the Jobs, Opportunities, or Leads list view and confirm no filters are active.
Select the Users icon and choose the user you want to transfer records from, then click Save.
You cannot transfer records from a disabled user account via the list view. If the user is disabled, re-enable the account first — see How to Disable a User Account in Bullhorn ATS.
Click the checkbox at the top left of the list to select all visible records.
Click the # Selected button.
Select Manage Ownership.
If Manage Ownership doesn't appear in the menu, your user type may not have the required entitlement. Contact Bullhorn Support to have it enabled.
In the Select an Action field, choose the action you want to perform (refer to the table above), then fill in the relevant user fields.
Click Save.
If required, repeat steps 1–7 until all records have been transferred.

Troubleshooting

The Records Transfer timed out before completing

This typically happens when a user owns more than 2,000 records for a single entity. Switch to Method 3 (List View Transfer) and work through the records in batches of 500. Records already transferred before the timeout won't need to be transferred again.

The Change Owner or Manage Ownership option isn't visible in the Selected menu

This option is controlled by user type entitlements. Contact Bullhorn Support to have the relevant entitlement added to your user type.

I transferred records but colleagues still can't see them

Check that the transfer completed successfully and that the Owner field on the records has been updated. If the records belong to a disabled user and ownership wasn't transferred before the account was disabled, you'll need to re-enable the account, transfer the records, and disable it again. See How to Disable a User Account in Bullhorn ATS.

I can't find the user I want to transfer from in the list view

The list view Users filter only shows enabled users. Re-enable the account before attempting the list view transfer. For steps, see How to Disable a User Account in Bullhorn ATS.

Jobs were transferred but related placements didn't update

Placement ownership updates automatically when a job is transferred — there's no separate step required. If placements appear not to have updated, check the associated job records and verify the job transfer completed successfully.

FAQ

What record types can I transfer ownership of?

You can transfer ownership of candidates, contacts, jobs, opportunities, and leads. Company ownership is determined by the owners of associated contacts. To transfer a company, transfer its contacts. Placement ownership updates automatically when the associated job is transferred.

What happens to notes, attachments, and emails when a record is transferred?

All notes, attachments, and email messages associated with the record are retained. Nothing is lost during a transfer — only the Owner field changes.

How many records can I transfer at once?

Records Transfer via the Users page processes all records for an entity in one operation but may time out above 2,000 records. Records transfer via the List View transfers 500 records at a time (200 for the New Candidate List) and must be repeated in batches for larger volumes.

Should I transfer records to the new user or to the Unassigned user?

It depends on your goal. If a specific person is taking over the departing user's accounts and relationships, transfer directly to them. If you want to preserve the history without attributing past work to the replacement, transfer to the Unassigned user — the records remain accessible to the team but aren't attributed to any individual. Don't disable the Unassigned user.

Can I transfer records from a disabled user account?

Not directly. You'll need to temporarily re-enable the account first. Re-enable, complete the transfer, and re-disable on the same working day to minimise billing impact. See How to Disable a User Account in Bullhorn ATS.

I accidentally transferred records to the wrong user. Can I undo this?

There's no undo function. Run the transfer again, this time transferring ownership from the incorrect user back to the original owner or to the correct new owner.

Why don't I see a Manage Ownership option on the list view?

If you don't see a Manage Ownership option, your user type may not have the required entitlement. Contact Bullhorn Support to have it enabled.