---
title: shops.transferStart | Doing Work API
description: Start handing the shop to a current worker (owner, on a hosted page). They accept on their own hosted page within 14 days, and ownership moves at once. If 
url: https://doingwork.work/docs/reference/shops-transferstart/
---

# shops.transferStart

Start handing the shop to a current worker (owner, on a hosted page). They accept on their own hosted page within 14 days, and ownership moves at once. If the shop has a payments account, it stops taking new payments and only settles what is in flight; the new owner connects their own.

|  |  |
|---|---|
| Who | Hosted page only (a person does it in the browser) |
| REST | `POST /v1/shops/transfers` |
| MCP tool | Not an MCP tool |
| Writes | yes, send an Idempotency-Key |
| Area | [Shop](https://doingwork.work/docs/reference/#shop) |

## When to use it

Start handing the shop to a current worker (owner, on a hosted page). They accept on their own hosted page within 14 days, and ownership moves at once.

## What to tell the owner

Send the person the link. They finish this step themselves on the page; you never do it for them.

## Input

| Field | Type | Required |
|---|---|---|
| `shop_id` | string (uuid) | yes |
| `to_membership_id` | string (uuid) | yes |
| `old_owner_stays_as_office` | boolean | no |

## Example

```http
POST https://doingwork.work/v1/shops/transfers
content-type: application/json
Idempotency-Key: 3f1c...

{
  "shop_id": "00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000000",
  "to_membership_id": "00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000000"
}
```

## Output

| Field | Type | Always there |
|---|---|---|
| `transfer_id` | string (uuid) | yes |
| `shop_id` | string (uuid) | yes |
| `shop` | string | yes |
| `from_person_id` | string (uuid) | yes |
| `from_name` | ['string', 'null'] | yes |
| `to_person_id` | string (uuid) | yes |
| `to_name` | ['string', 'null'] | yes |
| `status` | string | yes |
| `old_owner_stays_as_office` | boolean | yes |
| `started_at` | string (date-time) | yes |
| `expires_at` | string (date-time) | yes |
| `completed_at` | ['string', 'null', ' ', '(', 'd', 'a', 't', 'e', '-', 't', 'i', 'm', 'e', ')'] | yes |
| `cancelled_at` | ['string', 'null', ' ', '(', 'd', 'a', 't', 'e', '-', 't', 'i', 'm', 'e', ')'] | yes |
| `processor_reverify_status` | string | yes |
| `you_are` | string | yes |

```json
{
  "transfer_id": "00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000000",
  "shop_id": "00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000000",
  "shop": "...",
  "from_person_id": "00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000000",
  "from_name": "...",
  "to_person_id": "00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000000",
  "to_name": "...",
  "status": "...",
  "old_owner_stays_as_office": true,
  "started_at": "...",
  "expires_at": "...",
  "completed_at": "...",
  "cancelled_at": "...",
  "processor_reverify_status": "...",
  "you_are": "..."
}
```

## Errors

| Code | Status | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| `invalid_input`, `invalid_token`, `rate_limited` |  | Can happen on any call. See [errors](https://doingwork.work/docs/errors/). |