Change your email in account settings in under two minutes

To change the email address on your LinkedIn account, go to your profile photo in the top right corner, select Settings and privacy, then click Sign in & security. Under the Email addresses section, you'll see your current email. Click the pencil icon next to it, enter your new email address, and LinkedIn will send a confirmation link to that new address. Click the link in the email to complete the change.

Your old email will stop working for LinkedIn sign-in as soon as you confirm the new one. If you have two-factor authentication turned on, you may need to update that setting separately depending on whether you use an authenticator app or SMS codes.

Key Takeaways

  • You access email settings through Settings and privacy, then Sign in & security — not through your profile or general account settings.
  • LinkedIn sends a confirmation link to your new email address, and you must click it for the change to take effect.
  • Your old email stops working for sign-in immediately after confirmation, so make sure you have access to the new email address first.
  • If you use two-factor authentication with SMS, you may need to update your phone number in the same settings area.
  • You can add a secondary email address to your account before removing the primary one if you want to keep both active temporarily.

Step-by-step process for desktop

Open LinkedIn in a web browser and sign in if you're not already logged in. Click your profile photo in the top right corner — it's a small circle with your image or initials. A dropdown menu will appear with several options.

Select Settings and privacy from that menu. You'll land on a settings page. On the left side, you'll see a navigation menu with different sections. Click Sign in & security. This section controls how you sign into your account and what recovery methods LinkedIn has on file.

Scroll down until you see the Email addresses section. Your current primary email will be listed with a label that says "Primary." To the right of it, you'll see a pencil icon. Click that icon to edit the email address.

A text field will appear where you can type your new email address. Delete the old one and type the new address carefully — LinkedIn will not send the confirmation link if there's a typo. Click Change email or the checkmark button to proceed.

LinkedIn will immediately send a confirmation email to the new address you entered. Check your inbox (and spam folder if you don't see it within a few minutes). Open the email from LinkedIn and click the confirmation link. Once you click it, the change is complete and your new email becomes your primary sign-in address.

How to change email on the LinkedIn mobile app

The process on iPhone or Android is nearly identical. Open the LinkedIn app and tap your profile photo at the bottom of the screen (usually in the bottom right corner). Tap the gear icon or Settings option.

Look for Sign in & security or Account access depending on your app version. Tap Email address or Email addresses. You'll see your current email listed. Tap the pencil icon or Edit button next to it.

Type your new email address in the field that appears. Tap Save or Confirm. LinkedIn will send a confirmation email to the new address. Open that email on your phone or another device and tap the confirmation link to finish.

Adding a secondary email before removing your primary one

If you want to keep both email addresses active for a period of time, you can add a secondary email first, then remove the old primary email later. This is useful if you're switching email providers and want to make sure you don't lose access to your account during the transition.

In the Email addresses section of Sign in & security, look for an Add email or + Add button below your primary email. Click it and enter your new email address. LinkedIn will send a confirmation link to that new address. Confirm it the same way you would for a primary email change.

Once both emails are confirmed and active, you can return to the Email addresses section and click the pencil icon next to your old email. Select Remove or Delete. Your new email will automatically become the primary one. This method gives you a safety net in case something goes wrong during the transition.

What happens to two-factor authentication when you change email

If you have two-factor authentication (2FA) turned on using your email address, you don't need to do anything — LinkedIn will automatically send future 2FA codes to your new email address. However, if you use an authenticator app like Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator, those codes will continue to work without any changes.

If you have 2FA set up using SMS text messages to a phone number, that phone number stays the same. You only need to update it if you've also changed your phone number. Go to the same Sign in & security section and look for Two-step verification or Two-factor authentication. If you see a phone number listed, you can edit it there.

Troubleshooting: confirmation email not arriving

If you don't see the confirmation email from LinkedIn within a few minutes, check your spam or junk folder first. LinkedIn emails sometimes get filtered there. If it's not there, go back to the Email addresses section and look for a Resend button or link. Click it to have LinkedIn send the confirmation email again.

If you still don't receive it, double-check that you typed the new email address correctly in the settings form. A single typo will send the confirmation to the wrong inbox. If you're certain the address is correct but still haven't received the email, try signing out of LinkedIn completely, waiting 10 minutes, then signing back in and attempting the change again.

If the new email address is from a corporate or school domain, check with your IT department to make sure incoming emails from LinkedIn aren't being blocked by a firewall or email filter. Some organizations restrict which external services can send emails to their accounts.

What to do if you no longer have access to your old email

If you're trying to change your email but can no longer access the old one (it's been deleted, you lost the password, or the domain no longer exists), you'll need to use LinkedIn's account recovery process instead of the normal email change method. Go to the LinkedIn sign-in page and click Forgot password?

LinkedIn will ask you to enter your email address or phone number. If you can't access your old email, try entering a phone number associated with your account if you have one on file. If that doesn't work, LinkedIn will walk you through additional verification steps, which may include answering security questions or verifying your identity through a government ID.

Once you've regained access to your account through recovery, you can then change your email address using the normal process described above. This route takes longer but is designed specifically for situations where you've lost access to your original email.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change my email address on LinkedIn if I'm locked out of my account?

No, you need to be signed in to change your email. If you're locked out, use the Forgot password? link on the sign-in page to regain access first. LinkedIn will verify your identity through your phone number, security questions, or other methods before letting you back in.

Will changing my email affect my LinkedIn profile or connections?

No. Your profile, posts, connections, and all other account data remain exactly the same. Only the email address used to sign in changes. Your connections won't be notified of the email change.

How long does it take for the email change to go through?

It's immediate once you click the confirmation link in the email LinkedIn sends you. The confirmation email usually arrives within a few minutes. After you confirm, your new email becomes active for sign-in right away.

Can I use the same email address for multiple LinkedIn accounts?

No. LinkedIn requires each email address to be associated with only one account. If you try to change to an email that's already linked to another LinkedIn account, the system will reject it and ask you to use a different address.

What if I change my mind after confirming the new email?

You can change it back the same way you changed it the first time. Go to Settings and privacy, select Sign in & security, find the Email addresses section, and click the pencil icon to edit. You can switch back to your old email or use a completely different one.