Cannot change Atlassian account email due to "already associated" error after deletion

Summary

This article covers how to change account email when receiving "already associated" error message.

Problem scenario

When attempting to update an Atlassian account email address to a new domain, you may receive the error: “We were unable to process your email address change request because it is already associated with another Atlassian account.” This often occurs if the new email address was previously registered and the account was deleted, but the 14-day grace period for deletion has not yet passed.

Diagnosis

Confirm if you are impacted

1. Register an Atlassian account with the new email address.

2. Delete the account associated with the new email address.

3. Attempt to update an existing Atlassian account to use the new email address within 14 days of deletion.

4. Observe the error message indicating the email is already associated with another account.

Cause

The 14-day grace period is active, which does not allow the email to be reused.

Solution

How to work around the issue

1. Log in to the deleted account (if within the 14-day grace period, this will cancel the deletion).

2. Change the account’s email address to a different (dummy) email address via https://id.atlassian.com/manage-profile/email.

3. The desired email address will now be freed up for use on another account.

4. If the account changed to the dummy email is no longer needed, you may delete it again (note: the 14-day grace period will apply).

Permanent resolution

There is no way to immediately delete an Atlassian account and free up the email address before the 14-day grace period ends. The workaround above is recommended.