How to Claim Ownership of a Facebook Page

If you are not listed as an owner or admin of your parish Facebook page, you won't be able to do much with it.

The first thing you need to do is figure out who the owner is. This might be Father, a past employee, or volunteer. You'll want to reach out to every potential owner and have them head to business.facebook.com. If they see the parish profile image/logo in the upper left-hand corner, it is likely they are the owner. They can then follow this tutorial to get ownership transferred to you.

If you are unable to get in touch with the owner, follow the below steps to contact Facebook and regain access of your parish Facebook page. (Note these instructions come directly from Catholic Social Media's interactions with Facebook support on this question.)

Gather the following information:

  1. A copy of a valid government-issued photo ID, such as a current driver's license or a passport, of the individual signing the statement. You can find the different kinds of IDs we accept in the Help Center: https://www.facebook.com/help/159096464162185?ref=cr
  2. ALL Clients/Partners: A signed statement from a person with sufficient knowledge and authority over this matter that includes all of the below items. 
    1. A description of your relationship to the Page (including your authority to request a change in the person(s) who manage the Page, as applicable);
    2. The name of the current person(s) who manage the Page, as applicable; 
    3. The relationship of the above person(s) to the Page; An explanation of your request, and whether there has been a termination of the employment and/or business relationship with the named person(s), as applicable;
  3. All documentation supporting your request (Business License or certificate of incorporation under the business Page's name to prove the requester's authority over the business):
    1. The Facebook account or email address associated with the Facebook account that you wish to have added as the new admin of the Page; 
    2. A typed declaration that the information you have provided is true and accurate (e.g. "I certify that the information provided is true and accurate") - your statement must include similar wording.
  4. NOTE: A "person with sufficient knowledge and authority" is someone familiar with the scenario and the business. This means that we cannot accept requests/letters from just anyone related to any page. Only someone who works at that business and should have access to that business is, therefore, someone with sufficient knowledge and authority over the issue. NOTE 2: A person deemed to have sufficient knowledge or authority over the matter can request another individual to be added rather than themselves. Please keep in mind that we always only add one (1) user as an admin and never more than that.
  5. Once you have all of this information ready, you can chat with Meta support here: https://www.facebook.com/business/help

*Best practices are to have two page admins and two business admins so you don't accidentally lose control of your page.

The biggest thing to remember: for your own asset management and security, it is important that you track down the business admin and get ownership transferred. It will eliminate any future headaches in your social media endeavors.