# Share Items

Sharing requires membership in an [organization](https://bitwarden.com/en-gb/help/about-organizations/). Using Bitwarden, sharing an item means two things:

- Adding the item to an [organization](https://bitwarden.com/en-gb/help/about-organizations/). This transfers ownership of the item to the organization you're sharing it with.
- Adding the item to one or more [collections](https://bitwarden.com/en-gb/help/about-collections/). The **Access** settings set on those collections determine who will have access to it.

There are lots of different methods for sharing items using Bitwarden. In this article, we'll walk through those methods. Whichever method works best for your workflow, remember that you'll need to be a member of an organization in order to share.

## Share new items

Whether you're **Adding items** to your organization or **Importing items** to your organization, you can specify who they should be shared with right from the start. You can add or import items to any collection that you have the right [permissions](https://bitwarden.com/en-gb/help/collection-permissions/) for:

### Adding items

To add a new shared item from the web app, browser extension, mobile, or desktop:

1. On the **Vault** view of any Bitwarden app, select the + **New** button and select the desired item type.

> [!TIP] Can also be done from Admin Console
> Organization [owners, admins, and some custom users](https://bitwarden.com/en-gb/help/user-types-access-control/) can also take this step directly from the **Admin Console** to skip some of the steps in this process.
2. Using the **Owner** dropdown, choose the organization you want this item to be owned by.
3. Using the **Collections** dropdown, choose the collection(s) to share this item with. The **Access** settings set on those collections determine who will have access to it.
4. Fill in the rest of the relevant information for the item and select **Save** to complete sharing.

> [!NOTE] Reminder, sharing means org ownership
> **Reminder**: Sharing an item involves giving ownership of it to the organization. [Permissions for a collection](https://bitwarden.com/en-gb/help/collection-permissions/) should be well managed by the administrative team because members with the right level of permission have the ability to alter or delete a shared item. You can tell that an item is shared by the badge next to its name:
> 
> ![Shared item badge](https://bitwarden.com/assets/6tnBV4hUxUNtWvGNAp8eua/215f54e0a26f5a1b2d41e18119fdcd71/2024-12-02_15-31-38.png)

### Importing items

When importing items to Password Manager, you can import them directly to a shared context. If you're importing more than just a few items, we recommend referring to the [Import to an organization](https://bitwarden.com/en-gb/help/import-to-org/) article.

1. Navigate to **Tools**→ **Import data**.

> [!TIP] Can also be done from Admin Console
> Organization [owners, admins, and some custom users](https://bitwarden.com/en-gb/help/user-types-access-control/) can also take this step directly from the **Admin Console** to skip some of the steps in this process.
2. Using the **Vault** dropdown, choose the organization you want this item to be owned by.
3. Using the **Collection** dropdown, choose the collection to share this item with. The **Access** settings set on those collections determine who will have access to it.
4. Choose the **File format** and **Select the import file**.
5. Select **Import data** to complete sharing.

> [!NOTE] Reminder, sharing means org ownership
> **Reminder**: Sharing an item involves giving ownership of it to the organization. [Permissions for a collection](https://bitwarden.com/en-gb/help/collection-permissions/) should be well managed by the administrative team because members with the right level of permission have the ability to alter or delete a shared item. You can tell that an item is shared by the badge next to its name:
> 
> ![Shared item badge](https://bitwarden.com/assets/6tnBV4hUxUNtWvGNAp8eua/215f54e0a26f5a1b2d41e18119fdcd71/2024-12-02_15-31-38.png)

## Share existing items

You might find that an item currently owned by you needs to be shared with other members of your organization. Items can be shared with any collection that you have the right [permissions](https://bitwarden.com/en-gb/help/collection-permissions/) for, from any Bitwarden app:

### Web app

The most universal method for sharing existing items using the web app can be used to share items that will be brand new to your organization, or to simply add more collections to the list it's shared with:

1. In the **Vaults** view, select the item(s) to share using the checkbox(es).

> [!TIP] Can also be done from Admin Console
> Organization [owners, admins, and some custom users](https://bitwarden.com/en-gb/help/user-types-access-control/) can also take this step directly from the **Admin Console** to skip some of the steps in this process.
2. Using the ⋮ options menu, select the **Assign to collections** option:

![Assign to collections](https://bitwarden.com/assets/stm9byteqzZn9dvqonHrc/0da481b0cf1f54457d08ae02fd917377/2024-12-02_14-33-34.png)
3. On the **Assign to collections** pop-up:

 - Use the **Move to organization** dropdown to choose the organization you want this item to be owned by.
 - Use the **Select collections to assign** dropdown to choose the collection(s) to share this item with. The **Access** settings set on those collections determine who will have access to it.
4. Select **Assign** to complete sharing.

### More methods for sharing

The previously described method is the most universal and simplified, however there are a few other methods for sharing you may have access to:

- **Share from the Admin Console**: As mentioned previously, organization [owners, admins, and some custom users](https://bitwarden.com/en-gb/help/user-types-access-control/) can streamline sharing by doing so directly from the Admin Console:

![Assign to collections in bulk](https://bitwarden.com/assets/1u6EPNgAlCnvC9DcmUIosQ/327c0c24e09dce687540499a8eaa5aac/2024-12-02_15-47-21.png)
- **Edit an item directly**: If you need to make changes to an individual item prior to sharing it, open the item and, in the **Edit** view, use the **Owner**and **Collections** dropdowns to choose who to share it with while you're making the necessary changes:

![Change item ownership](https://bitwarden.com/assets/34zUaUOVRSXEv90fQiq5mD/e1e41fb5b40e3efcd974c770b101ad55/2025-01-28_10-40-03.png)

### Browser extension

To share an existing item from the browser extension:

1. In the **Vault**view, use the ⋮ options menu for the item you want to share and select **Assign to collections**:

![Browser extension assign to collections](https://bitwarden.com/assets/7t3FoxPnpWGQAEzH1ERVDi/6c5622df8525848c0b4eb9bba330b70f/2024-12-02_15-32-47.png)
2. On the **Assign to collections** pop-up:

 - Use the **Move to organization** dropdown to choose the organization you want this item to be owned by.
 - Use the **Select collections to assign** dropdown to choose the collection(s) to share this item with. The **Access** settings set on those collections determine who will have access to it.
3. Select **Assign** to complete sharing.

### More methods for sharing

There are a few other ways to share an item:

- **Edit an item directly**: If you need to make changes to an individual item prior to sharing it, open the item and, in the **Edit** view, use the **Owner**and **Collections** dropdowns to choose who to share it with while you're making the necessary changes:

![Share while editing on browser](https://bitwarden.com/assets/X73xPwnn5yKQtHhAC8U0H/480609793077866d21105593767d7448/2025-07-29_09-33-57.png)

### Mobile

To share an existing item from the mobile app:

1. Tap the vault item you want to share so that the **View item**panel is displayed.
2. Tap the ⋮ options menu and choose the **Move to Organization** option.
3. On the **Move to Organization** panel:

 - Use the **Organization** dropdown to choose the organization you want this item to be owned by.
 - Use the **Collections**selectors to choose the collection(s) to share this item with. The **Access** settings set on those collections determine who will have access to it.
4. Tap **Move**to complete sharing.

### More methods for sharing

There are a few other ways to share an item:

- **Edit an item directly**: If you need to make changes to an individual item prior to sharing it, open the item and, in the **Edit** view, use the **Owner**and **Collections** dropdowns to choose who to share it with while you're making the necessary changes.

### Desktop

To share an existing item from the desktop app:

1. In the **Vault**view, right-click the item you want to share and select **Assign to collections** from the menu:

![Share from desktop](https://bitwarden.com/assets/2RRhv9udtSa49Uxzv6rRAQ/fcf14bf329eb05226e389653ff339826/2026-04-23_11-35-49.png)
*Share from desktop*
2. On the **Assign to collections** pop-up:

 - Use the **Move to organization** dropdown to choose the organization you want this item to be owned by.
 - Use the **Select collections to assign** dropdown to choose the collection(s) to share this item with. The **Access** settings set on those collections determine who will have access to it.
3. Select **Assign** to complete sharing.

### More methods for sharing

There are a few other ways to share an item:

- **Edit an item directly**: If you need to make changes to an individual item prior to sharing it, open the item and, in the **Edit** view, use the **Owner**and **Collections** dropdowns to choose who to share it with while you're making the necessary changes:

![Share while editing on desktop](https://bitwarden.com/assets/4U6pHkqLgt3miuwFLJ9tkH/caeb931f14a8a6b10ba7e299a705e083/2026-04-23_11-41-17.png)
*Share while editing on desktop*

### CLI

To move an item, use the command:

```
bw move <itemid> <organizationid> [encodedJson]
```

Where:

- `itemid `represents the item's unique identifier.
- `organizationid` represents the unique identifier of the organization to move the item to.

For more information, please refer to the Bitwarden [CLI documentation](https://bitwarden.com/en-gb/help/cli/#move/). 

## After items are shared

> [!NOTE] Reminder, sharing means org ownership
> **Reminder**: Sharing an item involves giving ownership of it to the organization. [Permissions for a collection](https://bitwarden.com/en-gb/help/collection-permissions/) should be well managed by the administrative team because members with the right level of permission have the ability to alter or delete a shared item. You can tell that an item is shared by the badge next to its name:
> 
> ![Shared item badge](https://bitwarden.com/assets/6tnBV4hUxUNtWvGNAp8eua/215f54e0a26f5a1b2d41e18119fdcd71/2024-12-02_15-31-38.png)

### Reclaimed shared item ownership

Users with the [Manage collection permission](https://bitwarden.com/en-gb/help/collection-permissions/) for the collection(s) an item is stored in can choose to stop sharing an item with an organization:

1. Clone the item by using the ⋮ options menu for the item and selecting **Clone**.
2. On the **New item** panel, use the **Owner**dropdown to select your account email. This will ensure the item is cloned into a non-shared context.
3. **Save** the cloned item.
4. Delete the original item by using the ⋮ options menu for the item and selecting **Delete**.

Note that in some cases moving the item to a collection with higher access control restrictions, or to a collection that only you have access to, can be more effective than outright removing it from the organization.