Lost access to your Facebook Page? Here’s how to get it back.

 

I know, you don’t believe the title. “It’s impossible! I tried everything!”, you say.
Trust me, that’s what I would have said too, before I did something so crazy it just worked!

The first thing to note about a Facebook Page is that it’s not the same thing as an account/profile. You can’t log in to a Page, there are no passwords to reset. In order to access a Page, you need to have a Profile first which can then be used to create a page. If the page already exists, the only way to gain access to it is to have an Admin add your Profile manually.

What do you do if your Facebook Page doesn’t have an Admin?

That’s a problem Facebook isn’t really equipped to deal with. If you don’t have an Admin, there is nobody who can give you access to your page except a Facebook employee. There are no support resources for this issue and there is no way to contact Facebook Pages Support directly.

So, again, what do you do?

You lie.

UPDATE, October 2020: While this method has worked and continues to work for some users, there is no guarantee it will work for you. Many attempts have resulted in various responses from Facebook, seemingly at random. Including but not limited to: ignoring your request; answering the request by saying they can’t help; flagging your Facebook account for submitting fraudulent copyright claims; threatening to delete your Facebook page. View the comments section below for my replies to various issues. Strategy Lab is unaffiliated with Facebook and can only offer advice from our experience, so our ability is limited.

Part 1: Report Copyright Infringement

Yeah, the system in this area is pretty broken, but I did some digging and found mysef an in!

I reported the page we wanted back to the Facebook Legal department, claiming it was violating copyright.

1. Visit this page: Reporting a Violation or Infringement of Your Rights
2. Select “Copyright” then “Continue with your copyright report“, this will take you to a new page.
3. Here, select “I found content which I believe infringes my copyright” then “Continue with my copyright report“.
4. Under Contact Information, select “Provide your contact information” then “Me or my organization” and fill out the form as fully and accurately as possible.
5. Under Content You Want To Report, select “Provide the content you want to report” and then “Other“. In the field below “Please provide links (URLs) leading directly to the specific content you are reporting.”, paste a link to the Facebook page you want to regain access to.
6. Under “Why are you reporting this content?”, use the dropdown select “Other” and in the form below “Please clarify why you are reporting this content.”,
   

   Paste the following text:

   This report is submitted by [your name], the rightful owner of [page name].
   The purpose of this report is to petition for the role of Administrator to be returned to me by Facebook.
   At this time, there is no account with the Administrator role on the page, and as such I am unable ot access it.
   There appears to be no way for me to regain access to my page, nor for Administration privileges to change hands whatsoever, without intervention by Facebook staff.
   It is hereby requested that the role of “Admin” for the Facebook page be given to the Facebook account linked below:
   My Profile: [link to your profile]
   My Page: [link to your page]

7. Under Your Copyrighted Work(s), select “Provide your copyrighted work“, then select “Other” from the dropdown.
8. In the field under “Please describe your copyrighted work.”, paste the following:
   A business’ name, logo, brand identity, images, and social media presence.
9. In the field under “Where can we see an authorized example of your work?”, paste a link to your website or a social media account for the same business that you do have access to.
   (You don’t have to include any file attachments)
10. Under Delcaration, select “Confirm delcaration statement“, then select “Yes“.
11. Under “Electronic signature” type your full name.
12. Click “Submit” and then wait for a reply from Facebook to be sent to the Email you specified in the Contact Information.

You will recieve an automated email from Facebook with some links and information about copyright, as well as a copy of the content of the form you filled out.

Someone from Facebook Legal should contact you soon and will say something like:

Reply to this email with the following:

Hello Facebook,

Thank you for the reply.
Yes, please forward my request to the appropriate department.

The profile requesting an admin change (belonging to the owner of the company for which the page was made):
[link to your account profile]

The page in question:
[link to the page you want access to]

Thanks again for your help.
– [your name]

After that, you will recieve an email with this message:

Now go back to Facebook and watch for an update in your Support Inbox.

Part 2: Pages Support & Notary

Your support inbox is where Facebook employees will update you on the progress of your reports and support tickets.

You can visit it here:
Support Inbox

You should soon see an Open ticket titled “You Reported an Issue Accessing a Page”

In the ticket, you will be given a list of items you need to gather in order to complete the request and roughly 2 weeks to submit it. Read these requirements carefully.

The items you will need to collect are:

• A copy of a valid government-issued photo ID (such as a current driver’s license or a passport) – Scan both sides of your driver’s license or take clear photos of it.
• A notarized and signed statement. Normally this would mean you’d have to do a lot of writing but I’m feeling generous and have made you a lovely little Word template for you to edit at your leisure:
  Click here to download the template.
• If your Page is for a registered business or organization, include a copy of your govt. issued business license or certificate of incorporation.

Fill out the provided template. Make sure to include ALL the information specified in the document and double-check that it is accurate and all the URLs are correct.

Once you have filled out the document, print it out and take it to your local Notary Public. Bring your ID and some cash (probably about $20) and the Notary will notarize and stamp the document for you. Do not sign it until the Notary tells you to.

Now that you have your document notarized, scan it into your computer and create a PDF document containing the pages of the notarized statement, a copy of your driver’s license and (if applicable) the govt. issued business license or certificate of incorporation.

The Home Stretch!

Once you have the PDF, return to the Facebook Support Inbox. Under your Open ticket, scroll to the section titled “Your response”. Here, click “Add Attachment” and select your PDF.

Don’t hit send yet, you should also paste the following into the “Write your response here…” field:

Hello,

Please find attached my government issued ID and a notarized and signed document containing all information relevant to requirements A through G.

The Page I am requesting Admin for:
[name of page] – [link to page]

My Facebook account:
[your name] – [link to profile]

I reaffirm my declaration under penalty of perjury that the information I have provided is true and accurate.

Thank you.

Once the field is filled out and the PDF is attached, you may finally click “Send”

And now we wait.

After this, they may respond requesting further clarification on some things. As long as all the information in the notarized document is accurate, you can refer them to it again.

After this point, the Facebook Support staff should add your account as an Admin on your page and your powers will be restored!

And that’s it.
That’s how I did it.
You may now applaud.
You’re welcome.

UPDATE, November 2020: I have really appreciated your engagement with this post over the past year, and I’m so glad to have been able everyone who was successful in restoring their Facebook pages using my instructions. Unfortunately, I no longer have the time to monitor or reply to this thread, please take the above post as-is.