Request to claim an inactive organization name

[MrBlockShane]

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Hi GitHub team,

I’d like to request assistance regarding an organization name that appears to be inactive. The organization I’m interested in has had no activity for over three years, and I own the corresponding domain name.

Details:
• Desired organization name: cod3labs
• Evidence of inactivity: last commit/activity was over three years ago
• Domain ownership: I own cod3labs.com

I understand GitHub sometimes allows the transfer of inactive namespaces under certain circumstances. Could someone from staff please review this case or let me know the proper process for submitting a claim?

Thank you for your time and help!

Best,
Shane

[Nayil97]

To claim an inactive organization name, you need to contact GitHub Support directly:

1. Go to https://support.github.com/
2. Select "Account and Profile" → "Organizations"
3. Explain that you want to claim an inactive organization name
4. Provide the organization name you want to claim

GitHub will review the request and check if the organization is truly inactive. If it meets their criteria (usually no activity for a long time and no important repositories), they may release it for you to claim.

Note: They typically only release names if the organization has been completely inactive with no public repos or activity.

Good luck!

[MrBlockShane]

Hey @Nayil97,
I tried reaching out to GitHub about it, but the system indicated that the organization doesn’t exist. After double-checking, it looks like the name actually belongs to a user account instead of an organization.

So could you please tell me the best way to proceed since the name is actually taken by a user instead of an organization.

Thanks.

[Nayil97]

Yeah, if the name is tied to a normal user account instead of an org, GitHub treats it differently. They don’t automatically release usernames the way they sometimes do with inactive org names.

The only thing you can do is open a support ticket and ask if they’ll review it as an inactive username:

https://support.github.com/contact?tags=dotcom-accounts
(Choose Account and Profile → Username)

Just keep expectations low — GitHub almost never frees a username unless the account has zero repos, no stars, no activity, and hasn’t logged in for years. Even one tiny bit of activity is usually enough for them to deny the request.

If they say no, the fallback is using a variation of the name (like cod3labs-dev or cod3labsHQ).

Hope that helps.