How to Change Your LinkedIn URL (Custom URL Rules and Ideas)

To change your LinkedIn URL, open your profile, click Edit public profile & URL, click the pencil next to your custom URL, type a new ending of 3 to 100 characters and save. On the app, go to your profile, open Contact info, tap your profile URL and edit it there. You can change it up to five times in six months, and your old URL stops working for visitors.

Below are the desktop and mobile steps, the character rules, what happens to your old link, how to pick a URL when your name is taken, and how Company Page URLs work. Every rule here was checked against LinkedIn's Help Center in October 2026.

How to change your LinkedIn URL on desktop

The steps follow LinkedIn's help page Manage your public profile URL.

1. Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage and select View Profile.
2. On the right side of your profile, click Edit public profile & URL (the edit icon next to Public profile & URL).
3. Under Edit your custom URL, click the pencil icon.
4. Type the new ending, the part after linkedin.com/in/.
5. Click Save. If the URL is taken or breaks a rule, LinkedIn tells you right away.

How to change your LinkedIn URL on the app (iPhone and Android)

1. Tap your profile photo, then open your profile.
2. Open Contact info (in your intro, or under the More button on some versions of the app) and tap the edit icon.
3. Tap your profile URL. This opens the Public profile settings page.
4. Edit your custom URL and tap Save.

LinkedIn gives one set of mobile steps for both platforms. If the app's menus look different, the mobile browser version of LinkedIn shows the same Public profile settings page.

LinkedIn custom URL rules

All of these come from LinkedIn's public profile URL help page. In practice, stick to letters and numbers. LinkedIn's help does not list hyphens separately, but the default URLs it assigns often contain them, and the editor rejects anything it does not accept as soon as you try to save.

Because the URL is not case sensitive, you can display it with capitals on a CV or slide (linkedin.com/in/SaraHaddad) for readability, and it still works when someone types it in lowercase.

What happens to your old LinkedIn URL?

This is where most people get caught. According to LinkedIn's help page, the previous URL stays linked to you for six months unless you unlink it, which means nobody else can claim it during that time. It does not mean old links keep sending people to your profile. LinkedIn notes that visiting a previously claimed URL may show a page that reads Profile Not Found.

We have seen this in our own product at exeedin: when a member renames their LinkedIn URL, anything still pointing at the old address hits a dead page. That includes the link on a CV sitting in a recruiter's inbox, an email signature, a QR code on a printed business card and any app connected to the old profile address. So before you change it, plan where you will update it.

Where to update your new URL

• Email signature (work and personal)
• CV and cover letter templates, plus any CV already uploaded to job boards
• Your website, portfolio, author bio and speaker pages
• Other social profiles and link-in-bio pages
• Business cards, QR codes and conference badges
• Booking pages, newsletters and slide templates
• Any tools or apps that store your LinkedIn profile address

If you change your mind quickly, LinkedIn says you should be able to switch back to your old URL right after changing it. Every switch still counts toward the five changes.

See and unlink prior URLs

On the same Public profile settings page, LinkedIn offers a See prior custom URLs option that lists URLs previously linked to your profile. You can unlink any of them. Only do this if you are sure: an unlinked URL becomes available to other members after seven days.

How many times can you change your LinkedIn URL?

Up to five times within six months. After the fifth change, LinkedIn makes you wait six months before you can change it again. Other guides often say "180 days"; LinkedIn's own wording is six months. The limit is generous for normal use, but it is a reason to pick a URL you can keep for years rather than one tied to your current job title or employer.

What is the difference between your assigned and custom URL?

When you create a profile, LinkedIn assigns a URL automatically, often your name followed by a string of letters and numbers. LinkedIn's help page says the assigned URL changes only if you update your name. The custom URL is the one you choose. Most people never touch the assigned one and simply replace it with a clean custom version.

If you have a profile in more than one language, the additional language profiles share the same URL with a language code at the end, so you do not need separate URLs for Arabic and English profiles.

LinkedIn URL ideas when your name is taken

Common names go fast. Here is a practical order of options, from cleanest to most specific.

1. Full name: sarahaddad, first name plus last name, or sara-haddad if the editor accepts the hyphen.
2. Add a middle initial or name: saramhaddad, sara-m-haddad.
3. Reverse it: haddadsara reads oddly in some languages but is often free.
4. Add your field: sarahaddadmarketing, omarkhalilcfo. Choose the broad field, not a job title you might outgrow.
5. Add a credential: sarahaddadcpa, drkhalil, only if it is core to how people know you.
6. Add a place: sarahaddaddubai, useful if your market is local.
7. Use your professional name: the name you publish or speak under, if it differs from your legal name. Your profile name itself must still be your true name under LinkedIn's sign-up rules.

What to avoid

• Employer names. You will probably leave, and the URL becomes a small awkward signal.
• Random numbers. Strings that look like birth years or phone numbers look careless and reveal more than you need to.
• Trendy labels. "Growth ninja" in a URL ages badly.
• Different spellings from your CV. This matters for Arabic names, which have many Latin spellings (Mohammed, Mohamed, Muhammad). Use the same spelling as your CV and email address so recruiters can type it from memory.

Your URL works best when it matches the rest of your profile. If you are cleaning up the URL, it is a good moment to refresh your headline too; our post on LinkedIn headline examples has formulas by role, and a free run of the LinkedIn profile evaluator flags what else on your profile is costing you clicks.

How to find your LinkedIn URL on the app

1. Open your profile in the LinkedIn app.
2. Tap Contact info. Your profile URL is listed there.
3. To copy it, use the profile's share or copy link option, or press and hold the URL.

When you copy a profile link from the app, it sometimes comes with extra tracking text after a question mark. Delete everything from the question mark onward before you paste it into a CV or signature, so the link stays short and clean. On desktop, your URL is shown at the top of the Public profile settings page.

How to change a LinkedIn Company Page URL

Company Pages follow different rules from personal profiles. LinkedIn's help page Edit your LinkedIn Page or Showcase Page URL says only super admins can do it:

1. Open your Page's super admin view.
2. Select Edit page in the left menu.
3. Open the Page info tab.
4. Click the LinkedIn Public URL field and enter the new name.
5. Click Save in the upper right corner.

LinkedIn's Page public URL article adds the key rules:

• You can change a Page URL only once in a 30-day period.
• Renaming the Page does not change its URL automatically.
• After a change, both the old and new URLs direct to the Page, until another Page requests the old URL, at which point the old one stops redirecting.
• Search engines may take a few weeks to send traffic to the new URL.
• LinkedIn advises avoiding ambiguous acronyms, for example a clear name over a three-letter abbreviation.

So a Company Page rename is safer than a personal one, because the old link keeps working for a while. Still update your website footer, email signatures and ads as soon as you change it.

Why should you customize your LinkedIn URL?

• It looks finished. A clean URL on a CV or business card signals that you maintain your profile.
• It is easy to share out loud. At events, "LinkedIn slash in slash sarahaddad" beats spelling a random string.
• Job applications ask for it. LinkedIn's own help page notes that some applications request your public profile URL.
• It matches your brand. The same handle across LinkedIn, your site and email makes you easier to find, one of the small details covered in building a personal brand on LinkedIn.

The URL is one small item on a longer list. Our LinkedIn profile optimization checklist covers the rest, and keeping LinkedIn and your CV in sync explains why mismatches cost interviews. Once your profile is tidy, our guide on how to see who viewed your LinkedIn profile shows whether the changes are bringing more visitors.

Why can't I change my LinkedIn URL?

• The URL is taken. Another member has it, or held it recently. Try a variation from the list above.
• It breaks a rule. Spaces, symbols, special characters, the word LinkedIn, or fewer than 3 or more than 100 characters.
• You hit the limit. Five changes in six months, then a six month wait.
• It belongs to a closed account. LinkedIn says a closed account's custom URL becomes available only after 180 days.
• You are editing a Company Page. Only super admins can change a Page URL, and only once in 30 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does changing my LinkedIn URL break old links?

Yes, for personal profiles. LinkedIn keeps your old URL reserved for you for six months, so nobody else can take it, but visitors who use the old link may see a Profile Not Found page. Update your email signature, CV, website and any QR codes as soon as you change it. Company Page URLs behave differently and keep redirecting for a while.

How many times can I change my LinkedIn URL?

LinkedIn allows up to five changes to your custom public profile URL within six months. After the fifth change, you must wait six months before changing it again. Switching back to an old URL also counts as a change, so pick a URL you are happy to keep for years before you save it.

What characters can a LinkedIn URL have?

A custom LinkedIn URL can be 3 to 100 characters long and cannot contain spaces, symbols, special characters or the word LinkedIn. It is not case sensitive. Letters and numbers are always safe. If you try a character the editor does not accept, LinkedIn shows an error when you save, so you can adjust before anything changes.

Can I get a LinkedIn URL that someone else is using?

No. Custom URLs are first come, first served, and LinkedIn says it cannot make URLs available on request. If someone unlinks a URL, it becomes available to others after seven days, and a closed account's URL is released after 180 days. Until then, choose a variation with a middle initial, your field or your city.

Where do I find my LinkedIn profile URL?

On desktop, click Me, then View Profile, then Edit public profile and URL; your URL is shown at the top of that page. In the mobile app, open your profile and tap Contact info, where your profile URL is listed. If a copied link has extra text after a question mark, delete that part before sharing.

Does changing my name change my LinkedIn URL?

Changing your name can change your automatically assigned URL, but it does not change a custom URL you already set. LinkedIn's help page says the assigned URL changes only if you update your name. If you change your name after marriage or for professional reasons, update your custom URL separately if you want them to match.