How to Move Documents from One SharePoint Site to Another (2025 Guide)

Moving documents between SharePoint sites is a common task for organizations undergoing restructuring, site consolidation, or content reorganization. But did you know that over 70% of migration can’t get the desired results due to a lack of proper understanding of the transition process, step-by-step guidance, the right tools, and best practices?  In this article, we’ll explore step-by-step methods to move documents from one SharePoint site to another, including:

• Using “Move to” in SharePoint UI
• Using OneDrive Sync
• Using Power Automate
• Using PowerShell (PnP and SharePoint Online Management Shell)
• Automated Solution

Whether you’re using SharePoint Online or on-premises, we will let you know how to move documents in SharePoint simultaneously. Let’s explore!

When Should You Move Documents Between SharePoint Sites?

Understanding when and why to move documents can help determine the best method, i.e.

• When a company restructures departments, documents need to be relocated to meet access requirements.
• If a project has concluded or is transitioning to another team, moving documents to the new site ensures continuity.
• If sensitive documents are in a site with broad access, moving them to a more secure location is better.
• Too many documents on one site can overwhelm users. Moving files to a dedicated site can streamline the user experience.
• When the SharePoint Online storage quota exceeded, organizations move large files to another site. 
• Moving older or unnecessary documents to a dedicated archive site.
• In mergers, acquisitions, or divestitures, documents need to be moved from one SharePoint tenant to another.

Next, we will learn some things to keep in mind before migrating documents between SharePoint sites. 

Pre-Migration Checklist to Move Documents from One SharePoint Site to Another

Most of the users faced some issues during or after the transition, and we don’t want our users to find any type of hassle while performing the migration. That’s the reason we specially created this section of prerequisites. So, go through the checklist here:

1. Verify source & destination permissions are set the same
2. Keep folder and file names short (below 400 characters total).
3. Required proper admin credentials for both sites
4. Identify and delete unwanted data to minimize migration time 
5. Identify large documents or files that cause sync issues
6. Ensure custom columns/metadata exist in both locations
7. Take a backup or sync SharePoint Document Library to local folder, to ensure data continuity, if anything goes wrong.
8. When everything is set, migrate a few documents first, and address any issues, if occur. This helps in preventing data loss or any errors during the large data migration.

How to Move Documents Between SharePoint Sites?

Migrating documents from one SharePoint site to another is a straightforward procedure, with an appropriate solution. Finding the right solution is key to a seamless transition. Our SharePoint expert team found four manual solutions to move documents from one SharePoint site to another. 

However, manual solutions are free, but we feel that they are complex, time-consuming, and pose the risk of data loss if not following the instructions correctly.  

So, that’s why our engineers invented an automated solution that can migrate even large SharePoint data in minutes. We will understand what it is and how to use it further. But before, let’s explore some manual methods with step-by-step instructions to help you make a perfect decision. 

Method 1: Move Documents Between SharePoint Sites Using the “Move to” Option

In our SharePoint, one option is available, i.e., “Move to”, with which we can easily migrate documents to another site in the same tenant. But if you want to perform SharePoint tenant to tenant migration, then this won’t work. 

Follow these guidelines to move documents from one SharePoint site to another:

• Open the SharePoint site with the documents that need to be moved.
• Now, access the document library.
• Now, check the box beside one or multiple documents to migrate.
• Hit the “Move to” option.
• A pane appears on the right side in which you have to select the target SharePoint site.
• Go to the specific document library or folder.
• Click “Move here”.

You will receive a notification when migration completes. Afterward, check the target site to ensure that all the specified data is available.

Method 2: Sync Both Libraries with OneDrive & Move Documents from One SharePoint Site to Another

This is a complicated and lengthy method, so it is recommended not to opt for this if you have critical data, as one mistake can erase everything. Still, we will explore the steps, as it supports bulk migration, i.e.

• Open the document library & click “Sync” (OneDrive icon).
• This downloads the libraries to the File Explorer.
• Navigate to synced libraries on your system.
• Copy (Ctrl+C) or Move (Cut – Ctrl+X) the files from the source library.
• Paste (Ctrl+V) into the destination library folder.
• OneDrive will upload changes to SharePoint.

After seeing these steps, you may think this is so simple, but it is not. Configuration settings can be complicated for some users. That’s why we will move to the next solution. 

Method 3: Use Power Automate to Move Documents Between SharePoint Sites

Power Automate makes most of the task automatic, we just need to set a trigger. Here’s how:

• Go to https://flow.microsoft.com and log in.
• Click + Create > Choose Automated cloud flow.
• Name your flow and select a trigger, like “When a file is created in a folder”.
• Add Get file content from the source site.
• Then add a Create file to the destination site.
• Provide source and destination URLs.
• Use dynamic content to copy file names and content.
• Upload a file to the source library and see if it appears in the destination.

Method 4: Move Documents from One SharePoint Site to Another Via PowerShell

PowerShell is a technical but effective solution, and the screenshot below shows all the cmdlets clearly. Follow accordingly:

Method 5: Use an Expert-Suggested Automated Tool to Move Documents Between SharePoint Sites

So far, we have explored all the manual solutions to move documents from one SharePoint site to another, but each comes with limitations like a lack of automation, limited support for version history, or metadata preservation. Our technical team analyzes these limitations and designs an automated tool to overcome them. 

Leverage our Cutting-edge SharePoint Migrator today, and bypass all the issues and errors!

It comes with an intuitive interface, which makes it easy for non-technical users to proceed with the transition efficiently. You can see its UI for free by downloading this. Additionally, this solution offers many features, including:

• Date filter – For specific date-based migration.
• Delta migration – Helps to migrate only the currently arrived data.
• Re-run migration – Helps to easily pause & resume the transition whenever needed.
• Category-based selection – Helps to move only specific data categories, i.e., Sites, Document Library, and Lists.
• 24/7 Support – If any issue related to our software arises, we are always available for you. 

Not only these, but there are several exceptional features offered by this tool. So, take a full version of this, and follow the steps given below to move documents from one SharePoint site to another:

• Step 1. Open the application, and select Microsoft 365 as both source & target platforms, as shown in the screenshot.

• Step 2. Now, scroll down, and you will see the Document Library option is available; select that.

• Step 3.  On the same screen, the Date Filter option is also available, you can leverage it (if needed).

• Step 4. Afterward, enter the proper Admin credentials, i.e., Email ID & Application ID. Hit Validate.

• Step 5. When all permissions are validated, they look like:

• Step 6. Now, provide the destination Admin credentials and validate.

• Step 7. In the resources window, select Fetch Users & Sites.

• Step 8. Hit the Start Migration button to proceed with the migration. 

Post-Migration Validation Checklist

When complete with move documents from one SharePoint site to another task, verify everything:

1. All files and folders are available in the destination location
2. Check if the Metadata is intact or not
3. Verify that version history is preserved (if applicable)
4. Match the permissions

Bring it All Together

In today’s discussion, we explored various methods to move documents from one SharePoint site to another. You can opt for any that suits your needs best. If you are confused about which solution is best for you, it’s simple: manual methods are suitable for individuals or small-scale needs, but for organizations handling large volumes of data, the specified automated solution will help to move documents between SharePoint sites simultaneously.