Answers.Body: <p>Say you want to convert from an individual to a household. One very hack-ish way is as follows: </p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><p>Create a new household with the desired household name.</p></li>
  <li><p>Note the "contact id" values for the individual (INDIVIDUALID) and for the newly created household (HOUSEHOLDID). (You can find this "contact id" value at the bottom of the screen when viewing the contact where it says something like "CiviCRM ID: 2345". Also this id value is in the URL of the page where you view the contact.)</p></li>
  <li><p>Manually navigate to the following URL where you will merge the two contacts. In this URL you will have to replace "HOUSEHOLDID" with the id value for your newly created household and replace "INDIVIDUALID" with the id for the individual you want to "convert" to a household.</p>
  
  <p><a href="http://example.com/civicrm/contact/merge?reset=1&amp;cid=HOUSEHOLDID&amp;oid=INDIVIDUALID&amp;action=update">http://example.com/civicrm/contact/merge?reset=1&amp;cid=HOUSEHOLDID&amp;oid=INDIVIDUALID&amp;action=update</a></p></li>
  <li><p>Check all boxes, except make sure "contact type" and any "name" fields are <strong><em>un</strong>-checked</em></p></li>
  <li><p>Merge the individual into the household. </p></li>
  </ol>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-04-10T15:04:53.883Z
Answers.Text: @DaveGreenberg I think this merits being a 2nd answer to the question.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Coleman
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-04-13T17:41:37.780Z
Answers.Text: The direct SQL update approach has risks - notably if the contact has contact-type specific custom data attached. Hence, actually liking Sean's suggestions as the primary route.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Dave Greenberg
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-06-03T11:24:39.093Z
Answers.Text: One thing to remember is that cid = "contact id for the record you want to keep" and oid = "contact Id for the record you want to merge then delete".
Answers.UserDisplayName: JoAnne
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-03-24T17:53:50.990Z
Answers.Text: That's a clever hack, and a helpful trick to have in your pocket if you need to merge contacts that aren't obviously dupes. Another approach would be direct edit via SQL (change value in civicrm_contact.contact_type and remove/add values in first_name, last_name, household_name, etc. columns).
Answers.UserDisplayName: Dave Greenberg
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-03-24T17:36:55.660Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2015-06-03T12:47:24.777Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2015-06-03T12:47:24.777Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Sean
Answers.Body: <p>This is a not so trivial issue, as you might have a lot of related data around that contact that were correct with an individual but might not be compatible with a household any more. For instance is the individual had custom data that are only valid for an individual, or a relationship "child of", or attended to an event... transforming that individual into an household might lead to weird results (eg. having "smith family" being the child of John or being a speaker with gluten intolerance at your latest gala dinner.</p>
  
  <p>Now that you've been warned and that you are sure you are not going to create these monsters into your database, the trick I use is to use the api:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>go to the api explorer (example.org/civicrm/api/explorer on drupal)</li>
  <li>choose contact create as the entity+action</li>
  <li>add the parameter contact type=Household</li>
  <li>add the parameter internal id= the contact id of your contact</li>
  <li>add the parameter household name= "smith family"</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>so the drush command generated looks like</p>
  
  <pre><code>drush cvapi Contact.create sequential=1 contact_type="Household" id=42 household_name="Bob's family"  
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>and press execute and confirm you're ok to write to the database</p>
  
  <p>And voila, it's an household. they are a few other parameters you might want to alter (addressee, the greetings), but it should get you covered, without having to attack directly the database</p>
  
  <p>Api explorer is your friend, use it with moderation ;)</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-12-14T23:58:33.423Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2015-12-15T09:21:50.887Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2015-12-15T09:21:50.887Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Xavier
Answers.Body: <p>The <a href="https://civicrm.org/extensions/contact-editor" rel="noreferrer">Contact Editor</a> extension allows you to change contact types safely.  It checks for potential data loss, which isn't possible with the API method or the Merge method.</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/QdwC0.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/QdwC0.png" alt="Change contact type"></a></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2017-12-13T17:18:02.100Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2018-01-11T13:07:04.363Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2018-01-11T13:07:04.363Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Jon G - Megaphone Tech
Body: <p>All contacts have a type of either "individual", "household", or "organization". </p>
  
  <p>How can I change this type for an existing contact? </p>
  
Tags: <contacts>
Title: how can I change the contact type for one contact (to/from individual/household/organization)?
ThreadText: # how can I change the contact type for one contact (to/from individual/household/organization)?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2015-03-24)
  
  All contacts have a type of either "individual", "household", or "organization".
  
  How can I change this type for an existing contact?
  
  **Tags:** contacts
  
  
  ---
  
  ## 3 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_5 on 2017-12-13. Score: 12 | Accepted answer
  
  The [Contact Editor](https://civicrm.org/extensions/contact-editor) extension allows you to change contact types safely. It checks for potential data loss, which isn't possible with the API method or the Merge method.
  
  [![Change contact type](https://i.sstatic.net/QdwC0.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/QdwC0.png)
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_0 on 2015-03-24. Score: 16
  
  Say you want to convert from an individual to a household. One very hack-ish way is as follows:
  
  1. Create a new household with the desired household name.
  2. Note the "contact id" values for the individual (INDIVIDUALID) and for the newly created household (HOUSEHOLDID). (You can find this "contact id" value at the bottom of the screen when viewing the contact where it says something like "CiviCRM ID: 2345". Also this id value is in the URL of the page where you view the contact.)
  3. Manually navigate to the following URL where you will merge the two contacts. In this URL you will have to replace "HOUSEHOLDID" with the id value for your newly created household and replace "INDIVIDUALID" with the id for the individual you want to "convert" to a household.
  
     <http://example.com/civicrm/contact/merge?reset=1&cid=HOUSEHOLDID&oid=INDIVIDUALID&action=update>
  4. Check all boxes, except make sure "contact type" and any "name" fields are ***un***-checked
  5. Merge the individual into the household.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_2**: That's a clever hack, and a helpful trick to have in your pocket if you need to merge contacts that aren't obviously dupes. Another approach would be direct edit via SQL (change value in civicrm_contact.contact_type and remove/add values in first_name, last_name, household_name, etc. columns).  
  > **username_1**: @DaveGreenberg I think this merits being a 2nd answer to the question.  
  > **username_2**: The direct SQL update approach has risks - notably if the contact has contact-type specific custom data attached. Hence, actually liking username_0's suggestions as the primary route.  
  > **username_3**: One thing to remember is that cid = "contact id for the record you want to keep" and oid = "contact Id for the record you want to merge then delete".  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_4 on 2015-12-14. Score: 7
  
  This is a not so trivial issue, as you might have a lot of related data around that contact that were correct with an individual but might not be compatible with a household any more. For instance is the individual had custom data that are only valid for an individual, or a relationship "child of", or attended to an event... transforming that individual into an household might lead to weird results (eg. having "smith family" being the child of John or being a speaker with gluten intolerance at your latest gala dinner.
  Now that you've been warned and that you are sure you are not going to create these monsters into your database, the trick I use is to use the api:
  
  go to the api explorer (example.org/civicrm/api/explorer on drupal)
  choose contact create as the entity+action
  add the parameter contact type=Household
  add the parameter internal id= the contact id of your contact
  add the parameter household name= "smith family"
  
  so the drush command generated looks like
  drush cvapi Contact.create sequential=1 contact_type="Household" id=42 household_name="Bob's family"  
  
  and press execute and confirm you're ok to write to the database
  And voila, it's an household. they are a few other parameters you might want to alter (addressee, the greetings), but it should get you covered, without having to attack directly the database
  Api explorer is your friend, use it with moderation ;)
  
  
  ---
  
  