In order to quickly and systematically identify the 12 geometric errors of the rotary axes of five-axis machine tool with a swiveling head, a five installation method for measuring and identifying geometric error based on the double ball bar (DBB) was proposed. Firstly, based on the distribution characteristics of the rotary axes of five-axis machine tool with swiveling head, the measurement models under the local coordinate systems of the rotary axes were established based on the multi-body system theory and the homogeneous coordinate transformation method, and the mapping relationship between the volume error vectors and the geometric error terms was established, which can also be used for geometric error compensation. Secondly, initial installation position and direction of the DBB were set, the continuous switching between different measurement modes was realized, and then the five installation method was proposed, which can realize the identification of the total 12 motion errors of the two rotary axes of five-axis machine tool with swiveling head, and it reduced the impact of installation errors on the accuracy of measurement and identification. Finally, the DBB-based motion errors measurement and identification experiments were carried out on the five-axis machine tool with swiveling head by using five installation methods. The geometric errors of five-axis machine tool with a turntable-tilting head were compensated with the identification values, and the average of motion errors of the two rotary axes were reduced by 48.89% and 51.49%, respectively. The accuracy and validity of five installation method were verified.