You can delete a SharePoint site from the site itself through Settings, or from the SharePoint admin center if you have administrator access. The process takes less than a minute, and deleted sites stay recoverable for 93 days before they’re permanently removed. Here’s how to do it depending on your role and site type.
Delete a Site From Its Settings Page
If you’re a site owner, you can delete the site directly without needing admin center access. Navigate to the site you want to remove, then follow this path:
- Click the gear icon (Settings) in the top-right corner of the site.
- Select Site Settings. If you don’t see that option, click Site information first, then View all site settings. On some pages, you may need to go to Site contents before Site settings appears.
- Under the Site Actions heading, click Delete this site.
- Confirm you’re deleting the correct site and click Delete.
This method works for both modern and classic SharePoint experiences. In older classic sites, the path is the same: Settings > Site settings > Site Actions > Delete this site > Delete.
Delete a Site From the Admin Center
SharePoint administrators and global admins can delete any site, whether it’s a communication site or a team site, through the SharePoint admin center. This is the better route when you need to clean up multiple sites or don’t have owner access to the site itself.
- Go to the Active sites page in the SharePoint admin center.
- Select the site you want to delete by clicking the checkbox in the left column.
- Click Delete, then confirm by clicking Delete again.
The admin center handles both classic and modern sites. You can also delete sites using PowerShell if you prefer scripting or need to remove sites in bulk.
What Happens to Connected Groups and Teams
Many SharePoint team sites are connected to a Microsoft 365 group, which ties together Outlook mailboxes, Teams channels, Planner boards, and shared calendars. Deleting a group-connected team site doesn’t just remove the SharePoint content. It can affect all the resources linked to that group.
If you need to delete a group-connected team site, you have three options: delete it from the SharePoint admin center’s Active sites page, delete the entire Microsoft 365 group from the Microsoft 365 admin center, or use PowerShell. Deleting through the Microsoft 365 admin center removes the group and all associated resources at once. Before you delete, check whether the site is group-connected by looking for a linked Outlook mailbox or Teams channel, and make sure no one on your team still relies on those tools.
Communication sites, by contrast, are standalone. They aren’t tied to a Microsoft 365 group, so deleting one only removes the SharePoint site itself.
Restoring a Deleted Site
Deleted SharePoint sites are retained for 93 days. During that window, an admin can restore the site along with all its content, including document libraries, lists, pages, and any subsites. After 93 days, everything is permanently deleted and unrecoverable.
To restore a site:
- Go to the Deleted sites page in the SharePoint admin center.
- Select the site you want to bring back (you can only restore one at a time).
- Click Restore.
The Restore button only appears when a single site is selected. If you’ve highlighted multiple sites, deselect all but the one you need.
When a Compliance Policy Blocks Deletion
If you see an error that reads “A compliance policy is currently blocking this site deletion,” the site is being held by a retention policy or an eDiscovery hold. This happens in two common situations: the site was excluded from a retention policy but the policy itself is in an invalid state, or an eDiscovery hold is within a 30-day grace period that prevents deletion.
Resolving this requires at least a Compliance Administrator role. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, use the built-in diagnostic tool: enter the URL of the blocked site and run the test. If the diagnostic finds an invalid retention policy, it will give you the option to remove it. If an eDiscovery hold is causing the block, the tool can help you release it.
For stubborn holds that don’t clear through the portal, PowerShell commands like Get-CaseHoldPolicy and Set-CaseHoldPolicy let you locate and release the hold manually. If the hold is orphaned (meaning it no longer shows up in the Purview portal or through Get-CaseHoldPolicy), the Invoke-HoldRemovalAction command can clean it up. Make sure the location is fully released from the case hold policy before attempting deletion again.
Who Can Delete a SharePoint Site
Site owners can delete their own sites through the site’s Settings page. SharePoint administrators and global administrators can delete any site through the admin center. If you’re a site member but not an owner, you won’t see the “Delete this site” option. You’ll need to ask a site owner or your SharePoint admin to handle the deletion, or request that your permissions be elevated to owner level first.