Remove an address list

Applies to: Exchange Server 2013

This topic explains how to remove an address list. You can't remove the default global address list (GAL).

For additional management tasks related to address lists, see Address list procedures.

What do you need to know before you begin?

Estimated time to complete each procedure: 5 minutes
You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure or procedures. To see what permissions you need, see the "Address list" entry in the Email address and address book permissions topic.
You can't remove a parent address list that contains child address lists. However, you can remove both the child and parent address lists by pressing the CTRL key on the keyboard, and then selecting the parent and child address lists. If you attempt to remove a parent address list without removing the child address lists, you'll receive an error.
For information about keyboard shortcuts that may apply to the procedures in this topic, see Keyboard shortcuts in the Exchange admin center.

Tip

Having problems? Ask for help in the Exchange forums. Visit the forums at Exchange Server.

Navigate to Organization > Address lists.
In the list view, select the address list you want to remove, and then click Delete .
In the warning, click Yes to remove the address list.

This example removes the address list Sales Department, which doesn't contain child address lists.

Remove-AddressList -Identity "Sales Department"

Type Y to confirm that you want to remove this address list, and then press ENTER.

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see Remove-AddressList.

This example removes the parent address list Departments and all its child address lists.

Remove-AddressList -Identity Departments -Recursive

Type Y to confirm that you want to remove the parent address list and its child address lists, and then press ENTER.

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see Remove-AddressList.