delete user on microsoft 365 admin center

John Peter 25 Reputation points
2025-02-13T01:09:42.0233333+00:00

Hello

Please i need your help on this issue.

I have a user that was having unsolvable issues with their email. 

I deleted their email account and took the license away. 

I would like to make sure it's fully deleted before I try to re-add with the same address. 

How can i make sure this is fully deleted.

Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365
Formerly Office 365, is a line of subscription services offered by Microsoft which adds to and includes the Microsoft Office product line.
5,766 questions
Microsoft Exchange Online
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2 answers

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  1. Patrik Wennberg 1 Reputation point MVP
    2025-02-13T08:37:13.7833333+00:00

    If you remove the license from a user the mailbox is soft-deleted. If you really want to permanently delete the mailbox, this can be done with Powershell.

    If you read this article, it specifies the commands to use.

    Delete or restore user mailboxes in Exchange Online

    0 comments No comments

  2. Alex Zhang-MSFT 6,005 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff
    2025-02-14T01:58:09.7+00:00

    Hello, @John Peter,

    Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A platform!

    You can use Exchange Online PowerShell to delete a mailbox.

    When you delete an Exchange Online mailbox using Exchange Online PowerShell, the corresponding Microsoft 365 or Office 365 user is deleted and removed from the list of users in the Microsoft 365 admin center. The user will still be recoverable for 30 days. After the 30 days time limit, the user is permanently deleted.

    This example deletes an Exchange Online mailbox and the corresponding user account for DL User.

    Remove-Mailbox -Identity "DL User"
    

    User's image

    Exchange Online retains the mailbox and all its contents until the deleted mailbox retention period expires, which is 30 days. After 30 days, the mailbox is permanently deleted and can't be recovered. The method for restoring a mailbox depends on whether the mailbox was deleted by deleting the user account or removing the Exchange Online license.

    Should you need more help on this, you can feel free to post back. 


    If the answer is helpful, please click on “Accept answer” as it could help other members of the Microsoft Q&A community who have similar questions and are looking for solutions.

    Thank you for your support and understanding.

    Best Wishes,

    Alex Zhang


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