Microsoft 365 Help Remove a staff account
Delete an account only after the employee’s email and files have been handed over.
Before you start
- The company owner’s authorisation and the exact account to remove.
- A completed handover of required email, OneDrive files and ownerships.
- A User Administrator account with permission over that user; IT may need additional roles for data handover.
Follow these steps
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Confirm the handover is complete
Check with IT that access has been stopped as needed and required email, files and ownerships have been preserved. If the account supports a converted shared mailbox or required forwarding, ask IT to keep and manage it instead of deleting it.
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Find the exact user
Go to Users → Active users. Search by the full email address, then open the matching person. Read the address again before continuing.
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Open the deletion options
Select Delete user. If it is in a … menu, open that menu first. Read the options shown for the account, licence, email and OneDrive data.
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Check the proposed outcome
Follow the agreed handover plan. Do not use this screen to improvise a mailbox conversion, data transfer or subscription cancellation. If an option is unclear, cancel and ask IT.
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Confirm deletion
When the account and options are correct, select the final Delete user button. Wait for the result rather than clicking repeatedly.
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Check Deleted users
Go to Users → Deleted users and confirm the account appears. Record the change through the company’s normal process. Do not permanently delete it from this list as part of routine staff administration.
You have finished when…
- The removed account appears under Deleted users.
- The designated staff member can still access the business data that was handed over.
Helpful tips
- A deleted user can normally be restored within 30 days through Users → Deleted users. Contact IT immediately after a mistake; retention of each service’s data depends on its policies.
- Deleting or unassigning a licence does not necessarily reduce the bill. Subscription quantities and contract commitments are separate.
Something looks different?
I deleted the wrong account
Contact IT immediately. An authorised admin can select it in Users → Deleted users and choose Restore user; do not create a replacement account first.
The account cannot be deleted here
It may be synchronised from another directory or have protected admin roles. Ask IT to remove it in the correct system.
Microsoft help & further guidance
Menu names can change as Microsoft updates the apps. These official pages include further instructions.