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Delete or Troubleshoot Groups

Purpose

Groups cannot always be deleted or modified. This page explains the most common reasons a group deletion fails (or a delete action is disabled) and what to do next.

Note: This action may require administrator privileges.

Before You Begin

Deleting a group can affect access to departments, folders, and documents if the group is used in content permissions.

When You Cannot Delete a Group

A group may be blocked from deletion in scenarios such as:

  • The group is a system group.
  • The group is part of another group as a subgroup.
  • The group is assigned in permissions on a department, folder, or document.

In these cases, remove the group from those references first, then try again.

Find Where a Group Is Used

If the UI shows an error when deleting a group, click the error message link to open Group Associations for that group.

Typical places to check:

  • Parent groups that include this group as a subgroup.
  • Content items where the group has a role assigned.

Demonstration screenshots use redacted sample names from a staging tenant.

  1. On the groups list, open the card menu for the group you want to review. Custom groups expose Edit and Delete actions.

    Group card menu with Edit and Delete highlighted

  2. If deletion is blocked, review Group Associations to see parent groups and content assignments.

    Group Associations page showing document assignments with Manage Permission links

Safe Remediation Pattern

  1. Identify where the group is used (parent group membership or content permissions).
  2. Remove the group from those references.
  3. Confirm access implications with your administrators/content owners.
  4. Delete the group.