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To delete an Azure Recovery Services vault, remove its Azure Backup and Azure Site Recovery dependencies, then delete the vault from its Overview page. The exact cleanup depends on what the vault contains; deleting a VM or backup policy alone does not remove its backup protection or recovery points.
Removing backup data and replication configuration is destructive and cannot be undone. Confirm that your retention, compliance, and disaster-recovery requirements are covered before proceeding.
Before deleting the vault
- Open Recovery Services vaults in the Azure portal and select the vault.
- On Overview, inspect Essentials for backup items, backup management servers, and replicated items.
- Check for private endpoints, registered storage accounts, on-premises servers, and multi-user authorization (MUA).
- Confirm you have permission to remove the resources. If MUA is enabled, obtain authorization from the security administrator.
The current portal workflow helps identify dependencies. From Overview, select Delete, then use the links in the deletion pane to remove Azure Backup and Azure Site Recovery items.
Delete Azure Backup items in the portal
Use these steps for Azure VM, Azure Files, Azure Storage, SQL Server on Azure VM, and other Azure Backup items.
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- In the vault, open Backup Items.
- In Backup Management Type, choose the relevant category, such as Azure Virtual Machines, Azure Storage, Azure Files, or SQL Server in Azure Virtual Machines.
- Right-click a backup item. Depending on its state, choose Stop Backup or Delete Backup Data.
- If Stop Backup appears, open its dropdown and select Delete Backup Data.
- Enter the backup-item name exactly as shown; the field is case-sensitive.
- Select a reason, optionally enter comments, and select Stop backup.
- Wait for the operation to finish, then select Refresh on the Backup Items page.
The completion notification is: “Stopping backup and deleting backup data for Backup Item. Successfully completed the operation.”
You do not have to delete the protected VM or its backup policy. You must remove the protection relationship and backup data from the vault.
Backup policy dependencies
A backup policy cannot be deleted while Azure Backup items are associated with it. Remove each associated item or associate it with another policy first. Deleting the policy is not required to delete the vault.
Handle soft-deleted backup items
If a backup item remains soft-deleted after protection is stopped, the documented deletion workflow says to restore the item and delete it again before retrying vault deletion. However, current Azure portal behavior permits deleting a vault that is empty or contains only soft-deleted backup items or containers.
Current portal behavior does not allow you to disable soft delete for a Recovery Services vault. Azure PowerShell version 7.5.0 or later and Azure CLI version 2.75.0 or later also do not support disabling it for these vaults. Those client versions support vault deletion when only soft-deleted contents remain; earlier versions require the vault to be completely empty.
| Client | Version supporting vault deletion with only soft-deleted contents |
|---|---|
| Az.RecoveryServices PowerShell module | 7.5.0 or later |
| Azure CLI | 2.75.0 or later |
Backup-item deletion behavior also varies by client version. With soft delete disabled, these newer versions still move Recovery Services backup items to a soft-deleted state; earlier versions deleted them immediately. See Microsoft’s secure-by-default guidance for current behavior.
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Remove on-premises servers and storage accounts
Registered infrastructure can also block deletion.
Protected servers
- Open Backup Infrastructure > Protected Servers.
- Select the applicable backup-management type.
- For every listed server, select the More icon (…).
- Select Unregister and remove the server together with its backup data when prompted.
For a MARS-protected server, delete the server with its backup data. For MABS or DPM, open Backup Infrastructure > Backup Management Servers and delete or unregister every listed management server with its backup data. Removing these MARS, MABS, or DPM servers also removes their corresponding protected backup items.
For DPM 2019 UR1 and later, DPM 2016 UR9 and later, and MABS V3 UR1 and later, a security PIN may be required for server removal. Generate it at Recovery Services vault > Settings > Properties > Security PIN > Generate. The PIN is valid for five minutes.
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- Open Backup Infrastructure > Storage Accounts.
- Unregister every registered storage account.
A registered storage account can block vault deletion even after visible backup items have been removed.
Remove private endpoints
- Open Settings > Networking > Private access.
- Remove every private endpoint connection created for the vault, including attempted connections that never completed successfully.
Delete Azure Site Recovery dependencies
A vault used by Azure Site Recovery must be dismantled according to its replication scenario. Do not treat replicated items as ordinary Azure Backup items.
| Replication scenario | Required cleanup before vault deletion |
|---|---|
| Azure VM to Azure | Delete all protected VMs. |
| VMware VM to Azure | Delete protected VMs and replication policies, remove vCenter references, and decommission the configuration server. |
| Hyper-V with System Center VMM | Delete protected VMs; under Site Recovery Infrastructure > For System Center VMM > Replication Policies, disassociate and delete policies; unregister the VMM server. |
| Hyper-V without VMM | Delete protected VMs; under Site Recovery Infrastructure > For Hyper-V Sites > Replication Policies, disassociate and delete policies; unregister the Hyper-V host and delete the Hyper-V site. |
After scenario-specific cleanup, confirm no replicated items or Site Recovery infrastructure remains. If the vault contains both Backup and Site Recovery resources, complete both cleanup workflows. See Microsoft’s Azure Site Recovery vault deletion guidance.
Delete the vault in the Azure portal
- Return to the vault’s Overview page.
- Confirm Essentials shows no backup items, backup management servers, or replicated items.
- Select Delete on the vault dashboard.
- Select Yes to confirm.
After successful deletion, the portal returns to the New service menu. If Azure reports remaining resources, refresh the vault and remove the remaining dependency rather than deleting the resource group immediately.
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Delete an Azure Backup vault with PowerShell
PowerShell is useful for scripted cleanup, including non-VM backup types and on-premises infrastructure. Connect to Azure, select the subscription, and obtain the vault object before running destructive commands. Use -WhatIf where supported to inspect a command before committing.
Remove backup protection and recovery points
Run Disable-AzRecoveryServicesBackupProtection with -Item <ItemBase> -RemoveRecoveryPoints -Force. The command also accepts -VaultId <String>, -WhatIf, and -Confirm.
If SQL Server on Azure VM autoprotection is enabled, disable it first with Disable-AzRecoveryServicesBackupAutoProtection, supplying -InputItem <ProtectableItemBase>, -BackupManagementType <BackupManagementType>, and -WorkloadType <WorkloadType>. Optional parameters include -VaultId, -PassThru, -WhatIf, and -Confirm.
Unregister infrastructure and delete the vault
For an on-premises container, run Unregister-AzRecoveryServicesBackupContainer with -Container <ContainerBase>. For an MABS or DPM management server, run Unregister-AzRecoveryServicesBackupManagementServer with -AzureRmBackupManagementServer <BackupEngineBase>. Both commands accept -VaultId, -PassThru, -WhatIf, and -Confirm.
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Use Microsoft’s generated PowerShell script
For a vault with many dependencies, the portal can generate a vault-specific cleanup script.
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- Open the vault’s Overview page and select Delete.
- Select Delete using PowerShell Script, then Generate and Download Script.
- Install or open PowerShell 7 or later.
- Run the downloaded script from its directory by entering ./NameOfFile.ps1.
Microsoft’s documented PowerShell 7 installation command is iex “& { $(irm https://aka.ms/install-powershell.ps1) } -UseMSI”.
The generated script is customized for the selected vault and normally requires no edits. It can disable soft-delete or security features where supported, delete backup and disaster-recovery items, unregister servers and storage accounts, remove private endpoints, and delete the vault. Review the script before execution; the operation is destructive and irreversible. Current clients do not allow disabling soft delete for Recovery Services vaults.
Use Azure CLI only for supported VM-backup cases
The Azure Backup CLI supports Azure VM backups only. Its vault-deletion workflow cannot delete a Recovery Services vault containing other backup-item types, such as Azure Files, SQL Server workloads, MARS, MABS, or DPM content.
Disable VM backup protection and delete its data with az backup protection disable, supplying –container-name <container-name>, –item-name <item-name>, –delete-backup-data true, –resource-group <resource-group>, –subscription <subscription>, –vault-name <vault-name>, and –yes.
Then delete the vault with az backup vault delete, supplying –name <vault-name>, –resource-group <resource-group>, –subscription <subscription>, and –yes. Use Azure CLI 2.75.0 or later if only soft-deleted items or containers remain; earlier versions require a completely empty vault.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Last resort: ARMClient
Use ARMClient only after documented dependencies have been removed and the portal still returns a vault-deletion error. Microsoft recommends this only as a last resort.
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- Easily store and access 5TB of content on the go with the Seagate portable drive, a USB external hard Drive
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
- Install ARMClient with choco install armclient –source=https://chocolatey.org/api/v2/.
- Sign in with ARMClient.exe login [environment name].
- Delete the empty vault using the resource path: /subscriptions/<subscriptionID>/resourceGroups/<resourcegroupname>/providers/Microsoft.RecoveryServices/vaults/<Recovery Services vault name>?api-version=2015-03-15.
If the error says “Vault cannot be deleted as there are existing resources within this vault,” a registered container may need to be removed explicitly using the vault’s registeredIdentities/<container name>?api-version=2016-06-01 resource path.
FAQ
Do I need to delete the Azure VM before deleting the Recovery Services vault?
No. The VM can remain. Stop backup protection and remove the backup data and recovery points from the vault. Deleting the VM does not necessarily remove the vault’s backup dependency.
Can I disable soft delete before deleting the vault?
Not through the current Azure portal. Current Azure PowerShell version 7.5.0 or later and Azure CLI version 2.75.0 or later also do not support disabling soft delete for Recovery Services vaults.
Why does the vault still show a dependency after I stopped backup?
Refresh Backup Items and check for soft-deleted items, protected servers, MABS or DPM management servers, registered storage accounts, private endpoint connections, and Site Recovery replication items or policies.
Can Azure CLI delete a Recovery Services vault containing Azure Files or SQL backups?
No. The Azure Backup CLI deletion workflow supports Azure VM backups only. Use the portal or PowerShell for vaults containing other backup workload types.
What should I do if multi-user authorization is enabled?
Obtain the required authorization from the vault’s security administrator before attempting deletion.
The Bottom Line
To delete an Azure Recovery Services vault, remove its backup protection and data, unregister servers and storage accounts, remove private endpoint connections, and dismantle any Azure Site Recovery configuration. Confirm the vault’s Essentials pane is clear, then use Overview > Delete. For large or mixed vaults, Microsoft’s generated PowerShell script can help track dependencies, but review it and treat the operation as irreversible.
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