Microsoft 365 - Group/Teams expiration process

Any Office 365 Group/Team that has not had activity in it in the last 365 days will go into a 30 day expiration process. Group/Team owner(s) will be notified by email or Teams (when no mailbox is associated with the Team) that the group will expire in 30 days. When a group expires, all of its associated services/data (the mailbox - emails/calendar, Planner, SharePoint site, team - chats/channels, etc.) are also deleted.

When will this process be implemented?

Oct 3, 2022.

Why is this process being implemented?

Life-cycle Management is a foundational piece running healthy services. It increases security, reduces clutter, and adds efficiency. This process streamlines the management of Microsoft 365 groups by automating the expiration and renewal process.

What services/features/applications are affected by this process?

  • Microsoft Group
  • Microsoft Team
  • SharePoint Site
  • Yammer/Viva Engage

How and when are Group/Team owners notified when a Group/Team is going expire?

Group owners will be notified by email. If the Team was created via Teams client and was not connected to an existing group, the Teams owner(s) will receive a notification to renew through the activity section in the Teams client. The prompt will allow any owner to renew the Team (should appear within 24 hours). Otherwise the Team will be deleted 30 days after the notification appears.

There are two scenarios on this process:

Scenario One - Groups/Teams created prior to process implementation on Oct 3, 2022

Important: When this process is activated, any group that is older than 365 days will be set to 35 days until expiration unless the group is automatically renewed or the owner renews it. Any group created after October 3rd 2021 will follow the 365 day expiration cycle noted in scenario 2 below. If the Group/Team has not been renewed (see "When will the expiration cycle be renewed" section), the process will be:

  • 5 days later, around Oct. 8, 2022, the Group/Teams owner(s) will receive the first renewal notification.
  • 15 days later, if the Group/Team is not renewed, another renewal notification is sent.
  • 15 days later, if the Group/Team is not renewed, another renewal notification is sent.
  • 1 day later, the Group/Team is soft-deleted.
  • 30 days later, the Group/Team is permanently deleted.

In summary, for Groups/Teams created prior to Oct. 3, 2021, owners will have 66 days to renew/restore a Group/Team.

Scenario Two - Groups/Teams that have been inactive for 365 days

Important: Any Group/Team that has reached 365 days of inactivity will enter the expiration process. If the Group/Team has not been renewed or the expiration date has not been reset (see "When will the expiration cycle be renewed" section) for 365 days, the process will be:

  • The Group/Teams owner(s) will receive the first renewal notification.
  • 15 days later, if the Group/Team is not renewed, another renewal notification is sent.
  • 15 days later, if the Group/Team is not renewed, another renewal notification is sent.
  • 1 day later, the Group/Team is soft-deleted.
  • 30 days later, the Group/Team is permanently deleted.

In summary, for Groups/Teams created after Oct. 3, 2021, owners will have 61 days to renew/restore a Group/Team once it enters the expiration process.

What can an owner do when they receive the expiration email notification?

After receiving the notification, Group/Teams owners can take action by renewing the group for another expiration interval of 365 days. The email will look similar to the following:

renew group

After clicking on Renew Group link within the email, users will be taken to the group renewal page and given an option to confirm:

renew_group_confirm

When the user clicks on Yes to confirm that they want to renew the Group they will be given a confirmation that it was successfully renewed.

When will expiration period begin?

The expiration period begins after 365 days of inactivity.

When will the expiration cycle be renewed?

Groups/Teams that are actively being used are automatically renewed. Any of the following actions will prevent a group from entering into the expiration process:

  • SharePoint - view, edit, download, move, share, or upload files.
    • Note - viewing a SharePoint page does not count as an action for automatic renewal.
  • Outlook - add a member to the group, read or send a message from the group mailbox, and like a message (Outlook on the web).
  • Teams - visiting a teams channel.
  • Yammer/Viva Engage - view a post within a Yammer community

What happens if a Group/Team has no owner?

When a group with no owner enters into the expiration process, the Office 365 support staff will contact current members of the Group/Team notifying them of impending deletion of the Group/Team. The members will have the choice to either promote a member as a an owner or allow the Group/Team to be deleted.

What happens when a Group/Team is soft-deleted?

All the group owners are notified via email and will have the option to restore the Group/Team for up to 30 days.

To restore the group, click on Restore group link within the email message:

restore group

When a group expires it is "soft-deleted" - which means it can still be recovered for up to 30 days. As the group owner, please contact the DoIT Help Desk and provide them with the Group/Team address and name.

Important: Any Group/Team owner can restore the Group/Team by following the restore group steps.

Can the Group/Team be restored/recovered if it has been more than 420 days of inactivity?

No. When a Group/Team is soft-deleted, it can only be restored/recovered within 30 days. After 30 days, it will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered - including all associated communications, files, calendar events, and tasks.



Keywordsmicrosoft ms office365 o365 m365 microsoft 365 teams yammer sharepoint expired planner onedrive data site renew restored recovered deleted owner member notification policy site viva engage   Doc ID118099
OwnerO365 S.GroupMicrosoft 365
Created2022-04-22 09:03:52Updated2023-09-21 10:47:42
SitesDoIT Help Desk, Microsoft 365
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