Delete Azure Account - Azure Lessons

In this Azure tutorial, we will discuss how to delete Azure account or how to cancel Azure subscription.

As we have discussed already, Microsoft provides lots of services and features with Azure subscriptions. But if you don’t like those of you, you may think Microsoft is charging more for what you are using, or you think the other vendors can fulfill your requirements at a lower price compared to Microsoft Azure.

Or, maybe you are a beginner, and you might have created this subscription just for learning purposes and don’t want to pay once the trial period is over, or you might have an old account you don’t want to continue with.

So, there can be multiple reasons associated with deciding to delete an Azure free account or subscription. When you have decided to delete the Azure account, you should delete it properly.

If you do not delete your Microsoft Azure account properly, Microsoft will charge for the resources running under your subscription, and the charge will be automatically deducted from your Credit card associated with the Subscription.

How to delete Azure Account

So, it is suggested to delete the Azure account or Subscription properly when you have decided to deactivate the Azure account.

You must delete all the Azure resources, for example, Virtual Machines, Storages, containers, Networks, Resource groups, etc

To know how to delete an Azure subscription, follow the below steps

1. The first step is to log in to the Microsoft Azure portal (https://portal.azure.com/)

2. Once you Log into the Azure Portal, Click on the Cost Management + Billing link from the left navigation

3. On the Cost Management + Billing page, click on the Subscriptions link from the left navigation

4. Now, click the Manage button on the Cost Management + Billing page.

5. Now, you can see your Subscription name. Click on the Subscription name.

6. Now the next step is to click on the Cancel subscription link from the below screen to Cancel the Azure Subscription

7. Finally, select the Yes, cancel my Subscription option and select one Reason for Cancellation, then click on the Tick button as highlighted below.

This is how we can delete Azure subscription, or how can I cancel my Microsoft Azure subscription?

How to delete Azure account permanently using PowerShell

The first step is ensuring you have the Azure module installed in your system. If not, or if you are getting errors while installing the Azure module, refer to my Article. The term ‘Get-AzureAccount’ is not recognized error to install the Azure module.

Now, you have the Azure module installed on your machine. The next step is to execute the below command to get the details of all of your subscription

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-AzureAccount | format-table id

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Get-AzureAccount

how to delete microsoft azure account permanently

Note: Since I don’t have many subscriptions with this account, I am not getting the complete list, but in your case, you will get all your subscription details with your account.

After executing the command, you will get all your Subscription details, including the ID, Type, Subscription, and Tenant details. Copy the subscription ID or the name of the one you want to delete. Make sure you choose the correct Subscription ID.

Now, to remove the Azure subscription, use the below cmdlet

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Remove-AzureAccount account-name

Note: Before executing the Remove-AzureAccount command, make sure you have decided to delete the Azure account.

This is how we can Delete Azure Account using PowerShell.

How To Delete Azure Account, Not Just Subscriptions, Also Delete Entire Account

Follow the below steps to delete your Azure account permanently, including canceling the Azure subscription.

Navigate to https://account.windowsazure.com
Login with your Live ID
Once you log in, you can see your list of subscriptions. Select the subscription you want to cancel and then click the “Cancel Subscription” button on the right.
Once you cancel the subscription, removing the account details from Azure generally takes some time.

One more point to note down here is that in the future if you want to reactivate the subscription, you can reactivate it.

Note: There is no direct delete / close option in Azure or the Ability to delete Azure Account. You have to cancel the subscription only. You can delete the Azure resources like SQL server service, app services, Virtual machines, etc, individually.

FAQs

What happens after subscription cancellation?

Below are the things that will happen immediately once you cancel the subscription.

Your Azure services will disable that you currently use as part of your Azure Subscription.
Billing will stop immediately, which is good news.
Microsoft waits 30 – 90 days before permanently deleting your data after you cancel your subscription.

Who Can Cancel A Subscription?

Account Administrators and Owners of the subscription can able to cancel a Subscription.

Why don’t I see the Cancel Subscription option on the Azure portal?

You need to check if you have enough permission. Remember that the Account Administrator and Owners of the subscription can able to cancel the subscription.

How to Cancel your Azure subscription

Before canceling your Azure Subscription, here are a few key points you need to keep in mind. Those are as below

Stop or shut down all your services before you cancel your subscription.
The most important thing is to back up all your data.
Delete all the resource groups and resources before cancellation.
Make sure to migrate your data to a different subscription.

How to delete free trial subscription

You can use the below steps to delete the free trial subscription

The first step is you need to wait for a minimum of three days from the day you have canceled the subscription.
Navigate to the Subscriptions page in Azure Portal and then select the subscription that you want to delete.
Click on the Delete subscription option from the Overview tab.

So, this is how we can Reactivate a disabled Azure Subscription.

How to suspend Azure Subscription

If a Microsoft Partner wishes to suspend Azure subscription, he can do that with a few clicks

Follow the below steps to suspend a subscription

1. The first step is to log in to the Partner Center Dashboard (https://partner.microsoft.com/en-us/dashboard/directory)

2. Now select the Customers and select the particular customer from the list of Customers

3. The next step is to choose the subscription that you wish to suspend.

4. Now, you should see the Status section. Choose Suspended from the list of Status, then click on the Submit button to apply the changes you made.

Now, if you change your mind and keep your data as it is, then within 90 days, you can reactivate the subscription. If you didn’t reactivate the subscription, then all your get deleted.

This is how we can Suspend Azure Subscription using the Partner Center Dashboard.

How to reactivate a disabled Azure subscription

By chance, if you have accidentally deleted your Azure Subscription or canceled your Azure Subscription, then you can Reactivate the Subscription using the below steps.

1. First, Login to https://account.azure.com/Subscriptions

2. Now, the next step is to Select the subscription you have canceled already.

3. Once you have selected the subscription, click on the Reactivate button to Reactivate your canceled subscription.

Conclusion

When you have decided to close your Azure account, it’s better to delete your Azure account permanently. I hope you have an idea now of how to delete your Azure account following the information mentioned in this article !!!

Bijay Kumar

I am Bijay, a Microsoft MVP (10 times) having more than 17 years of experience in the software industry. During my IT career, I got a chance to share my expertise in SharePoint and Microsoft Azure, like Azure VM, Azure Active Directory, Azure PowerShell, etc. I hope you will learn from these Azure tutorials. Read more