> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.accessowl.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# User Deletion

> Why user profiles cannot be deleted in AccessOwl and what to do instead.

AccessOwl does not support deleting user profiles. This is intentional. Every user that has ever existed in your tenant stays visible on the [Users](https://app.accessowl.io/users) page, with their [status](/guides/users/user-statuses) reflecting where they are in their lifecycle.

## Why deletion is not available

AccessOwl preserves a permanent record of every user so that access history, provisioning events, and review trails stay reconstructable after the person is gone. Auditors and compliance frameworks expect to be able to answer "who had access to what, and when" for former employees. Deleting a user would break that audit trail.

## What to do instead

* **Offboard the user.** [Offboarding](/guides/onboarding-offboarding/offboarding) revokes their access and moves their status to **Offboarded**. The profile remains on the Users page as an audit record, without any active access.
* **Clean up remaining access.** Use the [Terminated Users with Access](/guides/onboarding-offboarding/offboarding#terminated-users-with-access) tab to bulk-remove any access that offboarded users still hold.
* **If the person returns**, reactivate their existing profile instead of creating a new one. See [how to onboard a previously offboarded employee](/guides/onboarding-offboarding/onboarding#faq).

<Note>This also applies to test users created while trying out AccessOwl. They cannot be deleted, but offboarding them removes their access and clearly marks them as no longer active.</Note>