---
name: cloud-databases-howto-deprovisioning
title: Deleting your deployment and removing your data
description: When an IBM Cloud® Databases deployment is deleted, it is put in a soft-deleted state for 3 days after which it is removed. Soft-deleted deployments can be recovered by following the steps below.
last-updated: 2025-01-15
---

> ## Documentation Index
> The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/cloud-databases?format=markdown
> The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use these files to discover more information as needed.

# Deleting your deployment and removing your data
{: #deprovisioning}

When an IBM Cloud® Databases deployment is deleted, it is put in a soft-deleted state for 3 days after which it is removed. Soft-deleted deployments can be recovered by following the steps below.

After the 3-day soft-deletion period has ended, or if a hard deletion is issued, deployments are no longer recoverable.
{: note}

## Deleting your deployment in the user interface 
{: #delete-deployment-ui}
{: ui}

To delete your deployment from the Resource list section dashboard of the IBM Cloud® dashboard, select your deployment. Then, in the overflow menu ![Stacked three dots icon](images/stacked-three-dots.png) click **Delete service** from the drop-down list.

## Restoring a soft-deleted instance using the UI
{: #restore-deployment-ui}
{: ui}

Soft-deleted instances must be restored using the [CLI](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/databases-for-mysql?topic=databases-for-mysql-dashboard-backups&interface=cli&format=markdown#restore-backup-cli).

## Deleting your deployment using the CLI
{: #delete-deployment-cli}
{: cli}

By using the CLI, you can delete your existing IBM Cloud® Databases deployment with the [`ibmcloud resource service-instance-delete`](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/cli?topic=cli-ibmcloud_commands_resource&format=markdown#ibmcloud_resource_service_instance_delete) command:

```sh
ibmcloud resource service-instance-delete <INSTANCE_NAME_OR_CRN>
```
{: .pre}

You can further hard-delete an instance by using `ibmcloud resource reclamations` to list soft-deleted instances, followed by `ibmcloud resource reclamation-delete <RECLAMATION ID>` to hard-delete it.

Instances hard-deleted by `ibmcloud resource reclamation-delete` are unrecoverable and cannot be restored.
{: .important}

## Restoring a soft-deleted instance using the CLI
{: #restore-deployment-cli}
{: cli}

You can use the following command to list the soft-deleted instances that are available for reclamation:

```sh
ibmcloud resource reclamations
```
{: .pre}

Then, use the following command to recover them:

```sh
ibmcloud resource reclamation-restore <RECLAMATION ID>
```
{: .pre}

Restoring an IBM Cloud&reg; Databases deployment from a soft-deleted state may take several hours.
{: .note}

## Cryptoshredding keys
{: #cryptoshred}

Key Protect provides cryptoshredding, which is [deletion](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/key-protect?topic=key-protect-delete-keys&format=markdown) of a key that is in use by IBM Cloud&reg; services, including your Cloud Databases deployments.

Cryptoshredding is a destructive action. When the key is deleted, your data is unrecoverable even from a soft delete state.
{: .important}

## Backups removal
{: #backup-remove}

Backups cannot be manually deleted or removed. However, if you delete your deployment, its backups are deleted automatically.