SharePoint 2013 includes the option to set a disposal date on site collections. This article describes how to configure a SharePoint 2013 site collection to include a site disposal policy.
Default settings
A site cannot be deleted (either manually or automatically) unless a Site Policy has been set up (exception – the SharePoint Administrator has permissions to do this).
Without a Site Policy, the default settings under the Site Closure and Deletion option (see below) are as follows:
- Site Closure – ‘Close this site now’ click box default: greyed out.
- Site Deletion – ‘This site will be deleted on:’ Default: ‘Never’.
- Site Policy – Default: ‘No Site Policy’.
Setting up a Site Policy
New site policies are created under Site Settings – Site Collection Administration – Site Policies. Once created, the policy is applied under Site Settings – Site Administration – Site Closure and Deletion. While you can create multiple policies, only one policy can be selected at a time under the Site Closure and Deletion option.
There are no default policies; the first time Site Policies is opened, the Site Policies section provides only one option – ‘Create’. Each policy must have a Name and may have a Description. The name and description can be the class description from a records retention schedule, using ‘after date created’ or ‘after date closed’ as the triggers (see below).
Site Closure and Deletion options
There are three options under Site Closure and Deletion:
- Do not close or delete site automatically. The default option.
- Delete sites automatically. This option deletes a site on a pre-defined date after it was created or closed.
- Close and delete sites automatically. This option first closes the site and then deletes it on pre-defined dates.
In addition there is a check box ‘Site Collection Closure’ that allows the site collection to be made read only when it is closed.
Delete sites automatically
When this option is selected the following appears:
- Set Deletion Event. The two options provided are ‘Site closed date’ and ‘Site created date’, plus n days, months, or years.
- (Check box) ‘Send an email notification to site owners this far in advance of deletion:’ (i.e., to warn them of the pending deletion) – n days, months or years. Default setting is 3 months.
- (Check box) ‘Send follow-up notifications every:’ (i.e., to remind site owners of the pending deletion) – n days, months, or years. Default setting is 14 days.
- (Check box) ‘Owners can postpone imminent deletion for:’ (i.e., to postpone the proposed deletion) – n days, months or years. Default setting is 1 month.
Close and delete sites automatically
This option is identical to Delete Sites Automatically except that it also includes a date when the site can be closed – after which a deletion event date is set followed by the same three options above.
Site Closure and Deletion
As noted above, a Site Policy must exist before a site can be closed and deleted using these options. The Site Policy must be selected otherwise the default options (see above) apply.
- If the Site Policy is based on the Delete Sites Automatically option, the option to ‘Close this site now’ becomes available. If the option ‘Site Closed Date’ was selected, the site will not be deleted (at the pre-defined time) until this option is selected. If the option ‘Site Created Date’ was selected there is no requirement to ‘manually’ close the site.
- If the policy is based on the Close and Delete Sites Automatically option, the option to ‘Close this site now’ becomes available. This allows the site to be closed earlier, otherwise the deletion date will be automatically calculated from the site policy setting and displayed next to the Site Closure and the Site Deletion options.
- If no policy is selected, the default settings will apply; this means that the site cannot be closed.
Further reading
Overview of site policies in SharePoint 2013 (Microsoft).
Records about the world 