- Account restoration (always available within 30 days): The user account is reactivated for any user deleted within the last 30 days. After 30 days the user is permanently removed and can no longer be restored.
- Content restoration (depends on content availability): The Deleted Users list shows a Content Availability status for each user that determines whether the user’s owned content can be recovered.
- Content Available: The user’s owned content can be recovered. This applies when the content was deleted no more than 14 days ago and can be restored with the account, or when the content is still in the user’s Trash. Content that is in Trash is not restored by this action, but after the account is restored the user can recover it themselves from Trash, subject to your enterprise’s Trash settings.
- Content Unavailable: The user’s content cannot be recovered through this action. This applies when the user had no content, when collaborations and content have already been removed, or when the content was (or is being) transferred to another user during deletion. In these cases only the account is restored.
Who can use this feature
This feature is available to:- Admins and co-admins with the Manage users permission
- Organizations on Business+ plans and above
Only managed users can be restored. Restoration is not available for external users. Group admins cannot access restore functionality.
Before you start
Before restoring a user, go to Admin Console > Users & Groups > Deleted Users. Confirm the user was deleted within the last 30 days, then check the Content Availability column to understand what can be recovered:- Content Available: The account will be restored and the user’s content can be recovered — either restored with the account, or recoverable by the user from Trash after restoration.
- Content Unavailable: Only the account will be restored. This includes users whose content was transferred to another user during deletion, or whose content and collaborations have already been removed.
Restore deleted users
To restore users from the Deleted Users tab:- Go to the Admin Console > Users & Groups > Deleted Users.
- Select the user(s) and click Restore.
- In the confirmation window, review the restore details, including what data will be recovered.
- (Optional) Keep Notify user that their account access is restored selected, or clear it if you do not want the user notified.
- Click Restore to confirm.
After restoration
Restored users appear in the Managed Users tab. Unless your organization uses single sign-on (SSO), restored users are required to reset their password the next time they sign in.What is restored
Deleted 14 days ago or less (content was deleted)
- The user account is reactivated.
- Owned files and folders are restored.
- Collaborations on owned items are restored.
- Shared links are reinstated, where applicable.
- Group memberships are restored.
Deleted 15–30 days ago
- The user account is reactivated.
- Owned content is not restored by this action. However, if the content is still in the user’s Trash, the restored user may be able to recover it from Trash, depending on your enterprise’s Trash policy.
- Collaborations are not restored.
Content was transferred during deletion (within 30 days)
- The user account is reactivated.
- Transferred content remains with the designated recipient.
- Content and collaborations are not restored.
- If a transfer is still in progress, it cannot be stopped; only the account is restored.
Common restore errors
In some cases, a restore may fail due to conflicts with the user’s account status. Common causes include:- The user’s email address is already in use.
- The user is already associated with another enterprise.