This article provides comprehensive instructions for deleting multiple Zoom accounts from an organization, covering the necessary administrative permissions, the process for canceling paid plans, and the step-by-step procedure for bulk user deletion via a CSV file upload.
Pre-deletion requirements and considerations
Before attempting to delete multiple Zoom accounts, the account owner or a designated admin must address several prerequisites and procedural decisions.
Administrative permissions
To perform bulk deletion actions, you must have the appropriate administrative role.
- Account owner or admin: Only the account owner or an admin with user management privileges can initiate user deletion.
- Custom roles: Admins must have the "Bulk delete, unlink, and deactivate users" permission enabled in their custom role settings to use the CSV method.
Handle paid accounts first
If your organization uses paid Zoom licenses, you must cancel all associated subscriptions before you can delete user accounts. You will retain access to premium features until the end of the current billing cycle.
- Sign in to the Zoom web portal as an admin.
- Navigate to Account Management > Billing.
- Click the Current Plans tab and find the plan you want to cancel.
- Click Cancel Subscription and follow the prompts to confirm.
Download and transfer recordings
All cloud recordings, meetings, and webinars associated with a user will be deleted when their account is terminated. If this content needs to be preserved, transfer it to another user before deletion.
- Transfer data to a licensed user: During the deletion process, you can choose to transfer meetings, webinars, and cloud recordings to another licensed user. The new user must be a licensed user on the same account.
- Export content: Alternatively, have users download their critical cloud recordings and chat history directly to their computers before their accounts are deleted.
Option 1: Bulk delete users with a CSV file
Using a CSV file is the most efficient method for deleting a large number of accounts at once.
Step 1: Access the bulk update feature
- Sign in to the Zoom web portal as the account owner or admin.
- In the navigation menu, go to User Management > Users.
- Click the Import button on the right side of the page.
- Switch to the Update Users tab.
Step 2: Download the CSV sample file
- From the Select an action dropdown menu, choose Delete users.
- Click Download CSV Sample to get a template file. This ensures your data is in the correct format for the bulk action.
Step 3: Populate and upload the CSV file
Open the downloaded CSV file, enter the email addresses of the users you want to delete, and save the file in CSV format. If needed, specify a licensed user's email address to transfer data. Upload the file in the Zoom web portal by clicking Upload CSV File.
Option 2: Bulk select and delete from the admin dashboard
For deleting a smaller number of accounts without a CSV file, sign in as an admin to the Zoom web portal, go to User Management > Users, select the desired users using the checkboxes, and click Delete. You can choose to transfer data to another licensed user or delete the content without transferring before confirming with Delete Now.
Option 3: Automate deletion of deactivated users
Zoom allows you to set a policy to automatically delete accounts that have been deactivated for a specified period. As an admin, go to User Management > Users, click the Advanced tab, and enable the Delete deactivated users after a specified number of days toggle. Choose the number of days and optionally enable email notifications to admins before permanent deletion. This setting applies to users deactivated after the policy is enabled.
Post-deletion steps
After deletion, confirm the accounts are removed from the user list. It's advisable to notify affected users, especially those with unlinked accounts, and conduct a security audit to review remaining user permissions.