If you no longer need an Alibaba Cloud account for reasons such as project completion or business closure, you can permanently close the account. This topic describes how to close an account.
Account closure is permanent. All data, resources, information, and assets in the account are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered in any way. You can no longer use this account to log on to any Alibaba Cloud service.
Process and timeline
Closing an account is a multi-stage process that involves manual preparation, an automatic system check, and a final quiescent period.
Preparations before closure: This is a user-led and the most critical phase, during which you must settle all payments, back up your data, release all resources, and resolve all dependencies. The thoroughness of these preparations directly determines how smoothly the process proceeds.
Start the closure process: After you submit a closure request in the console, the system runs a comprehensive, automated scan to verify that all closure conditions are met.
Enter the quiescent period: The quiescent period is an irreversible waiting period. It is primarily used to handle billing system latency. This ensures that any final charges incurred after you submit the closure request are settled correctly. This prevents the closure from failing due to unexpected overdue payments.
Confirm the closure result: After the quiescent period ends, the account is permanently deleted. If a problem is detected, the account is restored to an active state and you are notified to restart the process.
The total time required to close an account depends on whether workloads are deployed in the account.
Accounts with no workloads: It takes a few minutes to start the closure process. The account then enters a quiescent period that lasts for several days.
Accounts with workloads: Expect to spend 2 to 5 business days on preparatory tasks such as data backup and resource migration before you start the closure process. This is followed by a quiescent period of several days.
Note that if the account has associated domain names or ICP filings, you need an additional 7 to 15 business days to handle domain name transfers and cancel ICP filings.
The quiescent period is required to handle billing system latency and cannot be revoked or shortened.
After the quiescent period begins, unsubscribed resources and forfeited balances cannot be recovered. Proceed with caution.
Step 1: Prepare for closure
In this stage, you must manually clean up all items that might block the closure process and back up critical data.
Pre-closure check recommendations
Settle finances
Settle overdue payments: Go to the User Center, review and pay all issued bills and outstanding fees. You must also handle any credit notes. A credit note is generated when a refund for an unsubscribed or downgraded order or bill results in the actual consumption amount being less than the original invoiced amount.
Any remaining balance cannot be withdrawn after the account is closed. The system only supports forfeiting a small balance (1,000 USD or your local settlement currency or less) or a small debt (10 USD or your local settlement currency or less) when the account is closed.
Back up data and credentials (as needed)
Financial credentials: From the User Center, batch export all historical bills, orders, and invoices for auditing purposes.
Business data: Back up all important business data, such as files in Object Storage Service (OSS), Database Backup (DBS) backups, and Elastic Compute Service (ECS) snapshots.
Configurations and logs: Export critical configuration information and operation logs.
Clean up resources and dependencies
Release resources: Ensure that all pay-as-you-go resources are completely released, and all subscription resources have either expired or been unsubscribed. You can perform these actions in each product's console.
Handle domain names and ICP filings
Domain Names: Transfer all domain names in the account to other accounts or service providers.
ICP filing: Log on to the ICP filing system to cancel the website's ICP filing or transfer the ICP filing entity to another account.
Resolve multi-account relationships: If the account is part of a multi-account structure, you must first dissolve the relationship.
Multi-account type
Administrator
Member account
Resource directory
You must first disable the resource directory before you can close the account.
Use the management account to remove the current member from the resource directory before you close the account. For more information, see Delete a member of the resource account type.
Finance trusteeship
The account cannot be closed directly. You must first disassociate all member accounts and then close the account. For more information, see Associate or disassociate accounts for finance trusteeship.
Follow the instructions in this topic.
If the account is associated with an Alibaba Cloud partner (reseller), contact the partner to cancel the relationship before you close the account.
Step 2: Start the closure process
Only the Alibaba Cloud account owner can start the closure process. RAM users cannot close an account.
Log on to the Account Center, go to the Security Settings page, and click Close Account. In the Identity Verification dialog box, verify your identity using your mailbox or a text message.
Carefully read the Alibaba Cloud Account Closure Agreement. If you agree, select Agree and click Next.
System check and processing: The system automatically scans the resources and financial status of your account. This process can take 3 to 5 minutes.
Check passed
If the system check passes, a prompt appears indicating that the account is ready for closure. Click Confirm Deletion in the lower-left corner to proceed to the final step.
Blocking items found
The system lists all items that you must handle, divided into two categories:
Must Be Handled Manually: For items such as unexpired domain names, unsettled bills, or cloud resource instances that cannot be renounced, click Go To Process next to the item and follow the instructions. After you complete the operation, return to this page and click Recheck.
Renounceable: For items such as a small balance or cloud service instances that can be directly released, select all Renounceable resources, and then click Discard/Release Selected Resources. In the risk prompt that appears, confirm the operation.
ImportantAfter you submit the closure request, unsubscribed resources and forfeited balances cannot be recovered. Proceed with caution.
After all items are resolved and the check is passed, in the Confirm Deletion dialog box, select a reason for closure, and click Confirm Deletion.
Step 3: Enter the quiescent period
After you confirm the closure, the account enters the irreversible closure quiescent period in about 5 minutes and you are automatically logged out. The system creates a service-linked role named
AliyunServiceRoleForAccountDeletionto assist with resource cleanup. This role is deleted along with the account. You do not need to manage this role.
During the quiescent period, you can log on to the Alibaba Cloud website to view the remaining time until closure. However, you cannot perform any other operations or revoke the closure request.
After the quiescent period begins, unsubscribed resources and forfeited balances cannot be recovered. Proceed with caution.
Step 4: Confirm the closure result
After the quiescent period ends, you receive a text message and email notification about the result.
Closure successful: The account and all its data are permanently deleted.
Closure failed: This failure is typically caused by billing latency that results in new overdue payments during the quiescent period. In this case, the closure process is aborted, and the account is restored to its normal status. You need to log on again, settle the overdue payments, and restart the entire closure process.
Effects of account closure
Cannot log on: After an Alibaba Cloud account is closed, you cannot log on to the Alibaba Cloud website. To use Alibaba Cloud products again, you must register a new Alibaba Cloud account.
Resources and information cannot be recovered: After the account is closed, its resource instances, services, funds, bills, and invoices cannot be recovered.
Third-party accounts are not affected: Closing an Alibaba Cloud account does not affect your other accounts. However, any configured bindings to third-party accounts are automatically deleted.
FAQ
Why is there a quiescent period if I have cleared all my resources?
Although you have released all resources in the account, billing for some products can be delayed. A final bill might still be generated. The quiescent period is required to finalize billing before the account can be closed.
Can I revoke the closure request during the quiescent period?
No. Once the quiescent period begins, the closure process is irreversible. You must wait for it to end.