You can permanently close an Alibaba Cloud account when a project concludes, an enterprise is dissolved, or for other business reasons. Follow this guide to permanently delete your account.
Once an account is successfully closed, the action is permanent. All data, resources, information, and assets under the account are completely deleted and cannot be recovered by any means. You can no longer log on to any Alibaba Cloud service with this account.
Overview
Account closure is a multi-stage process that involves manual preparation, automated system checks, and a mandatory cool-down period.
Prepare for closure: A user-driven stage and the most critical step. Complete all financial settlements, data backups, resource releases, and dependency removals. Thorough preparation directly determines the smoothness of subsequent stages.
Initiate the closure process: After you submit a closure request in the console, the system performs a comprehensive automated scan to verify that all closure conditions are met.
Enter the cool-down period: An irreversible waiting period. Its primary purpose is to accommodate billing system delays, ensuring that any final fees generated after you submit the closure request are properly settled, thus preventing closure failure due to unexpected overdue payments.
Confirm the closure result: After the cool-down period ends, the account is permanently deleted; or if issues are detected, the account is restored to active status and you are notified to restart the process.
The total time required to complete closure depends on whether workloads are still deployed in the account.
Accounts without workloads: It takes several minutes to initiate closure, followed by a cool-down period of several days.
Accounts with workloads: Allow 2 to 5 business days to complete preparations (resource backup and migration), followed by a cool-down period of several days after initiating closure.
If the account has associated domain names or ICP filings, an additional 7 to 15 business days are required to handle domain name transfers and ICP filing cancellations.
The cool-down period primarily accommodates billing system delays. It is irreversible and cannot be shortened.
After the cool-down period begins, unsubscribed resources and released balances cannot be recovered. Proceed with caution.
Step 1: Prepare for closure
Clear all items that may block closure and back up any critical data.
Pre-closure account check recommendations
Financial settlement
Settle overdue payments: Go to Expenses and Costs. Pay all outstanding bills and fees. Handle invoice discrepancies from refunds generated after unsubscription or downgrade.
If the account has a balance, you cannot withdraw it after closure. The system supports abandoning only small balances (1,000 USD or other local settlement currencies or less) or small overdue payments (10 USD or other local settlement currencies or less), which are canceled along with the account.
Post-paid billing delay: If your account has post-paid (pay-as-you-go) resources, wait until approximately the 3rd of the following month for bill settlement to complete, then clear all outstanding payments before initiating closure. If new charges are incurred during the cool-down period:
Amount ≤ 10 USD (or equivalent): The system automatically writes off the charges and closure proceeds normally.
Amount > 10 USD (or equivalent): Closure fails, the account is restored to active status, and you must log on, clear the outstanding balance, and re-initiate the closure process.
Credit fund freeze: If closure is blocked due to frozen credit funds, wait for the current month's billing cycle to complete (typically the beginning of the following month). Once the credit freeze is released, you can proceed with closure.
Handling closure failure: If closure fails due to outstanding charges, your account is automatically restored to active status. Log on, pay all outstanding charges, and re-initiate the full closure process.
Confirm your payment method: No additional top-up is required. Simply confirm that your bound payment method (such as Google Pay or a credit card) is valid. The outstanding balance is deducted automatically.
Lifting service restrictions after settlement: After settling overdue payments, account service restrictions are typically lifted automatically within approximately 1 day. If you need to close the account urgently, you can attempt to re-initiate the closure process immediately after payment is complete.
Data and credential backup (optional)
Financial credentials: Batch export all historical bills, orders, and invoices from Expenses and Costs for audit purposes.
Business data: Back up all important business data, such as files in OSS, ApsaraDB RDS Database Backup, and ECS snapshots.
Configurations and logs: Export critical configuration information and operation logs.
Resource and dependency cleanup
Release resources: Release all pay-as-you-go resources and ensure all subscription resources have expired or been unsubscribed. Perform these operations in each product's console.
The following products require special attention during closure. Follow the guidance below to release resources:
Privileged Access Management (PAM): If your account has PAM instances, log on to the PAM console, disable or delete all network domains, and then release the instances in System Settings. Unreleased PAM instances will block account closure. If closure still fails after releasing instances, wait 24 hours before trying again.
Key Management Service (KMS): Check whether your account has paid KMS instances and unsubscribe from them (note: distinguish paid KMS instances from free default service keys — free service keys do not need to be handled). After unsubscribing, initiate closure again with the primary account.
Enterprise Mailbox: Neither free nor paid enterprise mailbox instances can be retained when the account is closed. Log on to the Enterprise Mailbox console, cancel the mailbox instance, clear all sub-accounts and associated data, and then initiate primary account closure.
Trial Resources / Resource Packages: If the closure check flags an issue but no obvious resources appear in the console, check whether you previously claimed trial resource packages for products such as OSS. These packages must be manually released by clicking the Release button on the corresponding product page.
ECS instances that cannot be manually released: If an ECS instance is in the stopped state and cannot be manually released, the system automatically releases it 15 days after shutdown. No additional action is required — wait for automatic release to complete before initiating closure.
Billing cessation and resource release: Before applying to close your account, you must completely delete or unsubscribe from all billable resources (including both subscription and pay-as-you-go resources). For security reasons, Alibaba Cloud cannot delete resources on your behalf. If resources are not fully cleared when you apply for service termination, fees may still be incurred due to post-paid billing delays or unsubscribed subscription resources, even after your termination request is submitted. We recommend thoroughly checking and clearing API keys and other resources that may generate hidden charges before closure.
Handle domain names and ICP filings
Domain names: Transfer all domain names under the account to another account or service provider.
ICP filings: Log on to the ICP filing system. Complete the cancellation of website ICP filings or transfer the ICP filing entity to another account.
Handle multi-account relationships: If the account belongs to a multi-account system, remove the relationship first.
Multi-account type
Administrator
Member account
Resource directory
You cannot close the account directly. First, close the resource directory, then proceed with the closure.
If the member account has cloud resources or policy violations, it cannot be removed from the resource directory directly. First, clear all cloud resources under the member account and resolve any policy violations. Then, use the management account to remove or delete the member account from the resource directory before proceeding with closure. Delete a resource account type member.
Finance trusteeship
You cannot close the account directly. First, remove all member accounts, then initiate closure. Associate and disassociate finance trusteeship.
See the present topic.
If the account has a partnership with an Alibaba Cloud partner (reseller), cancel the partnership before you close the account.
Step 2: Initiate the closure process
You must log on with your Alibaba Cloud account (primary account). RAM users cannot close accounts.
Log on to Account Center. Go to the Security Settings page. Next to Close Account, click Close. In the Identity Verification dialog box, complete account identity verification by email or text message.
Identity Verification Failure
Unable to pass identity verification: This typically occurs because the account has not completed real-name verification or the security phone number is abnormal. Go to Account Security Center to complete real-name verification or update your security phone number, then re-initiate closure.
Cannot obtain MFA verification code: If the closure process requires an MFA dynamic code but you cannot obtain it (for example, phone lost, authenticator app uninstalled), submit a security appeal to unbind MFA, then re-initiate closure.
Platform Limitations
The Alipay Mini Program does not support account closure operations.
If you experience verification failures or app crashes on the mobile client (Alibaba Cloud App), use a desktop browser to access Account Center instead.
Mobile browser users can access the Account Center web version directly to initiate the closure check.
Read the Alibaba Cloud Account Closure Agreement, select the checkbox, and click Next.
System check and processing: The system scans account resources and financial status. This takes 3 to 5 minutes and produces one of the following results:
If the check passes
You are prompted that the account can be closed. Click Confirm Deletion to proceed.
If blocking items are found
The system lists all pending resources, categorized as follows:
You must process: Unexpired domain names, unsettled bills, and resource instances that cannot be abandoned. Click Process next to each item, resolve it as instructed, then click Re-check.
Renounceable: Small balances and releasable cloud service instances. Select all Renounceable resources, click Discard or Release Selected Resources, select the checkbox in the risk prompt, and click Confirm Discard or Release.
After submitting the closure, unsubscribed resources and released balances cannot be recovered. Proceed with caution.
After all items are processed and pass the check, in the Confirm Deletion dialog box, select a closure reason and click Confirm Deletion.
ImportantAfter you confirm, the closure process executes automatically and cannot be terminated. Do not perform any operations with this account during this period. After closure, all resources are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.
Step 3: Enter the cool-down period
After you confirm closure, the account enters the irreversible closure cool-down period within about 5 minutes and automatically logs off. The system creates a service-linked role
AliyunServiceRoleForAccountDeletionfor resource cleanup. This role is deleted with the account—no action required.
During the closure cool-down period, you can log on to the Alibaba Cloud website to check the remaining cool-down time (that is, the expected completion time of the cool-down period). You cannot perform any other operations or revoke the closure request during this period. After the cool-down period ends, the account is permanently closed. All account associations — including reseller partnerships — are simultaneously terminated.
After the cool-down period begins, unsubscribed resources and released balances cannot be recovered. Proceed with caution.
Step 4: Confirm the closure result
After the cool-down period ends, you receive text message and email notifications about whether the closure succeeded or failed.
Closure successful: The account and all data are permanently deleted.
Closure failed: Typically caused by billing delays that generate new overdue payments during cool-down. The account is restored to a normal state. Log on, settle the overdue payments, and restart the closure process.
Special Scenario Account Closure
The following situations require additional steps beyond the standard closure process.
Banned Accounts
Even if an account has been permanently banned for policy violations, you can still initiate closure through the standard process. If the closure entry point is restricted, refer to Account Security Center for guidance on restoring access.
Dissolved Enterprise or Inaccessible Account
If the enterprise entity has been dissolved, or you cannot log on because of a forgotten password or MFA issues, follow these steps:
Recover logon name: Use the registered phone number or email to recover your account logon name.
Reset password: Use the bound security phone number or email to reset the logon password.
Unbind MFA: If you cannot obtain the MFA dynamic code, submit a security appeal to unbind the MFA device.
Cancel after restoring access: Once you successfully log on, proceed with the standard closure process.
If the enterprise dissolution triggered account restrictions (such as purchase limits), submit a ticket to have the restrictions removed and pay any outstanding charges before you proceed with closure.
Account Registered Under Another Person's Identity or Accidental Registration
If you discover that the account's real-name verification belongs to someone else (for example, a previous phone number owner's account), we recommend directly closing the account and registering a new one.
If you accidentally registered an Alibaba Cloud account through an Alipay QR code scan, you can close it through the standard closure process.
Registration Country/Region Mismatch or Account Type Change
The following scenarios require you to close the current account and register a new one:
Country/region change: After registering an Alibaba Cloud account, the registered country/region cannot be modified. If the country code of your bound phone number does not match your account's registered country (for example, you only have a Bulgarian phone number but registered a Swiss account), or if you need to change your registered region, you must close the current account and register a new one.
Account type conversion: If you need to convert a corporate account to a personal account (or vice versa), close the current account and re-register a new account using the same or different identity information after closure is complete.
Risk reminder: Before closing your account, ensure that all bills are settled and there are no running resources. All data is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered after account closure.
What happens after your account is closed?
You cannot log on: You can no longer access any Alibaba Cloud service. To continue using Alibaba Cloud, create a new Alibaba Cloud account.
Resources and information cannot be recovered: All resource instances, services, funds, bills, and invoices under the account are permanently deleted.
Third-party accounts are not affected: Closing your Alibaba Cloud account does not affect other accounts, but third-party account associations are automatically removed.
FAQ
Why is there still a cool-down period after all resources are cleared?
Some billing records are delayed. Bills may still be generated after resources are released, so the cool-down period ensures all charges are settled.
Can I revoke a closure request during the cool-down period?
No. Once the cool-down period begins, the closure process is irreversible. You must wait for it to end.