Delete a Microsoft 365 group or distribution group with PowerShell

You usually delete an old distribution list or Microsoft 365 group in the admin center. If you need to clean up many at once, or want it in a script, PowerShell is faster. Here's how, and how to undo a mistake.

Connect

Connect-ExchangeOnline

Read install the Exchange Online module.

Delete a Microsoft 365 group

Get-UnifiedGroup -Identity "Project team X" | Select DisplayName, PrimarySmtpAddress
Remove-UnifiedGroup -Identity "Project team X"

Careful: this also deletes the group's team in Teams, its SharePoint site, mailbox and plan.

Delete a distribution group

Remove-DistributionGroup -Identity "sales@yourdomain.com"

Type Y to confirm, or add -Confirm:$false in a script.

With Microsoft Graph

Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "Group.ReadWrite.All"
Get-MgGroup -Filter "displayName eq 'Project team X'" | Select Id, DisplayName
Remove-MgGroup -GroupId <Id>

Deleted too soon?

• A Microsoft 365 group can be restored for 30 days via the admin center > Teams & groups > Deleted groups, or with Restore-MgDirectoryDeletedItem.
• A distribution group can't be restored. So note its members beforehand with Get-DistributionGroupMember.

Also see PowerShell for Microsoft 365 and create a distribution list.

Read also

PowerShell for Microsoft 365: a guide for beginners
How to create a distribution list in Microsoft 365 and use it in Teams
Install the Exchange Online PowerShell module (ExchangeOnlineManagement)

Nederlandstalige versie: Een Microsoft 365-groep of distributiegroep verwijderen met PowerShell

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