Calendar Problems

How to Cancel or Delete a Recurring Meeting as an Attendee

Maira Mehtab Sep 27, 2026 869 views

Question details

An attendee needs to cancel or remove a recurring meeting created by an organizer who is no longer available and whose account cannot be accessed.

Product: Microsoft 365 Calendar
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: The meeting organizer has left the company or is unavailable, and their recurring meeting needs to be cleared from calendars.
Observed behavior: Attendees are unable to cancel the meeting for everyone because only the organizer or a delegate has the required permissions.

Before you start

Determine whether the meeting only needs to be removed from your personal calendar or if it must be globally canceled for all attendees in your organization.

Solution 1Recommended

Remove the Meeting from Your Personal Calendar

Since attendees cannot cancel the meeting for everyone, you can decline or delete it to remove it from your own view.

As an attendee, you only have control over your own copy of the calendar event. Deleting the meeting clears up your schedule but will not affect the calendars of other participants.

Locate the Meeting

Open your calendar application and find any occurrence of the recurring meeting you wish to remove.

Select the Delete or Decline Option

Right-click the calendar event and select 'Decline' or 'Delete' from the context menu.

Remove the Entire Series

When prompted, choose 'Decline the series' or 'Delete series' to remove all future occurrences from your personal calendar.

Solution 2

Request Global Cancellation via an Administrator

If the meeting must be removed from everyone's calendar, a Microsoft 365 administrator must intervene.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I modify the guest list of a recurring meeting if I am not the organizer?

Generally, no. Only the organizer or a delegate can add or remove attendees for the entire group. As an attendee, you can forward the invitation to others, but you cannot change the official guest list on the server.

What happens if I delete a meeting series from my calendar?

The meeting series will be permanently removed from your personal calendar, and the time slot will be marked as free. However, it will remain unaffected on the calendars of all other attendees.

How can a manager get access to a departed employee's calendar?

Your organization's Microsoft 365 IT administrator can grant the manager 'Full Access' or delegate permissions to the departed employee's mailbox through the Exchange Admin Center, allowing them to manage or cancel existing meetings.

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