Compliance Problems

How Long Do Microsoft Purview Audit Logs Remain After Removing a License?

Aamir Naveed Akram Oct 10, 2026 869 views

Question details

An organization needs to determine how long Microsoft Purview audit logs are kept for a former employee after their software license has been revoked.

How Long Do Microsoft Purview Audit Logs Remain After Removing a License?

Product: Microsoft Purview
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Administrators want to retain or access audit logs for a user whose license has been removed due to offboarding.
Observed behavior: Audit logs generated while the user was actively licensed remain available based on the organization's retention policy rather than being deleted immediately.

Before you start

Ensure you have the appropriate compliance administrator roles in Microsoft Purview to search and view audit logs.

Solution 1Recommended

Review Purview Audit Log Retention Policies

Check the default and configured retention periods to understand how long the unlicensed user's logs will remain accessible.

When a user's license is removed, the audit logs generated during their active licensed period are preserved. Their availability depends entirely on the retention policy applied at the time the logs were generated.

Check Default Standard Retention

Verify if the logs fall under the Audit Standard policy, which retains logs for 180 days by default for events generated after October 17, 2023.

Account for Legacy Logs

For audit events generated prior to October 17, 2023, note that the default retention period is only 90 days.

Verify Audit Premium Policies

Log into the Microsoft Purview compliance portal and navigate to the Audit section to check if an Audit Premium retention policy (1-year or 10-year) was applied to the user.

Review Purview Audit Log Retention Policies

Important: You do not need to reassign a license to the user to view logs that are still within their valid retention period.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Are audit logs deleted immediately when an Office 365 license is removed?

No. Audit logs generated while the account was licensed are preserved and remain searchable in Microsoft Purview until their retention period expires.

Can I retrieve Purview audit logs older than 180 days for unlicensed users?

Only if your organization has an Audit Premium license and configured a custom retention policy (up to 1 or 10 years) before the logs expired. Standard logs are permanently deleted after the 180-day default period.

Do I need to assign a license to a former employee to view their past audit logs?

No, reassigning a license is not necessary. As long as the logs are within the active retention timeframe, administrators can search for them in the Purview compliance portal.