Compliance Problems

How to Automatically Delete Deleted Items Older Than 30 Days in Exchange

Camila Milosovich Sep 29, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to configure Microsoft Exchange to automatically and permanently remove messages from the Deleted Items folder once they are older than 30 days.

How to Automatically Delete Deleted Items Older Than 30 Days in Exchange

Product: Microsoft Exchange
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Managing mailbox storage and compliance by setting up automated email retention and deletion policies for end users.
Observed behavior: Deleted items remain in the folder indefinitely or require manual cleanup, and the goal is to automate permanent deletion after a 30-day period.

Before you start

Before applying automatic deletion policies, verify that no legal holds or overriding Microsoft Purview retention labels are actively preserving messages in the target mailboxes, as these compliance settings take precedence.

Solution 1Recommended

Create and Apply an Exchange MRM Retention Policy

Use a Messaging Records Management (MRM) retention tag to automatically clear the Deleted Items folder after 30 days.

By utilizing Exchange's built-in MRM features, administrators can define a specific retention tag targeting the Deleted Items folder. Once this tag is added to a retention policy and applied to a user's mailbox, the Managed Folder Assistant will automatically process and permanently delete emails that have exceeded the 30-day limit.

Create a Retention Tag

Log in to the Exchange admin center. Navigate to 'Compliance management' and select 'Retention tags'. Create a new tag applied automatically to a default folder. Choose 'Deleted Items' as the target folder, set the retention action to 'Permanently Delete', and set the retention period to 30 days.

Add Tag to a Retention Policy

Go to the 'Retention policies' tab within the Exchange admin center. Create a new retention policy or edit an existing one that is assigned to your users. Add the newly created 30-day Deleted Items tag to this policy and save your changes.

Apply Policy to Mailboxes

Navigate to 'Recipients' and select 'Mailboxes'. Select the target mailboxes, open their properties, and go to the 'Mailbox features' section. Under 'Retention Policy', select the policy you just configured and apply it. Allow time for the Managed Folder Assistant to process the mailboxes.

Create and Apply an Exchange MRM Retention Policy

Processing Time and Compliance Overrides: It may take up to 7 days for the Managed Folder Assistant to fully process mailboxes. Note that Microsoft Purview retention policies and legal holds can override this deletion tag due to compliance requirements.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why are items older than 30 days not being deleted after applying the policy?

This typically happens if a Microsoft Purview retention policy, retention label, or legal hold is applied to the mailbox. Compliance preservation settings will always override standard MRM deletion tags, keeping the messages intact.

Does the 30-day countdown start when the email is received or when it is deleted?

For an MRM retention tag applied specifically to the Deleted Items folder, the retention age calculation is based on when the item was moved to the Deleted Items folder, not its original delivery or creation date.

Can users recover emails after they are automatically deleted by the MRM policy?

Yes, if Single Item Recovery is enabled for the mailbox. Users can recover permanently deleted items within the configured deleted item retention period (usually 14 days by default) using the 'Recover Deleted Items' feature in Outlook.

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