How to Leave or Delete a Team in Microsoft Teams

Depending on your role in Microsoft Teams, you can either leave a team if you no longer need to be part of it, or delete the team entirely if you're the owner and it's no longer needed.

Leaving a Team (for Members and Owners)

You can leave any team that you are a part of, unless you're the last owner (in which case, you'll need to assign ownership first).

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Open Microsoft Teams.
2. Click on Teams in the left-hand navigation.
3. Locate the team you want to leave.
4. Click the ellipsis (⋯) next to the team name.

5. Select Leave the team.

   

• You will be removed immediately from the team and will no longer see its channels, chats, or files.
• You can rejoin later if it's a public team or if an owner invites you again.

Notes:

• You cannot leave a team if you are the only owner. You'll need to promote another member to owner before leaving.
• Leaving a team does not affect the team’s existence or content for others.

Deleting a Team (for Team Owners Only)

Warning: Deleting a team will permanently remove: - All channels and chats - All files and folders in the SharePoint site - All Planner tasks and OneNote data - The associated Microsoft 365 group and mailbox

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Open Microsoft Teams.
2. Click on Teams in the left-hand navigation.
3. Find the team you want to delete.
4. Click the ellipsis (⋯) next to the team name.
5. Choose Manage team.
6. In the top-right corner, click the ellipsis (⋯) again.
7. Select Delete the team.
8. Confirm the deletion by checking the confirmation box.
9. Click Delete team.

Important:

• Only Team Owners can delete a team.
• This action is permanent and cannot be undone.
• Make sure to back up any important files or notes before deletion.

Best Practices

• Archive a team instead of deleting it if you want to keep its content for future reference.
• Notify members before deleting a team, especially if it’s actively used.