resource group in Deleting state for long time

Question

resource group in Deleting state for long time

Vladimir Tsitovtsev 30

my resource group in Deleting state for long time
how can I debug?

Suchitra Suregaunkar 11,150 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-27T17:15:17.6233333+00:00

Hello Vladimir Tsitovtsev

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Q&A platform.

We are looking into your issue.

Thanks,
Suchitra.
Suchitra Suregaunkar 11,150 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-27T19:38:20.74+00:00
Hello Vladimir Tsitovtsev

To help identify why the resource group is stuck in Deleting state, could you please share:

How long it has been in this state

Any failed delete operations shown in the Activity Log

Whether any resource locks exist

Whether az resource list still shows resources

The types of resources previously in the group

This information helps determine whether the issue is a dependency block or an internal ARM deletion issue requiring support escalation.

Thanks,
Suchitra.
Bharath Y P 7,080 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-30T12:12:01.5866667+00:00

Hello Vladimir Tsitovtsev, we hope you had a chance to review the response shared above by Suchitra. If you are still experiencing the issue, please provide the requested details so we can assist further. Thank you.

Answer accepted by question author

1 additional answer

Your answer

Suchitra Suregaunkar 11,150 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-27T17:15:17.6233333+00:00

Hello Vladimir Tsitovtsev

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Q&A platform.

We are looking into your issue.

Thanks,
Suchitra.
Suchitra Suregaunkar 11,150 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-27T19:38:20.74+00:00

Hello Vladimir Tsitovtsev

To help identify why the resource group is stuck in Deleting state, could you please share:

How long it has been in this state

Any failed delete operations shown in the Activity Log

Whether any resource locks exist

Whether az resource list still shows resources

The types of resources previously in the group

This information helps determine whether the issue is a dependency block or an internal ARM deletion issue requiring support escalation.

Thanks,
Suchitra.
Bharath Y P 7,080 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-30T12:12:01.5866667+00:00

Hello Vladimir Tsitovtsev, we hope you had a chance to review the response shared above by Suchitra. If you are still experiencing the issue, please provide the requested details so we can assist further. Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello Vladimir Tsitovtsev

When you delete a resource group, Azure Resource Manager (ARM) deletes resources asynchronously and in dependency order. If any single resource delete keeps retrying or is blocked, the entire RG stays in Deleting.

Check Activity Log at the resource group scope (most important):

This tells you exactly which resource is blocking deletion.

In Azure Portal

Go to the Resource Group
Select Activity log
Filter:
Operation = Delete resource or Delete resource group
- Status = Failed

Look for:

Failed delete operations
Error codes like Conflict, AnotherOperationInProgress, AuthorizationFailed
This is the authoritative source for the blocker.

Reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-resource-manager/management/delete-resource-group?tabs=azure-powershell

List remaining / “ghost” resources with CLI:

Even if the portal shows nothing, resources may still exist logically.

az resource list --resource-group <rg-name> -o table

If any resource is returned, that resource must be deleted first.

Check for resource locks: Deletion fails silently if a lock exists.

az lock list --resource-group <rg-name>

If found, remove it:

az lock delete --ids <lock-id>

Azure requires all locks be removed before RG deletion

Look for known hard blockers: When troubleshooting long-running delete operations, check for known hard blockers. Common resources that often cause these issues include Application Gateway or Load Balancer with backend references that haven't been detached, Virtual Machines or VM Scale Sets with disks, NICs, or public IPs still attached, Key Vaults with soft-delete or purge protection enabled, and Private Endpoints where the DNS zone or link still exists.

Azure retries delete calls for 15 minutes per resource, after which it can get stuck indefinitely if retries keep failing.

Check for managedBy resources: Some resources are owned by another service (AKS, ML Workspace, Dev Center environments).

az resource list --resource-group <rg-name> --query "[?managedBy!=null]"

If present, you must delete the parent service, not the resource directly.

Retry deletion after removing blockers:

az group delete --name <rg-name> --yes --no-wait

This does not force delete — it only works once blockers are gone.

Thanks,

Suchitra.

Suchitra Suregaunkar 11,150 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-30T16:59:26.6833333+00:00

Hello Vladimir Tsitovtsev,I hope the details shared above helped in addressing your concern.

If the suggested resolution resolved the issue, kindly consider marking the answer as "Accepted" and "Upvote" it. This helps other community members who may encounter a similar issue in the future.

Thanks,
Suchitra.

Answer 2

Vladimir Tsitovtsev 30

Hi Bharath Y P the issue is resolved, thank you for your attention. Regards, Vladimir

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resource group in Deleting state for long time

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