New-ComplianceSearchAction SoftDelete doesn't work

Question

New-ComplianceSearchAction SoftDelete doesn't work

PawelT 1

Hello

I'm trying to use New-ComplianceSearch / New-ComplianceSearchAction to quickly get rid of problematic emails, like users sending or receiving sensitive data.

On screen, everything works, no error messages, I get search results but when I finally run the command:

New-ComplianceSearchAction -SearchName "MySearch" -Purge -PurgeType SoftDelete

It just doesn't work. The action completes but emails are not deleted.

Anyone else got that problem ?

Anonymous

2025-11-14T08:53:27.4666667+00:00

Hi,

I hope you had a chance to review the information shared earlier, and I hope this information has been helpful! If you still have questions, please let us know what is needed in the comments so the question can be answered.
PawelT 1 Reputation point

2025-11-14T09:51:37.87+00:00

OK, took everything which was said into account, the commands did work eventually on most mailboxes, but for some reason, it still shows 8 found emails in my and one other user's mailbox. But if I use the same search term directly in outlook, it doesn't find anything. I gave it 24h to settle in case some variables had to be updated behind the scenes but it's still the same. Any idea what is going on ?
Pilladi Padma Sai Manisha 10,190 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-18T09:04:00.3766667+00:00
Hi PawelT,

When you use the New-ComplianceSearchAction command with the SoftDelete purge type, it may look like the purge completed successfully but the emails aren't actually deleted from the mailbox in the usual sense. Instead, those emails are moved to the Recoverable Items folder, which is why they disappear from the Inbox and regular Outlook searches but still show up in compliance searches. This is by design to comply with retention and compliance policies that prevent immediate permanent deletion. Sometimes these messages still appear in search results for up to 24-48 hours as the system updates its indexes.

There are several reasons why the emails might still appear:

If the mailbox has retention policies, Litigation Hold, or eDiscovery holds enabled, those will override the purge and keep the emails in place until the policy or hold is removed.

There's a limit of how many items can be purged per mailbox per action (usually 10 for non-Premium licenses), so multiple purge actions might be needed for large sets.

Compliance search results may show items hidden from Outlook due to the different way search indexes work.

Sometimes indexing delays mean deleted items still show for some time after the purge.

To resolve this, you can check if those emails are in the Recoverable Items folder via Exchange PowerShell or Outlook's Recover Deleted Items. Also verify that no holds or retention policies are preventing deletion. If large numbers of emails remain, multiple purge attempts or use of a HardDelete purge type (with caution) might be needed. If discrepancies continue, collecting detailed search and mailbox folder stats for Microsoft support can help investigate orphaned or stuck items.

This behavior is expected due to compliance safeguards and system design, not an error in your purge command. Let me know if you want detailed PowerShell commands or steps to verify mailbox holds and Recoverable Items contents for further troubleshooting.

Hope this info helps a bit! Let us know what you find out or if you have any other questions
Pilladi Padma Sai Manisha 10,190 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-19T09:20:49.03+00:00

Hi PawelT,

Did you get any chance to review the above response. Thank you!

2 answers

Your answer

Anonymous

2025-11-14T08:53:27.4666667+00:00

Hi,

I hope you had a chance to review the information shared earlier, and I hope this information has been helpful! If you still have questions, please let us know what is needed in the comments so the question can be answered.
PawelT 1 Reputation point

2025-11-14T09:51:37.87+00:00

OK, took everything which was said into account, the commands did work eventually on most mailboxes, but for some reason, it still shows 8 found emails in my and one other user's mailbox. But if I use the same search term directly in outlook, it doesn't find anything. I gave it 24h to settle in case some variables had to be updated behind the scenes but it's still the same. Any idea what is going on ?
Pilladi Padma Sai Manisha 10,190 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-19T09:20:49.03+00:00

Hi PawelT,

Did you get any chance to review the above response. Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi PawelT,
Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A and thank you for posting your questions here.
Coming to your question why the purge action “completes” but items remain.

This behavior is usually expected and tied to compliance safeguards. A few common reasons:

SoftDelete doesn’t erase the item -PurgeType SoftDelete moves messages to the Recoverable Items\Deletions folder, not Deleted Items. They disappear from the Inbox but remain in Recoverable Items until the retention window expires.
Retention or holds override purge If the mailbox is under a retention policy, Litigation Hold, or eDiscovery hold, Purview preserves copies even after a purge. You can’t permanently remove them until the hold/policy is lifted.
Built‑in purge limits PowerShell purge via New-ComplianceSearchAction only deletes up to 10 items per mailbox per action (E3/non‑Premium). For larger sets, you need multiple actions or, if you have E5, use the Graph eDiscovery purge (up to 100 items per mailbox).
Permissions and case type Ensure you’re connected to Security & Compliance PowerShell and have the Search And Purge role assigned in Purview. Purge won’t work if roles are missing or if you mix classic and modern case types.

I hope this information is helpful! If you still have questions or you come across issues, please let us know what is needed in the comments so this question can be answered.

Answer 2

If the New-ComplianceSearchAction -SearchName "MySearch" -Purge -PurgeType SoftDelete command is completing without errors but the emails are not being deleted, there are a few things to consider:

Retention Policies: Ensure that there are no retention policies applied to the mailbox that might be preventing the deletion of the emails. If retention policies are in place, they may override the deletion action.
Mailbox Recovery Settings: Check if single item recovery is enabled for the mailbox. If it is enabled, soft-deleted items will be retained in the Recoverable Items folder until the retention period expires.
Search Validation: Make sure that the search you are running is correctly identifying the emails you intend to delete. You might want to rerun the search cmdlet to validate the results before performing the purge.
Permissions: Verify that you have the necessary permissions to perform the purge action. You need to be a member of the appropriate role groups to execute these commands successfully.
Execution Context: Ensure that you are connected to Security & Compliance PowerShell correctly when running the command.

If you have checked all these factors and the issue persists, you may want to consult Microsoft support for further assistance.

References:

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New-ComplianceSearchAction SoftDelete doesn't work

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