Azure Databricks workspace stuck in "Deleting" state - cannot delete workspace or managed resources (Azure for Students)

Question

Databricks workspace "db-fyp-cardiobrick" has been stuck in "Deleting" state for over a week. I cannot delete the workspace or its managed resources.

What I've tried:

• Deleting via Azure Portal (original creator account)

Azure CLI: az databricks workspace delete --force

Azure Resource Explorer - tried deleting workspace and deployment record

All attempts show error: "ApplianceBeingDeleted - The operation cannot be performed because it is being deleted"

Current situation:

Workspace status shows "Deleting" but never completes

Managed resource group "managed-adb-fyp-cardiobrick" cannot be deleted due to system deny assignment

Resources still running: NAT Gateway ($26/month), Storage account, Public IP, Virtual Network

My new workspace "newdatabrickfyp" in same resource group is working fine

Error details: Code: ApplianceBeingDeleted Message: The operation cannot be performed because it is being deleted

Code: DenyAssignmentAuthorizationFailed Message: System deny assignment created by Azure Databricks is blocking deletion

Request: How can I force delete this stuck workspace? Is there any way to remove the system deny assignment or have Azure clean it up from the backend? Databricks workspace "db-fyp-cardiobrick" has been stuck in "Deleting" state for over a week. I cannot delete the workspace or its managed resources.

What I've tried:

Deleting via Azure Portal (original creator account)

Azure CLI: az databricks workspace delete --force

Azure Resource Explorer - tried deleting workspace and deployment record

All attempts show error: "ApplianceBeingDeleted - The operation cannot be performed because it is being deleted"

Current situation:

Workspace status shows "Deleting" but never completes

Managed resource group "managed-adb-fyp-cardiobrick" cannot be deleted due to system deny assignment

Resources still running: NAT Gateway ($26/month), Storage account, Public IP, Virtual Network

My new workspace "newdatabrickfyp" in same resource group is working fine

Error details:
Code: ApplianceBeingDeleted
Message: The operation cannot be performed because it is being deleted

Code: DenyAssignmentAuthorizationFailed
Message: System deny assignment created by Azure Databricks is blocking deletion

Request:
How can I force delete this stuck workspace? Is there any way to remove the system deny assignment or have Azure clean it up from the backend?

Answer 1

Hi Cardio Bricks,
This issue occurs due to a backend inconsistency in the Azure Databricks resource provider, where the workspace gets stuck in a Deleting state and the system deny assignment on the managed resource group (MRG) is not released. Because of this, the workspace shows a conflicting state (Succeeded / Deleting), deletion requests return "ApplianceBeingDeleted", and the managed resource group cannot be removed due to DenyAssignmentAuthorizationFailed, which also keeps dependent resources locked.

To resolve this, first ensure that there are no active clusters or running jobs associated with the workspace if you still have access. Then retry deleting the workspace using Azure CLI:

Bash

az databricks workspace delete \
  --resource-group <WorkspaceRG> \
  --name <WorkspaceName> \
  --yes

The delete operation is idempotent, so re-running it allows Azure to continue and complete any partially executed backend deletion process. The managed resource group should not be deleted manually because it is system-managed and protected by deny assignments until the workspace deletion is fully completed.

This is a transient platform state during deletion, and retrying the workspace delete operation will allow Azure to reconcile the state and automatically complete the cleanup of the managed resource group and its dependent resources.

Reference Links: Azure Databricks workspace deletion Deny assignments in Azure Delete resource group troubleshooting

Hope this helps. If you have any follow-up questions, please let me know. I would be happy to help.

Please do not forget to "up-vote" wherever the information provided helps you, as this can be beneficial to other community members.

Answer 2

The stuck workspace must be removed so that the managed resource group and its deny assignment can be cleaned up. Use a force-deletion path that targets the Databricks workspace resource itself, not just the managed resources.

Use one of these approaches:

1. Force delete the workspace from Azure CLI

Run the Azure CLI command against the Databricks workspace resource with force deletion enabled:

az databricks workspace delete \
  --name db-fyp-cardiobrick \
  --resource-group <YourMainResourceGroup> \
  --force-deletion true \
  --yes

Key points from the command behavior:

• az databricks workspace delete deletes the workspace resource.
• --force-deletion ensures the workspace catalog and managed resource group are removed instead of being retained.
• Once the workspace is successfully force-deleted, the system deny assignment on managed-adb-fyp-cardiobrick is removed and the managed resources (NAT Gateway, storage account, public IP, VNet) are deleted as part of the managed resource group cleanup.

If the delete is long-running, optionally add --no-wait and monitor from the Azure portal.

2. Force delete via Azure PowerShell

If using PowerShell, call the Databricks workspace removal cmdlet with force deletion:

Remove-AzDatabricksWorkspace \
  -Name "db-fyp-cardiobrick" \
  -ResourceGroupName "<YourMainResourceGroup>" \
  -ForceDeletion

This performs the same operation as the CLI command: it deletes the workspace and forces deletion of the managed resource group and catalog, which removes the deny assignment blocking deletion.

3. Force delete by deleting the resource group (if acceptable)

If it is acceptable to remove the entire main resource group that contains db-fyp-cardiobrick (note this will delete all resources in that group, including newdatabrickfyp and anything else):

• Using Azure CLI:

az group delete \
  --name <YourMainResourceGroup> \
  --force-deletion-types Microsoft.Databricks/workspaces

• Using Azure PowerShell:

Remove-AzResourceGroup \
  -Name "<YourMainResourceGroup>" \
  -ForceDeletionType Microsoft.Databricks/workspaces \
  -Force

The --force-deletion-types Microsoft.Databricks/workspaces / -ForceDeletionType Microsoft.Databricks/workspaces flag ensures the Databricks workspace and its managed resource group (and deny assignment) are force-deleted as part of the resource group deletion.

Only use this option if deleting the entire resource group is acceptable.

4. If the workspace remains stuck in Deleting

If az databricks workspace delete --force-deletion or Remove-AzDatabricksWorkspace -ForceDeletion still return ApplianceBeingDeleted after repeated attempts and sufficient time, the remaining resolution is backend cleanup by support, because the control plane believes the resource is already being deleted. In that case, open a support request with Azure support and provide:

• Workspace name: db-fyp-cardiobrick
• Subscription and resource group
• Error codes: ApplianceBeingDeleted, DenyAssignmentAuthorizationFailed
• Confirmation that force-deletion via CLI/PowerShell has been attempted.

Once support completes backend cleanup, the managed resource group and deny assignment will be released so the remaining resources can be deleted.

---

References:

• Delete a workspace
• az databricks workspace delete
• Remove-AzDatabricksWorkspace