Free lifecycle checklist · no employee data required

A disabled account is not the whole offboarding process.

Leavers can leave behind mailbox ownership, shared files, third-party access, retained records and unrevoked sessions. Use this evidence checklist to assign a decision-maker and record what still needs review before destructive actions.

See who should approve each change

Twelve workstreams to review

Statuses are self-reported and stay on this device only while the page is open; they are not technical checks. No employee names, passwords, identifiers or records are collected.

Owner and check	Risk to decide	Status
01. HR and line manager Confirm departure timing, affected identities and an authorised instruction without sending secrets.	No unauthorised changes or premature account deletion.	Evidence status
02. Identity administrator Block sign-in and revoke active sessions through the approved process; account for refresh and token behaviour.	Existing authenticated sessions may need explicit revocation.	Evidence status
03. Device owner Determine what corporate data and access remains on laptops and mobiles; apply approved device handling.	Personal devices may require different actions and consent.	Evidence status
04. Records/legal owner Decide whether retention, eDiscovery or litigation hold applies before deleting or changing licence.	Incorrect deletion may destroy evidence; legal policy is a customer decision.	Evidence status
05. Exchange owner Decide whether mail must be preserved, delegated, forwarded or converted to shared mailbox.	Shared mailbox licensing and holds depend on size/features.	Evidence status
06. SharePoint/OneDrive owner Assign a handover owner and plan OneDrive file access, preservation and expiry.	Deleting the user can affect file retention and access timelines.	Evidence status
07. Application administrator Inventory third-party apps, API tokens, delegated OAuth grants, SSO and shared service accounts.	Mail sign-in restriction does not necessarily revoke every external credential.	Evidence status
08. Team/collaboration owner Review Teams membership, shared channels, guest access and SharePoint groups.	Removing the primary account may leave group-owned resources or external grants.	Evidence status
09. Billing owner Schedule licence adjustments only after retention and mailbox needs are confirmed.	Removing a licence prematurely can change data availability or retention.	Evidence status
10. Security reviewer Check privileged roles, emergency credentials, MFA recovery methods and delegated admin approvals.	High-privilege leavers require more than ordinary account disablement.	Evidence status
11. Business owner Approve handover notices, delegates and continuity of customer correspondence.	Forwarding or disclosure needs explicit business and privacy authority.	Evidence status
12. Service owner Record completion evidence, unresolved exceptions, follow-up dates and who signs off.	A completed checklist does not prove that all dependencies were discovered.	Evidence status

Local evidence summary

12 items not reviewed. This is not a technical compliance attestation.

Order matters: retain before removing

Microsoft's employee-removal documentation distinguishes prevention of sign-in, preserving mailbox information, device access, shared or forwarded mail, OneDrive handover and deletion. Do not treat the licence change as the first step: records owners should confirm hold and retention requirements, and the business should authorise any delegate access.

Immediate containment

Restrict sign-in and revoke access as authorised. Urgent security cases may need escalation beyond routine managed administration.

Preservation and handover

Make separate decisions on mailbox data, OneDrive ownership, shared resources and legal holds. Test that successors can open what they should.

Licence and closure

Reconcile subscriptions only when dependencies are confirmed and the right evidence has been retained; assign outstanding exception owners.

Source documentation

Microsoft — Remove a former employee and secure data is the maintained starting point. Verify your licensing and retention policies before changes.

Prepared 9 November 2026 from Microsoft documentation; no real tenant or employee data inspected. Independent review remains required before indexing.

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