Table of Contents
Summary
- Several legacy SharePoint Online features will be retired, including Information Management Policies and In-Place Records Management.
- These features will no longer be supported, may disappear from the user interface, and related configurations will not be available.
- Organizations are encouraged to migrate to Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management and Purview Records Management before the retirement takes effect.
- Admins should review their current use of legacy features, audit retention schedules, and confirm licenses for new features.
Admin Impact: High
User Impact: Low
Release Start: 01 Apr 2026
Release End: 01 Apr 2026
Services: SharePoint
Category: Plan for change
Tags: User Adoption, Admin Action, Retirement
History
1/3/2026 Item Added to Message Center
Microsoft Message
Introduction
We’re retiring several legacy SharePoint Online features to streamline compliance and data lifecycle management. Starting April 2026, the following features will be retired:
- Information Management Policies
- In-Place Records Management
- Document deletion policies (deletion only)
- Policies for site closure and deletion (deletion only)
We recommend using Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management and Purview Records Management, where we continue to invest in modern, flexible compliance solutions.
For details on the retirement plan and migration guidance, refer to: Use Microsoft Purview risk and compliance solutions instead of older SharePoint features.
When this will happen
Retirement will take place in April 2026
How this affects your organization
Who is affected: Organizations using Information Management Policies, In-Place Records Management, or related deletion policies in SharePoint Online.
What will happen:
- These features will no longer be supported by Microsoft.
- These features may disappear from the user interface (UI).
- Configurations will not be available through UI or programmatically (including enable/disable actions).
- Backend services supporting these behaviors may stop functioning.
What you can do to prepare
Microsoft won’t automatically migrate your older information management and SharePoint records management features in SharePoint Online. If you choose not to migrate to supported features, the older features may no longer be supported.
Between now and April 2026, you have the flexibility to migrate your scenarios on your own schedule. To prepare:
- Review current use of legacy features and confirm compliance goals.
- Plan migration to Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management and Purview Records Management.
- Audit retention schedules for duplicates or outdated policies.
- Confirm applicable licenses for Purview features.
- Implement modern features and verify functionality using tools like Policy Lookup.
- Communicate this change to your Data Lifecycle and Records Management teams.
For detailed migration strategies and feature mapping, refer to: Migration strategies for moving to Microsoft Purview solutions.
Compliance considerations
No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.