Cannot delete Azure Databricks

Question

Cannot delete Azure Databricks

Ha Nguyen 0

I am trying to delete a Databricks workspace, but the deletion has been ongoing for about a day.

I tried deleting it several times using both the portal and the REST API, but failed. The provisioning state still says "Deleting," even though it never actually gets deleted.

It is in my personal subscription so there is no support, I can't open a ticket.

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Answer 1

Hey Ha Nguyen , it sounds like your Databricks workspace is stuck in the “Deleting” state far longer than the usual 5–10 minutes. Here’s what you can try to unblock it:

Make sure nothing’s holding the workspace open
- In the Databricks workspace, terminate all clusters, jobs, pools, notebooks, etc.
- Confirm with Azure CLI that no dependent resources are still alive:
```
     az resource list --resource-group <YourResourceGroup>
```
Check for system locks or deny assignments on the managed resource group
- Databricks creates a Managed Resource Group (MRG) with system-level deny assignments – you can’t delete those resources by hand.
- In the Azure portal: • Go to Resource Groups → <YourMRG> → Locks • Remove any Read-only or Delete locks
Cancel and retry the deletion
- If the resource group is hanging in “Deleting,” you can cancel that operation:
```
     az group cancel-deletion --name <YourResourceGroup>
```
- Then delete the workspace again (portal, CLI, or REST API).

If it still won’t budge, force-delete the workspace + its MRG

Azure CLI:


     az databricks workspace delete \

       --resource-group <YourResourceGroup> \

       --name <YourWorkspaceName> \

       --force-deletion

PowerShell:


     Remove-AzDatabricksWorkspace `

       -ResourceGroupName <YourResourceGroup> `

       -Name <YourWorkspaceName> `

       -ForceDeletion

Warning: force-deletion permanently removes the workspace catalog and all data in the MRG, so be sure you’ve backed up anything you need.

Follow-Up Questions

• When you run a delete via CLI/API, do you see any error messages in the response or in Activity Logs?

• Can you confirm that all clusters, pools, and jobs in that workspace are terminated?

• Do you see any resource locks on the workspace or its managed resource group?

• Have you tried canceling the current delete operation before re-issuing the delete?

Reference docs

Diagnose and resolve issues with workspace deletion https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/databricks/administration-guide/cloud-configurations/azure/troubleshoot-delete
Remove system locks and deny assignments https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/role-based-access-control/deny-assignments?tabs=azure-portal
Cancel resource group deletion https://learn.microsoft.com/cli/azure/group?view=azure-cli-latest#az_group_cancel-deletion
Force delete via CLI https://learn.microsoft.com/cli/azure/databricks/workspace?view=azure-cli-latest#az-databricks-workspace-delete
Force delete via PowerShell https://learn.microsoft.com/powershell/module/az.databricks/remove-azdatabricksworkspace

Hope one of these steps helps clear the stuck deletion! Let me know what you see.

Ha Nguyen 0 Reputation points

2026-02-28T22:45:24.1066667+00:00

I run this command az resource list --resource-group <YourResourceGroup>. The result shows Databricks is only resource still alive in resource group. There is no lock in my RG or Databricks.

And when I run force-deletion, I got this error:
(ApplianceBeingDeleted) The operation cannot be performed on the appliance 'hant-databricks-thesis' because it is being deleted

Code: ApplianceBeingDeleted

Message: The operation cannot be performed on the appliance 'hant-databricks-thesis' because it is being deleted

I cannot confirm that all clusters, pools, and jobs in that workspace are terminated because the button to launch workspace in Databricks was gone. And I cannot cancel the deletion on Databricks.
Smaran Thoomu 33,920 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-09T05:51:21.8533333+00:00

Ha Nguyen Thank you for your patience.

We checked this internally and found that the workspace deletion is failing due to an issue while calling a downstream Databricks API. Because of this, the workspace remains stuck in the Deleting state and cannot be resolved through the portal, CLI, or REST API.

Normally, this requires a support ticket so the backend team can investigate and clear the stuck deletion.

I understand your subscription does not have a support plan. However, as a one-time exception, I have enabled one-time support access for your subscription.

Please try to create a support request from your side under Azure Databricks using your subscription. Once the ticket is created, the support team will be able to investigate the backend issue and help complete the workspace deletion.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Ha Nguyen 0 Reputation points

2026-03-10T19:05:38.42+00:00

Hi, I tried to create a ticket under Azure Databricks using my own subscription but cannot, I stuck at this step. Please check again. Thanks

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Cannot delete Azure Databricks

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