“Delete this list” Missing in SharePoint? Here is the solution!

Problem: “Delete this list” option is missing in SharePoint list settings! I wanted to delete a particular list in SharePoint, but could not find the option to delete it in the list settings. I tried deleting it from the list ribbon menu, SharePoint Designer, Content and structure tool, Explorer view, and PowerShell, but none helped.

Root Cause:

The Delete this list option is not available because the “Allow Deletion” flag is set to FALSE to save the list from accidental deletions. If you have noticed, in some SharePoint lists and libraries (E.g., “Farm Templates” library), “Delete this List” or “Delete this Document Library” links are missing by default to prevent the delete option.

Solution:

Here is how we can revert the “Allow Deletion” flag to enable the “Delete this list” link in SharePoint by setting it.

Add-PSSnapin Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
 
#Variables
$SiteUrl="https://intranet.crescent.com"
$ListName="AppConfig"
 
#Get Web and List
$web = Get-SPWeb $SiteUrl
$List = $Web.Lists[$ListName]

#Turn ON AllowDeletion Flag
$List.AllowDeletion = $True
$List.Update()

Once this flag is set to true, we can delete the list in any way described.

BTW, you may not see the “Delete this list” option if you don’t have “Edit” or more access rights!

Please be advised, You are not supposed to delete any system lists which could break your site! Here is another article on deleting a list from SharePoint using PowerShell: How to Delete a SharePoint List using PowerShell?