CRM and sales
What happens to your Salesforce data when you cancel
If an expired contract or a payment problem locks, suspends, or holds the organization, Salesforce offers a courtesy data export during a grace period before the data is permanently deleted. A LOCKED organization has 120 days. A HOLD organization has 30 days. The export is for downloading the data. It does not turn the organization back on for ordinary work.
| Rule | What changes |
|---|---|
| When you stop paying | If an expired contract or a payment problem locks, suspends, or holds the organization, Salesforce offers a courtesy data export during a grace period before the data is permanentl |
| Deletion events | 2 events. See the timeline below. |
| Export | 3 steps. See the steps below. |
| Who can export | A system administrator authorized for the organization requests the courtesy export and signs in to download the zip. |
| What the export requires | The courtesy export is for an organization that is locked, suspended, or on hold because of an expired contract or a payment problem. |
| Recovery after deletion | The grace period is the time to export, not a promise that deleted data comes back. |
What Salesforce does when you stop paying
An expired contract or a payment problem can lock, suspend, or hold the organization. Salesforce then offers a courtesy data export during a grace period before the data is permanently deleted. A LOCKED organization has 120 days. A HOLD organization has 30 days. The export downloads the organization data. It does not turn the organization back on for ordinary work. Regaining that access goes through the account executive. Contact Support during the grace period that matches the status you were given, and download the zip before the deletion day for that status. Salesforce explains what happens when you stop paying in Request to Export Data in Salesforce When Your Organization is Locked. For the other tools you still pay for, read what happens to company data when you cancel software. Closing this subscription while the company closes is part of how to wind down a company.
Deletion timeline for Salesforce
| Event | After | What the vendor says |
|---|---|---|
| LOCKED | 120 days | An organization with LOCKED status has 120 days before deletion. A courtesy data export is available during that grace period. |
| HOLD | 30 days | An organization with HOLD status has 30 days before deletion. A courtesy data export is available during that grace period. |
See Salesforce in the deletion-window dataset beside the other systems.
Export your Salesforce data before you cancel
A system administrator contacts Salesforce Support with the organization ID or username and confirms access to the administrator email on file. After Support starts the export, sign in and open Setup, then Data, then Data Export. In Lightning, use the gear icon and choose Setup. Click Download and save the zip. The link in the notification email is active for 48 hours after the export finishes. That is a short download window inside the longer grace period. Start the case early enough that the 48 hours do not fall after the deletion day.
The cross-vendor checklist is what to do before canceling software when closing a business.
Contact Salesforce Support with the organization ID or username, confirm that a system administrator is authorized to request the export, and confirm access to the system administrator email on file.
Contact Salesforce Support with the organization ID or username, confirm that a system administrator is authorized to request the export, and confirm access to the system administrator email on file.After Support starts the export, sign in and open Setup, then Data, then Data Export. In Lightning, use the gear icon and choose Setup.
After Support starts the export, sign in and open Setup, then Data, then Data Export. In Lightning, use the gear icon and choose Setup.Click the Download link and save the zip. The link in the notification email is active for 48 hours after the export finishes.
Click the Download link and save the zip. The link in the notification email is active for 48 hours after the export finishes.
Who can run the export
A system administrator authorized for the organization requests the export and signs in to download the zip. Salesforce Support starts the file after that request. Someone who is not the system administrator on file cannot complete the login step the article describes. If you cannot reach the administrator email, Salesforce points you to its process for changing the system administrator. Ordinary use of an Expired, Hold, or Locked organization is an account-executive request, not a side effect of the download.
What to keep from Salesforce
Salesforce holds the customer record in the organization. The courtesy export is a zip of that organization data. A licensed copy can keep the zip. Names, emails, phone numbers, customer and staff details, passwords, and legal files are removed before any copy is shared. The zip is the copy you can still open after the grace period ends. Download it while the 48-hour link is live, and save it outside the organization before the LOCKED or HOLD period ends. After the organization is deleted, that downloaded zip is the file you hold.
- The organization data zip from Data Export
Removed before sharing:
- Names, emails and phone numbers
- Customer and staff details
- Passwords and legal files
Read what data is shared when licensing company data before you decide which of the items below can stay.
Plan-specific caveats
LOCKED and HOLD are different clocks. Using the 120-day figure for a HOLD organization, or the 30-day figure for a LOCKED one, picks the wrong deletion day. The email link lasts 48 hours after the export finishes, which is not the same number as either grace period. The courtesy export is not a temporary return to ordinary work. If the status is still Expired, Hold, or Locked and you need the organization itself, that request goes to the account executive. Open the Support case while the status still has days left.
What a licensing program can use from CRM
A licensing program can keep CRM records as the history of how a pipeline moved from first contact to a closed deal.
An organization zip is a different file from a HubSpot property export. Read what happens to your HubSpot data when you cancel, what happens to your Zendesk data when you cancel, and what happens to your QuickBooks Online data when you cancel.
Salesforce is named on banking company data for AI research, fintech company data for AI research, and insurance company data for AI research.
Related
- What's shared
Which records can be licensed, which details never leave, and what you approve.
- How it works
The six steps from a short enquiry to payment, and how to stop.
Questions about Salesforce cancellation
Can deleted Salesforce data be recovered?
The grace period is the time to export, not a promise that deleted data comes back. A LOCKED organization has 120 days before deletion, and a HOLD organization has 30 days. After deletion, the article's path is the export you already downloaded. Asking the account executive is how you request ordinary access again while the organization is still Expired, Hold, or Locked.
Do we need a paid Salesforce plan to export everything?
The courtesy export is for an organization that is locked, suspended, or on hold because of an expired contract or a payment problem. Support starts it after the system administrator opens a case. The email link works for 48 hours after the export finishes. The download does not resume ordinary work in the organization.
How long does Salesforce keep a locked organization before deleting it?
An organization with LOCKED status has 120 days before deletion. An organization with HOLD status has 30 days. Both windows are the grace period for a courtesy data export after an expired contract or a payment problem. The export downloads the organization data. It does not turn the organization back on. Ordinary access goes through the account executive.
How long is a Salesforce courtesy export link active?
After Salesforce Support starts the export, the notification email includes a link that is active for 48 hours after the export finishes. A system administrator signs in, opens Setup, then Data, then Data Export, and clicks Download. Those 48 hours sit inside the longer LOCKED or HOLD grace period. Download the zip before the link ends.
Sources
- Salesforce Help. Request to Export Data in Salesforce When Your Organization is Locked. Checked 2026-11-04