Failed CIAM resource blocks resource-group deletion; external tenant inaccessible

Uralstech 20 Reputation points
2026-10-04T20:57:18.5433333+00:00

I cannot delete resource group <resource-group>. Its only remaining resource is:

Microsoft.AzureActiveDirectory/ciamDirectories/name1dom1.onmicrosoft.com

The resource has provisioningState: Failed.
Deletion returns 403 Forbidden: Only Global Administrators for this directory can manage its settings. An earlier attempt returned AADB2C95060: UserCountExceeded.
The associated external tenant is different from my main tenant. I believe it was created earlier and then I deleted the account maybe an entra account and I no longer remember which one it was.

I cannot complete the normal tenant-deletion prerequisites because the directory is inaccessible.

Azure Role-based access control
Azure Role-based access control

An Azure service that provides fine-grained access management for Azure resources, enabling you to grant users only the rights they need to perform their jobs.

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  1. Konstantinos Lianos 835 Reputation points Student Ambassador
    2026-10-06T10:41:20.23+00:00

    Dear @Uralstech

    The Microsoft.AzureActiveDirectory/ciamDirectories resource cannot be force-deleted from the resource group. Deleting the CIAM resource requires Global Administrator access to the associated external tenant, even when provisioningState is Failed.

    If the administrator account was recently deleted, check Entra ID → Users → Deleted users. Deleted users can normally be restored for 30 days. Restore the account, switch to the external tenant, complete the tenant deletion, and then remove the CIAM resource.

    If the account is no longer recoverable and no Global Administrator can access the external tenant, I would open a Microsoft Support case for backend cleanup of the orphaned CIAM resource.

    If this answer helps, please mark it as Accepted/Resolved so it can help others as well.

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