# Submission retention

Delete the submissions of a form automatically after a number of days or on a date, together with the requests they answered.

This needs the Business plan. [Compare plans](https://formstep.io/pricing/)

## Set it up

Open **Settings**, the **Submissions** tab. Under **Delete submissions**, pick:

| Option | What it does |
| - | - |
| Never | Submissions stay until you delete them. The default. |
| After | Each submission is deleted when it is this many days old. |
| On a date | Every submission of the form is deleted on that date, including ones that arrive later. |

Deletion runs once a day. A rule you set keeps running if you downgrade, because it is a promise to your respondents. You can clear it on any plan.

## What is deleted

Deletion removes the answers, uploaded files, signatures, PDFs, and the request the submission answered, with everything the request held. It cannot be undone. To keep a copy, [export](https://formstep.io/docs/submissions-analytics/exports/) first, or connect [Google Sheets](https://formstep.io/docs/integrations/google-sheets/).

## Requests

A completed, expired, or canceled request is deleted when its time passes the window, with its answers, files, documents, recipient details, and history. A pending request is never deleted. You can also [delete a request](https://formstep.io/docs/requests/managing-requests/#delete) yourself.

### Requests that ended without an answer

An expired or canceled request without answers is deleted 30 days after it ended, on every plan, whether or not you set a rule.

## Partial submissions

Unfinished responses and their files are deleted 30 days after their last save, on every plan. A rule with a date also deletes partials.

Forms that sit unused on Free follow a separate rule; see [Limits & quotas](https://formstep.io/docs/subscription-billing/limits-quotas/#inactive-forms).

## Next steps

[Exporting submissions](https://formstep.io/docs/submissions-analytics/exports/) — Download responses before they are deleted

[Partial submissions](https://formstep.io/docs/submissions-analytics/partial-submissions/) — Recover responses that never finished

[Limits & quotas](https://formstep.io/docs/subscription-billing/limits-quotas/) — Every number, plan by plan

[Workspaces overview](https://formstep.io/docs/workspaces-teams/overview/) — Manage who can access your forms and data