# Trash & restore

Deleted forms move to Trash, where you can restore them or remove them for good. Forms stay there for 30 days, and share links stay revoked after a restore.

## What happens when you delete a form

The form moves to **Trash** with its submissions and analytics. Formstep also:

- revokes its share links, so links and embeds stop working;
- cancels its pending requests, and tells the workflow that sent them. Restoring the form does not bring them back.

A form in Trash cannot be edited or published.

> **Deleted folders**
>
> Deleting a [folder](https://formstep.io/docs/workspaces-teams/folders/#delete) moves its forms here.

## Opening Trash

Click **Trash** in the sidebar. Each deleted form shows the folder it was in, if any, when it was deleted and by whom, and how many days it has left.

![The Trash page with three deleted forms, each with the folder it was in, when it was deleted, the days it has left, who deleted it, and Restore](https://formstep.io/docs/images/workspaces-teams/trash.png)

Each form in Trash, with the folder it came from and the days it has left.

## Restoring a form

Click **Restore** on the form, or check several forms and click **Restore** in the toolbar. The dialog picks the folder the form was in; pick another folder or **Home** if you like, then click **Restore to …**. The form comes back with its submissions. Its share links stay revoked: open **Public link** and click **Re-activate** on each link you want back.

![The Restore dialog for one form, with Webinars, the folder it was in, already picked and the Restore to Webinars button](https://formstep.io/docs/images/workspaces-teams/restore-dialog.png)

Restore starts from the folder the form was in.

## Deleting permanently

**Delete forever**, on the form’s row or in the toolbar for the forms you checked, removes the form with its submissions, analytics, and files. **Empty trash** does this for every form in Trash. Forms in Trash count toward your storage until they are gone.

> **Permanent deletion is irreversible**
>
> Export anything you want to keep first.

## Automatic cleanup

Forms are deleted for good after 30 days in Trash. On Free, a form that has been idle for a year also moves here on its own, after a warning email; see [idle forms](https://formstep.io/docs/subscription-billing/limits-quotas/#inactive-forms).

## Next steps

[Publish history](https://formstep.io/docs/building-forms/version-history/) — Browse and restore past versions of a form

[Folders](https://formstep.io/docs/workspaces-teams/folders/) — Organize the forms in a workspace

[Exporting submissions](https://formstep.io/docs/submissions-analytics/exports/) — Download submissions before deleting

[Submission retention](https://formstep.io/docs/submissions-analytics/submission-retention/) — How long Formstep keeps response data