What Happens When Your Account is on Legal Hold in Outlook?

Common Signs or Symptoms:

• Unable to delete emails: If you try to delete emails to free up mailbox space, they remain available. Even if removed from folders or purged from the Deleted Items folder, emails are retained.
• Storage limitations: Your mailbox may appear to be full because old items remain in place despite deletion attempts.

Troubleshooting Steps:

Overview
A legal hold (or litigation hold) is applied to an account when an organization must preserve all emails and related data for legal or compliance reasons. This ensures that information cannot be intentionally or accidentally deleted during the hold period.

Technical Explanation
When a mailbox is on legal hold:

• All content, including deleted or modified items, is retained in a hidden folder within the mailbox called the Recoverable Items folder.
• This retention overrides deletion settings and policies, preserving content for eDiscovery or legal review.
• Legal holds may be indefinite or time-bound, depending on the situation.

What to Do If You Suspect a Legal Hold
If you suspect your account is under legal hold due to symptoms like undeletable emails:

1. Contact the Legal Team: Legal teams typically initiate legal holds in response to compliance or litigation requirements.
2. Reach Out to Information Security: They can confirm the hold status and guide data preservation needs.
3. Consult the System Administrator: They can verify and manage hold settings within Microsoft 365’s admin tools.

Important Notes

• End users cannot remove legal holds. Only authorized administrators with appropriate permissions can manage or remove these holds.
• Being placed on a legal hold does not impact your ability to send and receive new emails.

Further Information
Legal holds are vital for compliance, enabling organizations to meet legal, regulatory, or investigative needs. They also apply to other Microsoft 365 data (e.g., Teams chats or OneDrive files). Administrators can manage these settings using tools like the Microsoft Purview Compliance Center or Exchange Admin Center.

For additional details about how legal holds work, refer to the Microsoft documentation.