> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://fusionauth.io/docs/llms.txt)

# Delete a User

API documentation for the FusionAuth Delete a User API.

# Delete a User

This API is used to delete a User. You must specify the Id of the User on the URI. You can also specify whether or not the User is soft or hard deleted. A soft delete deactivates the User. A hard delete permanently deletes a User's data.

Soft deleted users are marked as inactive but not deleted from FusionAuth. Deactivated users have their data retained but they are unable to authenticate. Users who have been deactivated can be reactivated; see [Reactivate a User](https://fusionauth.io/docs/apis/users/reactivate.md) for more.

The data of a User who has been hard deleted is permanently removed from FusionAuth. The User's data cannot be restored via the FusionAuth API or the administrative user interface. If you need to restore the User's data, you must retrieve it from a database backup.

## Request

[!API Key Authentication](https://fusionauth.io/docs/apis/authentication.md#api-key-authentication)

Deactivate a User (Soft Delete)

DELETE/api/user/{userId}

OpenAPI Spec

[!API Key Authentication](https://fusionauth.io/docs/apis/authentication.md#api-key-authentication)

Permanently Delete a User

DELETE/api/user/{userId}?hardDelete=true

OpenAPI Spec

### Request Parameters

`userId`UUIDrequired

The Id of the User to delete.

`hardDelete`BooleanoptionalDefaults to false

To Permanently delete a user from FusionAuth set this value to `true`. Once a user has been permanently deleted, the action cannot be undone. When this value is set to `false` the user is marked as inactive and the user will be unable log into FusionAuth. This action may be undone by reactivating the user.

#### Request Headers

`X-FusionAuth-TenantId`Stringoptional

The unique Id of the tenant used to scope this API request.

The tenant Id is not required on this request even when more than one tenant has been configured because the tenant can be identified based upon the request parameters or it is otherwise not required.

Specify a tenant Id on this request when you want to ensure the request is scoped to a specific tenant. The tenant Id may be provided through this header or by using a tenant locked API key to achieve the same result.

See [Making an API request using a Tenant Id](https://fusionauth.io/docs/apis/authentication.md#making-an-api-request-using-a-tenant-id) for additional information.

## Response

This API does not return a JSON response body.

*Response Codes*

| Code | Description |
| --- | --- |
| 200 | The request was successful. |
| 400 | The request was invalid and/or malformed. The response will contain an [Errors](https://fusionauth.io/docs/apis/errors.md) JSON Object with the specific errors. This status will also be returned if a paid FusionAuth license is required and is not present. |
| 401 | You did not supply a valid Authorization header. The header was omitted or your API key was not valid. The response will be empty. See [Authentication](https://fusionauth.io/docs/apis/authentication.md). |
| 404 | The object you requested doesn't exist. The response will be empty. |
| 500 | There was an internal error. A stack trace is provided and logged in the FusionAuth log files. The response will be empty. |
| 503 | The search index is not available or encountered an exception so the request cannot be completed. The response will contain a JSON body. |
| 504 | One or more Webhook endpoints returned an invalid response or were unreachable. Based on the transaction configuration for this event your action cannot be completed. A stack trace is provided and logged in the FusionAuth log files. |