How to Delete Meta Business

Deciding to close a Meta Business Account is a common move, whether you're consolidating efforts, closing a business, or simply cleaning up unused accounts. This guide provides a straightforward, step-by-step walkthrough to permanently delete your Meta Business Portfolio (formerly Business Manager or Business Suite) and navigate the most common roadblocks you might encounter.

Before You Delete: A Quick Checklist

Before you hit the delete button, there are a few essential housekeeping steps. Meta won't let you delete an account that still has loose ends. Taking care of these first will make the process smooth and quick.

1. Ensure You Are a Full Admin

Only an administrator of the Business Account has the permission to delete it. To check your status, navigate to Business Settings > People. If you are listed under the "Business admins" section, you're good to go. If not, you'll need to ask an existing admin to grant you full administrative access or ask them to perform the deletion for you.

2. Settle All Outstanding Balances

Meta requires all connected ad accounts to have a zero balance before deletion is possible. You must pay any outstanding advertising costs.

• Navigate to Ads Manager > Billing & payments.
• Review any outstanding balances.
• Click the "Pay Now" button to clear any amount owed.

This is the most common reason people get stuck, so it's always the first place to check.

3. Empty All Your Assets

A Meta Business Account acts as a container for your marketing and sales assets, such as Facebook Pages, Instagram accounts, Ad Accounts, and Pixels. You can't delete the container if there's anything still inside it. Each asset must be either reassigned to another Business Account or removed entirely.

How to Remove a Facebook Page, Instagram Account, or Ad Account:

1. Go to your Meta Business Suite and click the gear icon (⚙️) for "Settings."
2. If not already there, go to Business Settings.
3. Under the "Accounts" section in the left-hand menu, click on the asset type you want to remove (e.g., Pages, Ad accounts, Instagram accounts).
4. Select the specific asset you want to disconnect.
5. Click the ... (More) button or look for the "Remove" button at the top of the panel and follow the prompts to remove it from the business.

Important Note: With ad accounts, you can only remove an account you created yourself. If it was added from another business entity, you won't see a "Remove" option, only a "Deactivate" option. Deactivating the ad account linked to your Business Account is sufficient to proceed with deletion.

How to Disconnect a Meta Pixel:

1. In Business Settings, navigate to Data Sources > Datasets. (Pixels are now often referred to as 'Datasets').
2. Select the Dataset/Pixel you need to manage.
3. Click on the "Connected Assets" tab.
4. Click the trash can icon next to the connected ad account to disconnect it.
5. Next, navigate to Partners in the main navigation and remove any partner access to the Pixel. If you own the pixel, you'll see a remove option under assigned assets too.

4. Handle App Integrations and Lead Forms

If you have any apps connected to the Business Account, you must sever those connections.

• In Business Settings, go to Apps.
• Select each app and click "Remove".

Additionally, if your Facebook Page has active instant forms for lead generation, you need to CRM access. Go to Business Settings > Integrations > Leads Access, select the relevant Page, and remove any assigned CRMs.

How to Permanently Delete Your Meta Business Account

Once you’ve completed the checklist above, the actual deletion process is relatively straightforward. Meta now gives you 24 hours to change your mind before the deletion becomes permanent.

Step-by-Step Deletion Guide:

1. Navigate to Business Info:
2. Find the Deletion Option:
3. Proceed Through the Prompts:
4. Schedule the Deletion:
5. Confirm with Your Password:

Troubleshooting: "Why Can't I Delete My Business Account?"

Sometimes, even after you've checked everything, the "Permanently delete business" button is still grayed out or you receive an error. Here are the most common reasons why and how to fix them.

The Delete Button is Grayed Out or Fails

If you see a grayed-out button, it almost always means you missed one of the preparation steps. Hovering over it often reveals the exact reason. The most frequent issues are:

• Outstanding Ad Account Balance: You might think everything is paid, but sometimes a small, final charge is processing. Double-check the Billing & payments section of every ad account associated with the business.
• Unremoved Assets: You may have missed a Facebook Page, an Instagram account, a developer app, a WABA, or a Meta Pixel still connected to the account. Go back through your pages, ad accounts, datasets and app one-by one in Business Settings to make sure you have removed or deactivated everything.
• Another Admin or Attached Partners: Sometimes there could still be another admin, person, or partner business attached to the Business Manager that might be causing this issue which will need reviewing and removing.

Deleting vs. Removing Yourself from a Business Manager

It's important to know the difference between deleting the entire business portfolio and simply removing your own access to it.

• Deleting the Business: This action is permanent and affects everyone who has access. All business assets are disconnected, performance history is removed, and the entire structure is erased.
• Removing Yourself: This only revokes your personal access. The Business Account and all its assets will continue to exist under the management of any other remaining admins. You would take this route if you are simply leaving a company or project. You can find this option under Business Settings > Business info below your personal name.

What Happens After You Click Delete?

Once you confirm the deletion and the 24-hour waiting period expires, your Meta Business Account will be gone for good. There is no way to restore it.

What happens to the assets? If a Facebook Page and Instagram Account were created directly within that Business Account and have no new owner, they become "unowned." The person who originally created them can typically reclaim administrative access from their personal Facebook account afterward. If they were brought into the business from a personal account, they typically revert back to the original owner. Ad account data tied to the Business Account will likely be lost, so make sure to download any important campaign data beforehand.

Final Thoughts

Deleting a Meta Business Account is a straightforward task, provided you carefully prepare by settling all payments and detaching all assets first. By following the checklist, you can avoid common frustrations and confidently clean up your digital workspace.

Dealing with confusing tools and scattered campaign data is a big reason many of us end up with extra accounts to begin with. We built Graphed to solve that very problem by giving you a simple, powerful way to see all your marketing performance in one place. We connect seamlessly with sources like Facebook Ads, Google Analytics, and Shopify, and let you build reports and dashboards in seconds using simple text prompts, helping you get clear answers without all the reporting headaches.