PROBLEM

Unable to delete members owning items or groups from an ArcGIS Online organization

Last Published: January 6, 2022

Description

Attempts to delete members from an ArcGIS Online organization fail, and return the following error message:

Error:   
Unable to delete member: <user_name>. Member must not own items or groups.
The error message.

Cause

The member is the owner of items or groups in ArcGIS Online.

Solution or Workaround

To resolve the issue, choose one of the options below:

Delete all items and groups owned by the member

  1. Log in to the ArcGIS Online organization with administrator privileges.
  2. Delete all items and groups owned by the member. Refer to ArcGIS Online: Delete items and ArcGIS Online: Edit group properties and settings for instructions.
  3. Delete the member. Refer to ArcGIS Online: Delete member for instructions.

Change the ownership of items and groups owned by the member

  1. Log in to the ArcGIS Online organization with administrator privileges.
  2. Transfer all items owned by the existing member to the new owner. Refer to ArcGIS Online: Transfer all content owned by specific members for instructions.
Note:
Alternatively, reassign the ownership of specific items to desired owners. Refer to ArcGIS Online: Change the ownership of specific items for instructions.
  1. Change the owner of the groups owned by the existing member. Refer to ArcGIS Online: Edit group properties and settings for instructions.
  2. Delete the member. Refer to ArcGIS Online: Delete member for instructions.
Note:
If the error is not resolved after performing the workflows above, there may be hidden or ghost items owned by the member. Contact Esri Technical Support to identify and delete these from the ArcGIS Online backend.

Article ID:000027031

Software:
  • ArcGIS Online

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