We encourage customers to use separate AWS accounts for different workloads and projects. As your needs change, or as projects come to a close, you may want to close an AWS account. This FAQ aims to guide you through our process for closing an AWS account.
We strongly encourage customers to delete any resources they created in the account before they request account closure. This includes both on-demand resources like EC2 instances, as well as storage resources, like EBS volumes or S3 buckets.
To begin the account closure process, submit a request here. The Cloud Team will start the process with AWS.
We will inform AWS that the account is to be closed. A couple of things happen immediately afterwards.
- A 90-day countdown is started. During this 90-day period, the account can be re-opened by the Cloud Team, should it become necessary. After this 90-day period has elapsed, the account enters the "post-closure period", at which point the account and any resources it contains are permanently deleted by AWS.
- Access to the account is disabled. While the account may still show up in your list of accounts upon login, attempting to use it will result in an error.
Also note that if you have purchased any reserved instances, any unused portion of the reserved instance term will be lost when the account enters the post-closure period.
Charges from the account will cease, however you will get a final charge to your MFK that includes the unpaid amount to that point in the month.
If you requested the account be closed in the last 90 days, contact the Cloud Team. If it becomes necessary to reopen your account, be aware that AWS will back charge you for any resources that might not have been deleted before we closed the account.
If you request a reversal after 90 days has elapsed, the account cannot be reopened. The account permanently closed and any remaining resources or data will have been irreversibly deleted by AWS.
We would recommend a new account in lieu of repurposing an account. Creating a new account comes at no financial cost to you, and it makes certain that you're starting with a clean slate. From a security perspective, it also ensures that there aren't lingering permissions or resources that you didn't know still existed. Closing the account should be seen as the final act in a project's lifecycle.