Forum Discussion
Short Term Retention Label action - no enforcement even after 10 days
Need some suggestions on the following issue as it is blocking the UAT sign off process from client. Problem Statement: We have created a few short-term Retention labels for UAT purpose scoped to a...
hi sudipabatabyal Short-term retention labels in SharePoint/OneDrive are enforced by background Microsoft jobs that do not run on a fixed schedule. Even if a label is set for 2 or 3 days, the actual delete or disposition action can take up to 30 days or more to complete.
This delay is expected behavior and depends on:
Internal M365 job scheduling
Site/content volume
Retention start trigger (Created / Modified / Labeled)
Competing policies or system load
Even if it worked faster on another site, timing can differ per site and tenant.
Retention labels are eventually consistent, not real-time. For UAT with strict timelines, it’s better to allow a 2–4 week buffer or perform manual cleanup after the expected retention date.