Salesforce Email Services: Where is the "Delete" button?

Deletion of email services is interesting. One of my team members recently approached me, asking why the “DELETE” button is not coming on configured in email services.

⚡ QUICK SOLUTION

The Delete button is hidden by default if an Email Service has active addresses. To enable it:

1. Go to the Email Service detail page.
2. Scroll down to the Email Addresses related list.
3. Delete all configured email addresses.
4. The Delete button will now appear on the main service page.

The same is indicated in the screenshot below:

I initially wondered how this is possible, as you can only “Activate” or “Deactivate” email services after creation.

On some R&D, it came out that you need to delete all the associated email addresses with the service. So the prerequisite for email service deletion is

• Go to the “Setup” area.

• Dive into “Develop > Email Services” and select the email service you want to delete from here. As shown in the screenshot below:

• On the email service detail page, go to the “Email Addresses” related list and delete all of the email addresses configured here. The screenshot below indicates this:

• Once all the associated email addresses are deleted, you will see the delete button automatically on the email service detail page, as indicated in the screenshot below:

BEFORE

Email Addresses exist in Related List.

Edit | Deactivate | Delete

Delete button is hidden.

→

AFTER

Related List is Empty.

Edit | Deactivate | Delete

Delete button is visible!

BEFORE YOU DELETE: ARCHITECT'S NOTE

Deleting an Email Service is permanent. Before proceeding, ensure that no external systems (like a website's "Contact Us" form or a legacy IoT device) are still sending data to the associated long-form Salesforce email addresses. Once deleted, those emails will bounce, and the data will be lost.

Your Views?

This post is for absolute beginners; still, it's fun to discuss on force.com topics, so looking forward to your thoughts. If you need further explanations regarding how to delete a contact in Salesforce or anything else, do give us a requirement.

Let’s Talk, Drop a note below to move forward with the conversation 👇🏻

💡 PRO-TIP: THE 48-HOUR RULE

To avoid production disruptions, never delete an Email Service immediately. Follow the 48-Hour Deactivation Rule: First, Deactivate the service. If no "Apex Error" emails or user complaints arrive within 48 hours, it is safe to proceed with the deletion of addresses and the service itself. This creates a safety window that a direct deletion doesn't provide.