In short: A Google Workspace Archived User licence keeps a former employee's account and data in your organisation while blocking sign-in, at a lower cost than an active seat. Archived data stays under your Vault rules where Vault applies, Drive DLP and data region settings. Archived User licences match your edition: Business Starter, Standard, Plus, Enterprise Standard or Enterprise Plus.
What an Archived User licence does
When someone leaves, you usually have three choices: delete the account (and lose data you may need), keep paying a full licence, or transfer their files to someone else and hope nothing is missed. Archived User licences add a fourth: archive the account.
An archived user:
- cannot sign in to their managed Google account anywhere
- disappears from the global address list and no longer receives new email or calendar invitations
- keeps their data in your organisation, counting towards your pooled storage
- stays under your policies: Vault retention rules and holds still apply if the user had a Vault licence or the Archived User subscription includes Vault, Drive DLP keeps running and data stays in your chosen region
- can be unarchived later if they return, provided you have a matching active licence
The user's active licence becomes free to reassign to a new starter within 24 hours.
Archived User licences by edition
Archived User licences are bought to match your main edition, and an archived user can only be unarchived onto a matching active licence.
| Archived User licence | Matches active edition | Vault retention and holds on archived data |
|---|---|---|
| Business Starter | Business Starter | Only if the user keeps a Vault licence |
| Business Standard | Business Standard | Only if the user keeps a Vault licence |
| Business Plus | Business Plus | Yes |
| Enterprise Standard | Enterprise Standard | Yes |
| Enterprise Plus | Enterprise Plus | Yes |
Whatever the edition, Drive data loss prevention keeps running on archived data where you use it, and the data stays in the data region you have set. Education editions include Archived User licences. Google also lets some customers archive users without a separate subscription, but when Workspace is bought through a reseller Google asks for an Archived User subscription to be bought through that reseller, so we add the right one to your account.
How Archived User licences are licensed
Archived User licences are a separate subscription that sits alongside your main Workspace subscription. You license the number of archived accounts you want to hold, on the Flexible Plan (monthly, change the number at any time) or the Annual/Fixed-Term Plan (one-year commitment, reducible only at renewal).
Add-on licences such as Google Voice stay assigned to an archived user until you remove them, so it is worth tidying those up when you archive. An archived user can be deleted or unarchived, but not suspended. Prices depend on edition, plan and quantity: ask us for a quote.
When archiving makes sense
- You must keep leavers' email for a regulatory or contractual period, for example in financial services or legal practice
- You expect subject access requests, employment tribunal claims or disputes involving former staff
- Managers still need to find project files and correspondence after someone leaves
- You have high staff turnover and are paying for licences on dormant accounts
- You want to remove a leaver's access cleanly without deleting their data
Archiving is not a backup. Archived data lives in the same Workspace account as everything else, so an independent Google Workspace backup is still worth having; services such as Keepit for Google Workspace also protect leavers' data.
How we help
We add the matching Archived User subscription to your Forever Systems account, agree a leavers process with you (transfer of Drive ownership, mail forwarding, Vault holds, then archive), and keep the archived count in line with your needs at renewal.
Contact us for a quote, or see the main Google Workspace page.
How Forever Systems supplies your software licences
Forever Systems Ltd supplies business software subscriptions to UK organisations from one account, with one monthly invoice and a UK team who know the products.
- The right edition first time: we check what you need before you buy, so you are not paying for features you will never use
- Monthly or annual terms where the vendor offers them, and help timing renewals and commitments
- Licence changes handled for you: add or remove users, upgrade editions and true-up without starting a new contract
- Deployment and support from engineers who run these products every day, not just a reseller account
- Consolidated billing and renewal reminders so nothing lapses unexpectedly
We work with businesses, schools, charities and public sector organisations of all sizes.
Need a licence quote or a second opinion on your renewal?
Tell Forever Systems what you need and we will come back to you by email with options, not a hard sell.
Contact usFrequently asked questions
What happens to an archived user's email?
It stays in your organisation and remains searchable through Vault where Vault applies. The archived user cannot sign in and no longer receives new mail or calendar invitations.
Can an archived Google Workspace user be restored?
Yes. You can unarchive the user when a matching active licence is available, then assign it to them.
Does archived data count towards storage?
Yes. Archived users' data counts towards your organisation's pooled storage allowance.
Do I need an Archived User subscription to archive a user?
When Workspace is bought through a reseller, Google asks for an Archived User subscription that matches your edition to be bought through that reseller. We add it to your account.