How to delete & store deleted issues in Jira

Does the deleted issue in Jira mean it is lost forever? Built-in functionality has no recycle bin for the erased tickets/issues. However, it happens that the user deletes an issue by accident. 

There are two most asked questions regarding the deleted issues:

• How do I delete an issue from Jira?
• How do I find deleted issues in Jira?

Let’s find the answers to both.

Permission to delete an issue in Jira

Some Jira users are having trouble with deleting issues. They can’t delete anything because they don’t have access to it. You need specific project authority to delete a ticket or issue.

Deleting issues in Jira is a powerful action and permissions work differently depending on your project type. Here’s how to manage it for each setup.

🔹 For company-managed projects

These projects use permission schemes for detailed access control.

Steps to grant delete permissions:

1. Go to Jira Settings > Issues > Permission Schemes.

2. Find the scheme used by your project and click Permissions.

3. Scroll to Issue Permissions and look for Delete Issues.

4. Click Edit (or Add if it’s missing).

5. Assign the permission to the right group, user, or role—like Project Role: Administrators or a specific user group.

6. Save your changes.

Make sure the project is actually using the permission scheme you edited (check under Project settings > Details).

🔸 For team-managed projects

These projects don’t use permission schemes. Permissions are simplified and role-based.

Who can delete issues?

• Only Project Admins can delete issues.

• This cannot be changed or customized.

To make someone an admin:

1. Go to the project and click Project settings > Access.

2. Add the user or update their role to Administrator.

There’s no way to grant delete permission to non-admin users in team-managed projects.

How to find deleted issues in Jira

When you remove a file from your computer, it goes to the trash, where you can recover it. This method does not work for issues with Jira built-in functionality. Still, there are some advice and solutions to try.

Option 1. Audit Log (Built-in)

Jira’s Audit Log captures key system events, including issue deletions.

How to use it:

• Go to Jira Settings > System > Audit Log.

• Use filters or search for keywords like “issue deleted.”

• You’ll see the username, issue key, project, and timestamp of the deletion.

✅ Good for quick checks and basic accountability.

❌ Doesn’t show issue content or let you restore anything.

Option 2. Issue History for Jira (Marketplace App)

If you need more detailed tracking or better visibility into past changes, apps like Issue History for Jira from the Atlassian Marketplace can help bridge the gaps. They offer an extra layer of accountability by letting you view all the deleted issue details, including field data, and even restore lost issues if needed.

What it offers:

• Lists deleted issues in one place for easy access.

• Shows full context: who deleted it, when, and every field content.

• Lets you filter by project, user, and date.

• Provides the ability to restore issues

• Useful for audits, reporting, and team accountability.

If you’d like to find an issue or ticket, check out Keep deleted issues option. As users face this problem from time to time, our SaaSJet team has launched this feature with Issue History for Jira add-on. That is the way if you need to monitor work changes or get an audit trail.

Issue History is a journal for all past activities at the issue level. You’ll get information about what issue was changed, how, and when. For example, what issue was deleted, by which user, and the date.

How to start storing deleted issues:

1. Turn on the feature by pressing the “Keep deleted issues” toggle button. Only after activating it, the process will start. You can’t retrieve records for issues that were removed before the app was installed.

2. To find the list of the deletes, choose the Deleted issues in the “Select issues by” drop-down menu.

3. You can narrow down the issue list by selecting a project, the “Deleted by” option (specify a person), or setting the date range.

4. Export the report with deleted issues as Excel or CSV files.

You can find more info in the Keep Deleted Issues section in Confluence.

If you’d like to restore deleted tasks, check out this article 3 ways to manage and recover deleted issues in Jira

Takeaway

The “Delete” action in Jira is as irrevocable as it gets. It removes an issue from the database with no trace, and there is no way to recover the issue or the audit trail associated with it.

As a result, there are two alternatives:

• Restrict the Delete permission for team members except for the admin.
• Try to track deleted issues with Issue History for Jira.

The plugin is Cloud Fortified, so you can be sure we have a strong security level, you can read more in one of the previous articles.

If you’re interested in our other top add-ons, check out SLA Time and Report.