# Power Automate "When an item is deleted" trigger not working > For the full documentation index, see https://250highstreet.com/llms.txt > The SharePoint trigger When an item is deleted works only for site collection admins and returns who deleted it and when, not column values. Short answer: the trigger works only for a site collection admin of the site where the list is located. Microsoft's connector page says: "Triggers when an item is deleted in a list. This can only be used by site collection admins of the site where the list is located." If your flow does not fire, check who owns the connection first. ## Step 1. Check who owns the connection Open the flow in Power Automate and look at the SharePoint connection on the trigger. If that account is not a site admin of the site, the trigger is outside what Microsoft states it supports. Microsoft's page on site admins says a SharePoint Administrator or above can add site admins (previously called "site collection admins"). Exact names may differ on your screen. If you are not an admin, ask your admin. The steps on Microsoft's page, in the SharePoint admin center: 1. Open Active sites at [https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2185220](https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2185220) and sign in with an admin account. 2. Select the site. 3. Select Membership on the command bar. 4. In the details panel, add the person under site admins. ## Step 2. Check the two trigger fields The trigger has two required fields: Site Address and List Name. Microsoft's example for Site Address is [https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/sitename](https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/sitename). If either is a typo or points to a copy of the list, nothing fires. ## What the trigger gives you Microsoft's connector page lists these fields for a deleted item: ID, Name, Filename with extension, Deleted by, Time deleted, Is folder. That is the whole list. It does not list the old column values, such as Status or Customer. So a flow cannot read the deleted row's old values from this trigger. If you need to know what a row said before it was deleted, plan for it before deletion happens. ## Step 3. Keep a copy before deletion Our advice, not a Microsoft rule. Pick one: 1. Stop real deletes. Add a Choice column named Status with a value such as 5 Cancelled, and tell people to set that, not Delete. Hide cancelled rows with a view filter. 2. Log changes as they happen. Build a second list named Change log. A flow on "When an item is created or modified" writes one row for each change with the ID, the Title, the Status and who changed it. The trigger on the main list needs a loop guard if the flow also updates that list. The Change log is a separate list, so writing to it does not fire the main trigger again. 3. Use the deleted trigger only to flag, together with option 2. The flow adds a row in the Change log with the Deleted by and Time deleted fields, and you look up the old values by ID in the Change log. ## Step 4. Build the flow 1. Sign in at [https://make.powerautomate.com](https://make.powerautomate.com) and start a new cloud flow. 2. Add the SharePoint trigger "When an item is deleted". 3. Fill in Site Address and List Name. 4. Add the action Create item (SharePoint) pointed at your Change log list. 5. Map ID to a Number column, Deleted by to a Single line of text column, and Time deleted to a Date and Time column. 6. Save, then test by deleting a test item. Exact names may differ on your screen. Test with a fake row, not a real one. ## If you need to bring the item back Microsoft's recycle bin page says: "For SharePoint, the retention time is 93 days." Deleted items go to the site recycle bin first. When removed there, they go to the site collection recycle bin. To restore, open the Recycle bin from the Quick Launch bar or Site contents, select the item, and select Restore. See "[Restore a deleted SharePoint list item](/guides/restore-deleted-sharepoint-list-item/)" and "[Who changed this row](/guides/who-changed-this-row/)". ## If the flow still does not run - Open the flow's run history and look for a run at the time of the delete. No run means the trigger did not see the delete. - Check the flow is On. See "[Power Automate flow turned off automatically](/guides/power-automate-flow-turned-off-automatically/)". - Check that the flow owner still works at the company. See "[Power Automate flow owner left the company](/guides/power-automate-flow-owner-left-company/)". ## When to get help You can build all of this yourself in Microsoft 365. If you would rather have it built and tested for your team, I do that. A tracker like this is a fixed price: \$5,000 for one, built in 2 weeks. See "[What a SharePoint tracker costs to build](/guides/what-a-sharepoint-tracker-costs/)". Bring one example of the problem to a free call. I am Al Davies. I run 250 High Street LLC and build SharePoint trackers and Power Automate flows for operations teams. I work remotely. The first call is free, and I will not try to sell you anything. See trackers I built: [Tools I built](/portfolio/) ## FAQ ### Why is the Power Automate "When an item is deleted" trigger not working? Microsoft's connector page says it can only be used by site collection admins of the site where the list is located. ### Does the "When an item is deleted" trigger return the deleted column values? Microsoft's page lists ID, Name, Filename with extension, Deleted by, Time deleted and Is folder. It lists no other column values. ### How long can I restore a deleted SharePoint item? Microsoft's recycle bin page says the retention time for SharePoint is 93 days. ### How do I log who deleted a SharePoint item in Power Automate? Use the Deleted by and Time deleted fields from the trigger, and write them to a log list. ### What are site collection admins called now? Microsoft's site admin page says "site admins" (previously called "site collection admins"). ## Sources - [Microsoft Learn, SharePoint - Connectors](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/connectors/sharepointonline/) - [Microsoft Learn, Manage site admins - SharePoint in Microsoft 365](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/manage-site-collection-administrators) - [Microsoft Support, Restore items in the recycle bin that were deleted from SharePoint or Teams](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/restore-items-in-the-recycle-bin-that-were-deleted-from-sharepoint-or-teams-6df466b6-55f2-4898-8d6e-c0dff851a0be) ## Related guides - [Restore a deleted SharePoint list item or list](/guides/restore-deleted-sharepoint-list-item/) - [My trigger condition does not work](/guides/power-automate-trigger-condition-not-working/) - [Run a flow only when one column changes](/guides/power-automate-trigger-when-specific-column-changes/) Source: https://250highstreet.com/guides/power-automate-when-an-item-is-deleted-trigger/