---
title: "Deactivate or delete a room"
description: "Mark a room Inactive when you close it for a season, or permanently delete an empty room you created by mistake."
type: guide
updated: 2026-10-09
canonical_url: https://help.nestlicare.com/owners/centers/deactivate-or-delete-a-room
roles: ["super_admin", "center_admin"]
platforms: [web]
---
Closing a room for the summer? **Deactivate** it. Its history stays and you can turn it back on later. Created a room by mistake? **Delete** it. Delete is permanent and takes the room's records with it, so use it only for rooms that were never really used.

## Deactivate a room (keeps history)

Best for seasonal closures, temporary consolidations, or rooms you'll reopen later.

1. Go to **Organization → Rooms**.
2. Click the pencil (**Edit room**) on the room's card.
3. Untick **Active**.
4. Click **Save Changes**.

<ScreenshotWithPointers
  src="/screenshots/owners/rooms/edit-room-active-toggle.png"
  alt="The Edit Room dialog with the Active checkbox"
  caption="In the room's edit dialog, untick Active to deactivate it. All of its history stays."
/>

The card now shows an **Inactive** pill. While a room is inactive:

- The **Enroll child** and **Assign staff** buttons disappear from its card.
- It drops out of room pickers and out of [Room Insights](/owners/centers/room-insights).
- Children already enrolled stay enrolled. Move them first if they're going to another room.
- All past enrollments, attendance and activities stay attached.

To reopen it, tick **Active** again and click **Save Changes**.

## Delete a room (permanent)

Use this only for a mistake, like a test room or a duplicate.

1. Make sure no child is enrolled in the room or set to **Also attends** it. Until then the trash icon is dimmed and its tooltip says "Remove enrollments before deleting".
2. Go to **Organization → Rooms** and click the trash icon on the room's card.
3. Click **Delete Room**.

<Callout kind="danger" title="Delete permanently removes the room's records">
Deleting a room permanently deletes its attendance records, its past enrollments, its **incident reports**, its meal plans and meal records, and its room moves. This cannot be undone. Incident reports and attendance are records your licensing agency may ask for, so if children have ever been in this room, **deactivate it instead**.

Staff, schedules, staff time entries, daily activities, billing plans and lesson plans are kept, but they are no longer linked to any room.
</Callout>

## What if children are still in the room?

Delete is refused. You'll see a message like *"Cannot delete room "Toddlers" — it has 3 active enrollments. Remove or transfer enrollments first."* A similar message appears if children **also attend** the room part of the day.

Two paths:

1. **Move them** to another room first. See [Move a child from one room to another](/owners/centers/move-a-child-between-rooms).
2. **Deactivate instead of delete.** The children stay enrolled, but nobody new can be added.

## Troubleshooting

**The trash icon is dimmed and does nothing.** The room still has enrolled children. Move or remove them first.

**I deactivated a room and new children can't be enrolled there.** That's what Inactive does. Tick **Active** again on the room's edit dialog to reopen it.

**I deleted the wrong room.** Deletion can't be undone from the dashboard. Contact support@nestlicare.com right away and tell us which room it was.

Related: [Archive or delete a center](/owners/centers/archive-or-delete-a-center), for closing a whole center.