Step-by-step: Find deleted file logs for a SharePoint site

Microsoft 365 3 Minutes

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Option 1: Use the Microsoft Purview audit portal

This is the easiest method for most admins.

  1. Sign in to Microsoft 365

  2. Open Audit

    • In the left menu, go to Solutions > Audit.

    • If prompted, enable auditing if it isn’t already on.

  3. Start a new search

    • Select New Search.

  4. Set the date range

    • Choose the period when you think the file was deleted.

    • Be aware that audit retention depends on licensing:

      • Many non-E5 tenants keep audit data for 180 days
      • E5 and some add-on licenses can retain some audit data for 1 year by default citehttps://learn.microsoft.com/purview/audit-search#before-you-search-the-audit-log

  5. Choose activities

    • In the activity filter, look for SharePoint file deletion-related actions such as:

      • Deleted file (FileDeleted)

      • Recycled a file (FileRecycled)

      • Deleted file from recycle bin (FileDeletedFirstStageRecycleBin)

      • Deleted file from second-stage recycle bin (FileDeletedSecondStageRecycleBin) citehttps://learn.microsoft.com/purview/audit-log-activities#file-and-page-activities

  6. Filter by site, file, or user

    • Use available filters to narrow results:

      • Site URL
      • File name
      • User
    • If you know the person who deleted the file, filtering by user makes results much easier to review.

  7. Run the search

    • Click Search.

  8. Review the results

    • Open matching events to see details such as:

      • who performed the action

      • when it happened

      • the file involved

      • the site URL

      • the operation type

  9. Check the event sequence

    • A typical deletion trail may look like this:

      • FileRecycled = file moved to recycle bin

      • FileDeletedFirstStageRecycleBin = removed from first-stage recycle bin

      • FileDeletedSecondStageRecycleBin = permanently removed from second-stage recycle bin citehttps://learn.microsoft.com/purview/audit-log-activities#file-and-page-activities

What the log entries mean

For SharePoint deleted files, these are the most useful audit events:

  • FileDeleted
    A user deleted a document from a site. citehttps://learn.microsoft.com/purview/audit-log-activities#file-and-page-activities

  • FileRecycled
    A user moved a file into the SharePoint recycle bin. citehttps://learn.microsoft.com/purview/audit-log-activities#file-and-page-activities

  • FileDeletedFirstStageRecycleBin
    A user deleted a file from the site’s recycle bin. citehttps://learn.microsoft.com/purview/audit-log-activities#file-and-page-activities

  • FileDeletedSecondStageRecycleBin
    A user deleted a file from the second-stage recycle bin. citehttps://learn.microsoft.com/purview/audit-log-activities#file-and-page-activities

That sequence helps you determine whether the file is still recoverable or has been permanently removed.

Practical tip for small businesses

If you are only trying to answer:

  • Who deleted the file?
  • When was it deleted?
  • Was it permanently deleted or just moved to the recycle bin?

Then the audit search with the filters:

  • date range

  • user

  • file name

  • SharePoint activities

is usually enough.

If you are trying to restore the file as well, you should also check:

  • the site recycle bin
  • the second-stage recycle bin

because the audit log tells you what happened, but recovery depends on whether the file is still retained in one of those recycle bins.

Option 2: Use PowerShell for more detailed searches

If you prefer scripting or want to export results, Microsoft also supports using the Search-UnifiedAuditLog cmdlet in Exchange Online PowerShell to search and export audit records. citehttps://learn.microsoft.com/purview/audit-log-export-records#use-powershell-to-search-and-export-audit-log-records

High-level process:

  1. Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell.

  2. Run Search-UnifiedAuditLog for the date range.

  3. Search SharePoint-related audit records.

  4. Export the results to CSV for filtering and reporting. citehttps://learn.microsoft.com/purview/audit-log-export-records#use-powershell-to-search-and-export-audit-log-records

This is especially useful if:

  • you need a report,

  • you want to search a large range of data,

  • or you want to automate the process.

Things to check if you can’t find the log

If no results appear, check these common causes:

  1. Wrong date range

    • Expand the time window.

  2. Audit retention expired

    • Older events may no longer be available depending on license. citehttps://learn.microsoft.com/purview/audit-search#before-you-search-the-audit-log

  3. Wrong activity selected

    • Try both:

      • deleted

      • recycled

      • recycle bin deletion events

  4. Auditing not enabled

    • In most tenants this is on, but if it was disabled previously, older activity may not exist. Microsoft notes audit log ingestion can be turned on or off. citehttps://learn.microsoft.com/purview/audit-search#before-you-search-the-audit-log

  5. Looking in SharePoint site settings instead of Purview

    • File deletion history is generally tracked in the Microsoft 365 unified audit log, not as a simple “deletion report” inside the SharePoint site itself.

Simple example

If a user says, “The file Budget.xlsx disappeared from the Finance SharePoint site,” you would:

  1. Open Purview Audit
  2. Search the last 7–30 days

  3. Filter activities to:

    • FileDeleted

    • FileRecycled

    • FileDeletedFirstStageRecycleBin

    • FileDeletedSecondStageRecycleBin
  4. Filter by:

    • Site URL = Finance site

    • File name = Budget.xlsx
  5. Review who deleted it and whether it is still recoverable
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