You can delete a OneNote notebook in three ways, depending on where it's stored

OneNote notebooks live in different places — some on your computer only, some in OneDrive or SharePoint — and where it lives determines how you delete it. If the notebook is stored only on your device, you delete it through OneNote itself. If it's synced to the cloud, you can delete it from OneNote or from your OneDrive folder. If it's shared with others through work or school, you may only be able to remove yourself from it, not delete it entirely. The steps differ slightly, but the process takes less than a minute once you know which type you have.

Before you delete, check where your notebook is stored. Open OneNote and look at the notebook name in the left sidebar. A small computer icon means it's local only. No icon, or a cloud icon, means it's synced to OneDrive. A building or organization icon means it's shared through work or school. Knowing this tells you which deletion method to use.

Key Takeaways

  • Local notebooks stored only on your computer are deleted by right-clicking the notebook name in OneNote and selecting delete, then confirming the removal.
  • Cloud-synced notebooks in OneDrive can be deleted from OneNote or by moving the notebook folder to your OneDrive trash from File Explorer.
  • Shared notebooks in a work or school account may not have a delete option; you can only remove yourself by right-clicking and choosing to stop syncing.
  • Deleting a notebook from OneNote removes it from that device, but cloud copies remain until you empty your OneDrive trash or your administrator removes it.
  • If you delete a notebook by mistake, you have 93 days to restore it from OneDrive's recycle bin before it is permanently gone.

How to delete a local notebook stored only on your computer

A local notebook exists only on your device and is not backed up to OneDrive. To learn about your notebook is local, open OneNote and look at the notebook name in the left sidebar. If you see a small computer icon next to it, it is local. Local notebooks are useful if you want to keep notes private and offline, but they also mean you have no cloud backup if your computer fails.

Right-click the notebook name in the left sidebar. A menu will appear with several options. Select "Delete Notebook" from the menu. OneNote will ask you to confirm — click "Delete" again. The notebook is now removed from OneNote and from your computer. This action is permanent on your device, though if you had synced it to OneDrive at any point in the past, a copy may still exist in your OneDrive trash.

How to delete a notebook synced to OneDrive

Most OneNote notebooks created in recent versions are automatically synced to OneDrive, even if you did not explicitly choose that. You can delete these from OneNote itself or from your OneDrive folder — both methods work, but deleting from OneDrive is sometimes clearer because you can see the folder being moved to trash. When you delete from either location, the notebook moves to your OneDrive recycle bin instead of being erased when ready.

To delete from OneNote: right-click the notebook name in the left sidebar and select "Delete Notebook." Confirm the deletion. The notebook folder will move to your OneDrive recycle bin. OneNote will stop showing it on this device within a few seconds.

To delete from OneDrive: open File Explorer on Windows or Finder on Mac. Navigate to your OneDrive folder (usually in Documents or your user folder). Find the notebook folder — OneNote notebooks appear as folders with a .one extension or as regular folders containing .one files. Right-click the folder and select "Delete" or "Move to Trash." The folder moves to your OneDrive recycle bin, and OneNote will stop showing the notebook the next time it syncs, usually within a few minutes.

How to handle shared notebooks from work or school

Notebooks stored in a work or school OneDrive, SharePoint, or Teams channel often cannot be deleted by individual users — only the owner or administrator can remove them entirely. If you no longer want to see the notebook in your OneNote, you can remove yourself from it instead. This is especially common with team notebooks or class materials that multiple people need to access.

Right-click the notebook name in the left sidebar. Look for an option that says "Stop Syncing This Notebook" or "Remove This Notebook." Click it. The notebook will disappear from your OneNote, but it remains on your organization's server and other people can still access it. If you change your mind, you can ask the owner to re-share it with you, and it will reappear in your OneNote.

What happens to your data after you delete

When you delete a notebook from OneNote, it does not disappear when ready from everywhere. If the notebook was synced to OneDrive, it moves to your OneDrive recycle bin, where it stays for 93 days. During that time, you can restore it by opening OneDrive.com, clicking the trash icon, finding the notebook folder, and clicking "Restore." This gives you a safety window if you realize you deleted something by mistake.

After 93 days, OneDrive permanently deletes the notebook and you cannot recover it. If the notebook was local only, it is deleted from your computer right away and cannot be recovered unless you have a backup. For shared notebooks, deletion depends on your organization's retention policies — your administrator may keep copies for compliance reasons even after you remove it.

Freeing up space on your computer

Deleting a notebook from OneNote does not always free up disk space when ready, especially if the notebook was large. OneNote may keep cached copies of notebook data on your device for a short time. To force a cleanup, close OneNote completely, then open it again. You can also manually clear OneNote's cache by going to File > Options > Advanced and clicking "Clear Cache," though this is rarely necessary.

If you want to be certain a notebook is not taking up space, check your OneDrive folder in File Explorer after deleting. Make sure the notebook folder is gone from your local OneDrive sync folder. If it is still there, right-click it and select "Always Keep on This Device" to toggle off, then delete it again. This tells OneDrive to stop storing a local copy on your computer while keeping the cloud version.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I undo a notebook deletion?

If the notebook was synced to OneDrive, yes — you have 93 days to restore it from your OneDrive recycle bin. If it was local only, no — deletion is permanent unless you have a backup. For shared notebooks, contact your administrator to see if they can restore it from their backups.

What if I only want to delete one section, not the whole notebook?

Right-click the section name (not the notebook name) in the left sidebar and select "Delete Section." This removes only that section and keeps the rest of the notebook intact. You can also delete individual pages by right-clicking the page name and selecting delete.

Will deleting a notebook from OneNote remove it from my phone or tablet?

If the notebook is synced to OneDrive, deleting it from your computer will remove it from your phone and tablet the next time they sync — usually within a few minutes. If it is local only, it will remain on your other devices because they have their own copies. You must delete it separately on each device.

Can I delete a notebook if I do not own it?

No, you cannot delete a notebook you do not own. You can only remove yourself from it by stopping the sync. Contact the owner if you want the notebook deleted entirely, or ask your administrator if the notebook should be removed from your organization.

What is the difference between deleting and archiving a notebook?

OneNote does not have a built-in archive feature. Deleting is the only way to remove a notebook from your active list. If you want to keep the data but hide the notebook, you can move it to a separate folder in OneDrive and stop syncing it in OneNote, but it will not be truly archived.