How do I recover items from the Recycle bin in SharePoint?

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Recycle bin retention policy

Departmental SharePoint sites feature two levels of Recycle Bin. Once an item has been deleted from a document library it is stored in the Recycle Bin for 93 days. If it is manually deleted from the Recycle Bin it is then sent to the Second-stage Recycle Bin where the original 93 days will continue to count down.

Please note: Items that expire in the Recycle Bins or items that are deleted manually from the Second-stage recycle bin are unrecoverable.

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Recycle bin

1. To navigate to the Recycle bin, select Recycle bin on the site navigation menu.
2. Scroll through the list to find the item you want to restore. Try selecting the Date deleted column then Newer to Older to help you find what you’re looking for.
3. Right click on the item you want to restore.
4. Click Restore.

Please note: The item will be restored to it’s previous location. If that location no longer exists it will be restored to the root folder. If you’re struggling to find it, try using the Search tool at the top of the site.

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Second-stage recycle bin

Once you have scrolled to the bottom of the Recycle Bin you should see the following message. “Can’t find what you’re looking for? Check the Second-stage recycle bin)”

Select the link in this message to navigate to the Second-stage recycle bin.

1. Locate the item you want to restore by searching through the list or using the Search tool.
2. Right click on the item you want to restore.
3. Select Restore.

Please note: The item will be restored to it’s previous location. If that location no longer exists it will be restored to the root folder. If you’re struggling to find it, try using the Search tool at the top of the site.

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Can’t see the item you’re trying to recover?

If you didn’t have access to the file/folder you’re attempting to recover then you will not see this in the Recycle Bin. In this instance, a Site Owner will be required to restore the item from the Recycle Bin.

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