DeleteConflict
AWS DeleteConflict means the IAM resource cannot be deleted because subordinate entities are still attached (HTTP 409).
Last reviewed: February 2, 2026|Editorial standard: source-backed technical guidance
What Does Delete Conflict Mean?
IAM refused deletion because dependent child attachments still exist, so teardown fails until subordinate entities are detached in correct order.
Common Causes
- -Target IAM entity still has attached policies, access keys, MFA devices, or role associations.
- -Delete workflow runs before subordinate entities are detached/removed.
- -Parallel IAM cleanup jobs race and leave dependencies partially removed.
- -Automation omits one dependency type in teardown sequence.
How to Fix Delete Conflict
- 1List and remove all subordinate attachments before delete request.
- 2Delete in IAM dependency order: detach policies, remove profile/group links, remove keys/devices, then delete entity.
- 3Serialize IAM teardown workflows to avoid concurrent delete races.
- 4Retry delete only after dependency inventory is confirmed empty.
Step-by-Step Diagnosis for Delete Conflict
- 1Capture entity ARN/name and exact dependency message from IAM response.
- 2Enumerate attached policies, groups, keys, profiles, and MFA devices.
- 3Correlate cleanup step ordering in CloudTrail against failing delete call.
- 4Diff expected teardown checklist versus actual completed actions.
Dependency Inventory Before Delete
- -Enumerate all subordinate resources tied to target entity (example: attached managed policies, inline policies, instance profiles, access keys).
- -Validate required delete sequence for entity type (example: detach policies and remove instance profile bindings before DeleteRole).
Teardown Sequencing and Concurrency
- -Audit parallel cleanup jobs for dependency races (example: one job detaches while another issues delete prematurely).
- -Enforce idempotent teardown checkpoints (example: verify zero dependencies before final delete API call).
How to Verify the Fix
- -Retry delete and confirm DeleteConflict no longer appears.
- -Validate entity and all subordinate attachments are removed as expected.
- -Ensure repeated cleanup runs are idempotent and conflict-free.
How to Prevent Recurrence
- -Use explicit IAM teardown playbooks with dependency order enforcement.
- -Add pre-delete dependency checks in CI/CD and runbooks.
- -Monitor IAM delete conflict rates and automate remediation hints.
Pro Tip
- -build a dependency graph snapshot (inline policies, managed policy attachments, instance profiles) and execute deletions in topological order.
Decision Support
Compare Guide
409 Conflict vs 412 Precondition Failed: When to Use Each
Choose 412 when If-Match or If-Unmodified-Since checks fail; choose 409 for state conflicts without failed precondition headers during concurrent updates.
Playbook
Conflict and Concurrency Playbook (409 / 412 / OptimisticLock)
Use this playbook to separate true write conflicts from stale precondition failures, then apply safe re-fetch, optimistic-lock, and retry choices.
Official References
Provider Context
This guidance is specific to AWS services. Always validate implementation details against official provider documentation before deploying to production.