---
title: "How to Delete a Database in cPanel"
description: "Permanently delete a MySQL database in cPanel, export a backup in phpMyAdmin first, and remove the database user that deletion leaves behind."
url: "https://docs.noiz.ie/cpanel/how-to-delete-a-database-in-cpanel/"
section: "cPanel"
categories:
  - "Control Panels > cPanel > Databases"
last_reviewed: "27 July 2026, against the current cPanel & WHM release"
---

# How to Delete a Database in cPanel

This guide shows you how to permanently remove a MySQL database from your hosting account using cPanel. Use it when you are decommissioning an old website, clearing out a test database, or freeing up space in your account.

**Last reviewed:** 27 July 2026, against the current cPanel & WHM release. This guide is written for Noiz hosting and is kept current against cPanel. It complements, and does not replace, the official cPanel documentation linked below.

### Official Documentation Reference

- [cPanel: Manage My Databases](https://docs.cpanel.net/cpanel/databases/manage-my-databases/)
- [cPanel: phpMyAdmin (for exporting a backup first)](https://docs.cpanel.net/cpanel/databases/phpmyadmin/)

## Before You Delete a Database

Deleting a database is **permanent and immediate**. There is no recycle bin, and the data cannot be recovered from within cPanel once it is gone. Before you continue, please note:

- **Back it up first.** If there is any chance you will need the data again, export the database before deleting it. Open **phpMyAdmin** in the **Databases** section, select the database, and use the **Export** tab to download an `.sql` file.
- **Check what uses it.** If a live application such as WordPress, Joomla, or an online store points at this database, deleting it will break that site until it is reconnected to another database.
- **Database names are prefixed.** Your databases appear with your cPanel username in front, for example `youruser_wordpress`. Make sure you are deleting the right one.

## Delete the Database

1. Log in to your cPanel account.
2. In the **Databases** section, click on **Manage My Databases** (named **MySQL Databases** on older cPanel versions). ![The MySQL Databases icon in the Databases section of cPanel](/img/mysql-databases-icon.gif)
3. Scroll down to **Current Databases**. This table lists every database on your account. Locate the one you want to remove and, in the **Actions** column, click **Delete**. ![The Delete link next to a database in the Current Databases list](/img/delete-db.gif)
4. cPanel asks you to confirm. Click **Delete Database** to complete the removal. ![The Delete Database confirmation button in cPanel](/img/db-remove-confirmation.gif)

The database and all of its tables are now gone, and it disappears from the **Current Databases** list.

## Tidy Up the Database User

Deleting a database does **not** delete the MySQL user that was attached to it. That user account remains under **Current Users** on the same **Manage My Databases** page. If the user is no longer needed anywhere, remove it as well: find it in the **Current Users** list and click **Delete**. Removing unused users keeps your account tidy and reduces the number of credentials that could be misused.

## Troubleshooting

**The Delete link does nothing or the page errors:** another process may be holding the database open. Close any open phpMyAdmin sessions and any applications connected to it, then try again.

**Your website is now showing a database connection error:** the site was still using the database you deleted. Restore it from your backup, or update the application's configuration to point at the correct database.

## Need a Hand?

If you are on a managed Noiz plan, or you are not sure whether a database is safe to remove, contact Noiz support before you delete anything. It is far quicker to check first than to recover a site after the fact.

---
Source: https://docs.noiz.ie/cpanel/how-to-delete-a-database-in-cpanel/