Delete email templates in the Salesforce Classic UI

To delete a Salesforce Classic email template, it must first be detached from all resources that currently reference it. If the template is referenced by a deprecated resource (such as the retired Self-Service Portal), it cannot be deleted but can be edited to render it non-functional.

Resources That May Reference a Classic Email Template

Salesforce Classic email templates can be referenced by the following resources:

• Validation rules
• Assignment rules
• Escalation rules
• Web-to-Case settings
• Response rules
• Workflow alerts
• Process Builder process definitions
• Mass mail configurations
• Customer Success Portal
• Partner Portal
• Communities and Partner Communities
• Self-Service Portals (deprecated)
• Partner Networks
• Web-to-Lead settings
• Support Org Detail page settings
• Send Email Quick Actions

About Send Email Quick Actions: Send Email Quick Actions are buttons on Salesforce record page layouts that allow users to send emails directly from a record. A Quick Action can reference a Classic email template via the DefaultEmailTemplate field in the action configuration. The DefaultEmailTemplate field specifies which template pre-populates when the user opens the Send Email dialog from a record.

How to Delete Templates Used by Deprecated Resources

For resources that have been deprecated by Salesforce (such as the Self-Service Portal), you cannot directly delete the referenced template. Instead, edit the template content to make it non-functional — for example, clear the subject and body fields — so the template is not inadvertently sent to customers if the deprecated resource is triggered.

How to Delete Templates Used by Active Resources

To delete a template currently referenced by an active resource:

1. Identify which resource references the template (for example, check Workflow Rules in Setup for alerts using this template)
2. Open the resource and remove the template assignment by selecting a different template or clearing the template field
3. Save the resource with the updated template assignment
4. Return to the template and delete or deactivate it

Example: If a Workflow Alert in a Workflow Rule references your Classic email template, navigate to Setup > Workflow Rules, find the rule containing that alert, open the alert, and change the email template assignment to a different template. Once saved, return to the original template and delete it.

To learn more, please review Email Templates in Salesforce Classic.