# Deleting an Amazon SQS queue
<a name="step-delete-queue"></a>

If you no longer use an Amazon SQS queue and don’t plan to use it in the near future, delete the queue. 

**Tip**  
If you want to verify that a queue is empty before you delete it, see [Confirming that an Amazon SQS queue is empty](confirm-queue-is-empty.md).

You can delete a queue even when it isn't empty. To delete the messages in a queue but not the queue itself, [purge the queue](sqs-using-purge-queue.md).

**To delete a queue (console)**

1. Open the Amazon SQS console at [https://console.amazonaws.cn/sqs/](https://console.amazonaws.cn/sqs/).

1. In the navigation pane, choose **Queues**.

1. On the **Queues** page, choose the queue to delete. 

1. Choose **Delete**.

1. In the **Delete queue** dialog box, confirm the deletion by entering **delete**.

1. Choose **Delete**.

**To delete a queue (Amazon CLI and API)**  
Choose the appropriate method to delete your queue based on your needs:
+ Amazon CLI: `[aws sqs delete-queue](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/cli/latest/reference/sqs/delete-queue.html)`
+ Amazon API: `[DeleteQueue](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/AWSSimpleQueueService/latest/APIReference/API_DeleteQueue.html)`