Backup retention period

You can set the backup retention period when you create a DB instance or Multi-AZ DB cluster. If you create a DB instance using the Amazon RDS API or the Amazon CLI and if you don't set the backup retention period, the default backup retention period is one day. If you create a DB instance using the console, the default backup retention period is seven days.

After you create a DB instance or cluster, you can modify the backup retention period. You can set the backup retention period of a DB instance to between 0 and 35 days. Setting the backup retention period to 0 disables automated backups. For a Multi-AZ DB cluster, you can set the backup retention period to between 1 and 35 days. Manual snapshot limits (100 per Region) don't apply to automated backups.

RDS doesn't include time spent in the stopped state when the backup retention period is calculated. Automated backups aren't created while a DB instance or cluster is stopped. Backups can be retained longer than the backup retention period if a DB instance has been stopped.