# Delete access keys for the root user
<a name="id_root-user_manage_delete-key"></a>

You can use the Amazon Web Services Management Console, the Amazon CLI or the Amazon API to delete the root user access keys.

------
#### [ Amazon Web Services Management Console ]

**To delete an access key for the root user**
**Minimum permissions**  
To perform the following steps, you must have at least the following IAM permissions:  
You must sign in as the Amazon Web Services account root user, which requires no additional Amazon Identity and Access Management (IAM) permissions. You can't perform these steps as an IAM user or role.

1. Open the [Amazon Management Console](https://console.amazonaws.cn/) and sign in using your root user credentials.

   For instructions, see [Sign in to the Amazon Web Services Management Console as the root user](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/signin/latest/userguide/introduction-to-root-user-sign-in-tutorial.html) in the *Amazon Sign-In User Guide*.

1. In the upper right corner of the console, choose your account name or number and then choose **Security Credentials**. 

1. In the **Access keys** section, select the access key that you want to delete, and then, under **Actions**, choose **Delete**.
**Note**  
Alternatively, you can **Deactivate** an access key, instead of permanently deleting it. This way you can resume using it in the future without having to change either the key ID or secret key. While the key is inactive, any attempts to use it in requests to the Amazon API fail with the error access denied.

1. On the **Delete <access key ID>** dialog box, choose **Deactivate**, enter the access key ID to confirm you want to delete it, and then choose **Delete**. 

------
#### [ Amazon CLI & SDKs ]

**To delete an access key for the root user**
**Minimum permissions**  
To perform the following steps, you must have at least the following IAM permissions:  
You must sign in as the Amazon Web Services account root user, which requires no additional Amazon Identity and Access Management (IAM) permissions. You can't perform these steps as an IAM user or role.
+ Amazon CLI: [aws iam delete-access-key](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/cli/latest/reference/iam/delete-access-key.html)  
**Example**  

  ```
  $ aws iam delete-access-key \
      --access-key-id AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE
  ```

  This command produces no output when successful.
+ Amazon API: [DeleteAccessKey](https://docs.amazonaws.cn/IAM/latest/APIReference/API_DeleteAccessKey.html) 

------