When an employee leaves: forward, archive and delete their cPanel mailbox

When someone leaves your business, their mailbox still receives customer emails, invoices and password resets. Deleting it immediately loses those messages; leaving it untouched keeps a security hole open. This routine keeps the business running while closing access.

Before you start

• Agree internally who takes over the address (a colleague or a shared mailbox).
• Check any legal or company retention rules for business email.
• Have access to cPanel; see log in to cPanel.

Step 1: block their access immediately

1. Open cPanel → Email → Email Accounts and click Manage next to the address.
2. Under Security, set a new random password (Generate) and do not share it.
3. Under Logging In, choose Suspend. Webmail, IMAP and POP3 logins stop; incoming mail is still accepted.
4. Click Update Email Settings.
5. Remove the person from any other access too: FTP accounts, User Manager sub-accounts, CMS admin users, and change the cPanel password if they knew it.

Step 2: keep new mail flowing

• Forward the address to the colleague: Email → Forwarders → Add Forwarder, address = the old mailbox, destination = colleague's address. See forwarders.
• Or add an autoresponder telling senders who to contact instead; see autoresponders.
• Update the address in places where it is used for logins (domain registrar, payment providers, social media) so password resets reach someone who still works for you.

Step 3: archive the old mail

Choose one way to keep a copy of the existing messages:

• Move into a colleague's mailbox: temporarily unsuspend login, add both accounts to Thunderbird and copy folders across (as in IMAP migration), then suspend again.
• Download an archive: in JetBackup 5 → Email Backups, select the account and click Download. See JetBackup email.
• Keep the mailbox suspended for a few months if you are unsure, then decide.

Step 4: delete the mailbox

1. Once mail is archived and forwarding is in place, go to Email Accounts, tick the account and click Delete.
2. The forwarder you created keeps working even after the mailbox is gone, because forwarders are separate.
3. Check Disk Usage; the space is released after a short while.

Checklist

• Password changed and logins suspended
• Forwarder or autoresponder active
• Old mail archived
• Account email updated at registrars and services
• Mailbox deleted after the agreed period

Next steps

• Mailbox security options
• cPanel account security checklist