---
page_type: error
code: 20009
message: "20009: Cannot delete this resource before it is complete"
level: ERROR
---

## Description

You attempted to delete a call or message resource before it was completed. If you are attempting to delete a call, wait until the call is completed and try your request again. If you are attempting to delete a message, wait several minutes and try again.

If you're seeing a message in the logs that you have already deleted, please allow up to 14 days for our systems to completely remove this record before reaching out to support.

### Possible Causes

- You requested the call or message be deleted before all of Twilio's systems finished processing it.
- In rare cases, a message or call record may take up to 14 days to be finalized and able to be deleted.

### Possible Solutions

- If you are attempting to delete a call, verify that the call is not still in-progress.
- If you are attempting to delete a call or message shortly after sending or receiving it, please wait at least 1 minute to make your DELETE request. If you receive this error after waiting 1 minute, wait several minutes and retry deletion again.
- If you encounter this issue frequently even when waiting several minutes before deleting a message or a completed call, please [contact Twilio support](https://www.twilio.com/console/support/tickets/create) with examples of affected Call or Message SIDs.
- For the highest level of privacy for Twilio SMS messages, apply for [message redaction](https://ahoy.twilio.com/message-redaction) which can automatically redact message bodies or phone numbers immediately after a message is sent or received.