The InfoPath retirement: an archive plan for your form libraries
Most organisations spent the run-up to July 2026 rebuilding their live forms in Power Apps or Microsoft Forms. The submissions behind those forms, often years of them, were left where they were.
InfoPath Forms Services was removed from SharePoint Online on 14 July 2026, and the InfoPath 2013 client reached the end of its support on the same date. Submissions stay in their form libraries as XML files, but nothing in Microsoft 365 renders them any more, and Microsoft provides no archive tool. A practical archive plan is: list every InfoPath library, download each one's submissions and template, export them to PDF (the readable record) and Excel or CSV (the data), file both in your records system with the retention they need, and keep the original XML alongside.
What the retirement changed, and what it didn't
Changed: browser-enabled forms in SharePoint Online stopped rendering, so neither filling in a new form nor opening an old one works in the browser. The InfoPath 2013 desktop client is out of support, and it never ran on Mac.
Didn't change: the submissions are still files in their libraries, and retention policies still apply to them. The data is intact; it is just no longer readable by people without the right tooling.
Step 1: find every InfoPath library
Libraries built on InfoPath are usually form libraries, or lists and libraries with an InfoPath-customised form. Your SharePoint admin centre, a Microsoft 365 assessment report, or a PowerShell inventory script can list them. For each one, note the owner, the number of items, the date range and how long the records must be kept. That list is also your evidence that the archive was done deliberately.
Step 2: download submissions and templates
For each library, download the .xml files and the template from the library's Forms folder. Download the whole library, not a filtered view, so the archive is complete. Our SharePoint export guide covers download, OneDrive sync and PowerShell.
Step 3: export to PDF and Excel
Load each library into FormArchive and export twice: PDFs for the record, because they open anywhere and look like the form people filled in, and a spreadsheet for the data, because that is how you answer the inevitable question about all the forms from one year. Extract embedded attachments in the same pass, since they are otherwise trapped inside the XML.
Step 4: file it with the right retention
Put the PDFs, the spreadsheet, the attachments and the original XML in a records location with the retention label the library had, and record what you exported, when and from where. Keep the template too, so the forms can be re-rendered later if a different layout is ever needed.
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FAQ
When was InfoPath retired?
InfoPath Forms Services was removed from SharePoint Online on 14 July 2026, and support for the InfoPath 2013 client ended on the same date.
Does Microsoft provide a tool to archive InfoPath forms?
No. Microsoft's guidance is to rebuild live forms in Power Apps or other tools. Existing submissions are left in their libraries as XML.
Should I keep the original XML files?
Yes. Keep them next to the PDFs and spreadsheet. They are the original record, and with the template they can be re-rendered later.
How long does archiving a library take?
Downloading is usually the slow part. Rendering and exporting thousands of forms in FormArchive takes minutes on an ordinary laptop.