Overview of legacy blob storage account retirement

Azure Storage is retiring the legacy blob storage account storage account type. This article explains what this change means for your legacy blob storage workloads and how to prepare for the transition to general-purpose v2 (GPv2) storage accounts.

Why legacy blob storage accounts are being retired

Legacy blob storage accounts were introduced to support legacy blob storage scenarios with account-level access tiering. However, GPv2 has since become the standard for all new storage accounts, offering:

• Per-blob tiering (Hot, Cool, Archive)
• Lifecycle management
• Immutable blob storage
• Event Grid integration
• Advanced redundancy options
• Support for all storage services (Blobs, Tables, Queues, Files)

By retiring legacy blob storage accounts, Azure simplifies the platform and ensures all customers benefit from modern capabilities and consistent pricing.

Benefits of migrating to GPv2

Feature	Legacy blob storage	GPv2
Blob tiering	✅ Account-level	✅ Per-blob
Lifecycle management	❌	✅
Immutable blob storage	✅	✅
Event Grid integration	✅	✅
Support for other services	❌	✅
Redundancy options (ZRS, GRS, RA-GRS)	✅	✅
Consistent pricing meters	❌	✅

Note

GPv2 supports all blob features available in legacy blob storage accounts.

Retirement timeline and key milestones

Warning

If you do not migrate your legacy blob storage account to GPv2 by October, 2026, all existing legacy blob storage accounts will be auto migrated over to a GPv2 account, which may result in higher billing costs. Your decision not to migrate an existing legacy blob storage account will be construed as consent for Microsoft to migrate the account on your behalf.

Date	Milestone
September 2025	Retirement announced
September 2026	Creation of new legacy blob storage accounts disabled
October 2026	Full retirement; Any remaining legacy blob storage accounts automigrated to GPv2. Your decision not to migrate an existing legacy blob storage account will be construed as consent for Microsoft to migrate the account on your behalf.

After the retirement date, data access will be blocked for all legacy blob storage accounts. This change takes effect globally across all Azure regions.

Preparing for migration

Tip

Most blob-only workloads can migrate from legacy blob storage to GPv2 without code changes. Review any hardcoded pricing assumptions or tier-unaware logic to ensure compatibility with GPv2 features. GPv2 enables per-blob tiering and lifecycle rules, offering better cost optimization and automation.

To minimize risk and ensure a smooth migration:

• Inventory your legacy blob storage accounts: Use Azure Resource Graph, CLI, Azure Inventory, or the Portal to identify all legacy blob storage accounts.
• Evaluate workloads: To ensure compatibility with GPv2 (most blob-only workloads require no code changes).
• Plan for pricing changes: Understand the new GPv2 pricing model, which includes per-blob tiering and transaction costs. Use the Azure pricing calculator to estimate costs based on your usage patterns.
• Migrate to GPv2: Use the Azure portal, CLI, or automation tools to upgrade from GPv1 to GPv2. Learn more about the upgrade process.
• Validate workloads: Post-migration to ensure functionality and billing accuracy.
• Monitor usage: After migration, keep an eye on your storage account metrics to identify any unexpected changes in usage patterns or costs.

Tip

Migrate general-purpose v1 accounts to general-purpose v2 accounts by using the deployIfNotExists Azure Policy. This policy detects and identifies legacy blob storage accounts and enables you to non-disruptively upgrade those accounts in place.

A sample policy is available here: Legacy blob storage Azure policy

Identify legacy blob storage accounts using Azure Resource Graph

Azure Resource Graph is a powerful tool for exploring and querying your Azure resources at scale. You can use it to identify all legacy Blob storage and General Purpose v1 (GPv1) accounts in your environment and assess their configurations. This helps you plan your migration to GPv2 more effectively.

Here’s an example Azure Resource Graph query to identify all legacy Blob storage accounts (kind BlobStorage) and General Purpose v1 (GPv1) storage accounts (kind Storage) within your subscription that are impacted by the retirement:

resources
| where type == "microsoft.storage/storageaccounts"
| where sku.name in~ ("Standard_LRS", "Standard_GRS", "Standard_ZRS", "Standard_RAGRS", "Standard_RAGZRS")
| where kind != "StorageV2"
| extend Version = tostring(properties.siteProperties.propertiesid)
| project name, type, tenantId, kind, location, resourceGroup, subscriptionId, managedBy, sku, plan, properties, tags, identity, zones, extendedLocation, Version

Note

This query identifies both legacy blob storage accounts (kind BlobStorage) and GPv1 accounts (kind Storage) regardless of redundancy, which are also being retired. Review both account types to ensure all impacted accounts are included in your migration plan.

Special Cases: Databricks DBFS Accounts

If you see a storage account that is part of a Databricks-managed resource group in your subscription, no action is required. These accounts are read-only for you and are used by Databricks for workspace operations. Microsoft will migrate these DBFS accounts to GPv2 automatically ahead of the October 13, 2026 retirement.

How to identify DBFS accounts

• Most DBFS accounts start with the prefix dbstorage.
  Examples:

  • dbstoragezeoppf6waviqm -dbstorageb3qvu2dqsbsrg
  • dbstorageolaatsgryngy6

• These accounts are typically found under resource groups named like:

  • databricks-rg---

Important

Although dbstorage* is a common naming pattern, it’s not a reserved name, so exceptions may exist. To confirm reliably:

• The account is in a Databricks Managed Resource Group.
• You have read-only permissions (cannot modify or delete the account).

What about other accounts?

All other storage accounts including any general-purpose v1 (GPv1) or legacy blob storage accounts that you manage for your workloads must be migrated to general-purpose v2 (GPv2) by following the instructions provided earlier in this article.

What happens if you don’t migrate by the deadline

After October 13 2026, if you don't migrate your legacy blob storage account to general-purpose v2, all existing legacy blob storage accounts are auto migrated over to a general-purpose v2 account, which may result in higher billing costs. Your decision not to migrate an existing legacy blob storage account will be construed as consent for Microsoft to migrate the account on your behalf.

Where to get help and support

If you have questions, get answers from community experts in Microsoft Q&A.

If your organization or company has partnered with Microsoft or works with Microsoft representatives, such as cloud solution architects (CSAs) or customer success account managers (CSAMs), contact them for additional resources for migration.

If you have a support plan and you need technical help, create a support request in the Azure portal:

1. Search for Help + support in the Azure portal.
2. Select Create a support request.
3. For Summary, type a description of your issue.
4. For Issue type, select Technical.
5. For Subscription, select your subscription.
6. For Service, select My services.
7. For Service type, select Storage Account Management.
8. For Resource, select the resource you want to migrate.
9. For Problem type, select Upgrade or change account type, tier or replication.
10. For Problem subtype, select Upgrade to general purpose v2 storage account..
11. Select Next, then follow the instructions to submit your support request.

Need help?

Learn more about related features and how to migrate:

• Upgrade a storage account to GPv2
• Storage account overview
• Azure storage pricing