In brief
- Proposed deletion runs for at least seven days. Anyone, including the article's creator, can stop it by removing the tag, and it cannot then be proposed again.
- The biography version, BLPPROD, applies only to biographies of living people with no sources at all, and its tag may be removed only once a reliable source is added.
- Speedy deletion skips discussion for pages that plainly meet a listed criterion, such as A7 (no indication of importance), G11 (promotion) or G12 (copyright).
- The creator of a page must not remove most speedy deletion tags, but can use the tag's contest button to explain on the talk page why the page should stay.
- Proposed deletions are restored on request. Speedy deletions under A7, G11 and G12 are not, and need a different route back.
How do proposed and speedy deletion differ from a deletion discussion?
They remove pages without a community debate. Wikipedia's deletion policy sets out three main routes, and these two exist so that obvious or uncontroversial cases do not take up a full discussion.
| Feature | Proposed deletion | BLPPROD | Speedy deletion | Articles for Deletion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applies to | Articles and files where deletion is uncontroversial | Biographies of living people with no sources at all | Pages that plainly meet a listed criterion | Anything disputed |
| Minimum time | Seven days | Seven days | None | Seven days |
| How it is stopped | Any editor removes the tag | A reliable source is added | An administrator finds the criterion not met, or an editor other than the creator removes the tag | Consensus to keep, or no consensus |
| After deletion | Restored on request | Restored once a source is supplied | Depends on the criterion | Deletion review, or a better new version |
Full discussions are covered in our guide to Articles for Deletion. This guide deals with the two quicker processes.
What is proposed deletion (PROD)?
Proposed deletion is a way to delete an uncontroversial article or file if nobody objects within seven days. An editor adds a tag stating the reason, and the page is marked for at least seven days. An administrator then checks that the tag was visible for at least seven continuous days, or 168 hours, and that nobody objected, before deleting.
Objecting is easy by design. The policy says any editor, including the article's creator, may object, and the usual way is simply to remove the tag. The objector is encouraged, but not required, to explain why. Once a proposal is removed it is aborted and may not be proposed again. If the nominator still wants the page gone, the next step is a full deletion discussion.
A page cannot be proposed for deletion at all if it has been proposed before, has previously been undeleted, or has ever been discussed at Articles for Deletion. Proposed deletion only works in the article and file namespaces.
Removing the tag is not the end of the matter. The reason the nominator gave is usually what a deletion discussion would turn on, so the sensible response is to fix it, typically by adding independent sources, at the same time. A connected person should disclose their connection when they object, and propose content changes on the talk page rather than make them.
A newer variant for machine-written articles
The proposed deletion policy also describes a separate form, LLMPROD, for articles generated by a large language model where the creator is the only significant contributor. Its waiting period is five days rather than seven, and unlike ordinary proposed deletion it can be applied to the same article more than once.
How does BLPPROD work for biographies of living people?
BLPPROD is a stricter form of proposed deletion for biographies of living people that contain no sources at all. The tag can be placed only if the biography has no sources in any form, including references and external links, that support statements about the person. If it is still unsourced after seven days, it may be deleted.
The difference from ordinary proposed deletion is how the tag comes off. It may be removed only once the biography contains a reliable source supporting at least one statement about the person. Removing it without adding such a source does not stop the process.
Two further points matter. A biography that has had its BLPPROD tag properly removed can still be put through ordinary proposed deletion, so one reliable source is the minimum, not the answer. And a biography deleted under BLPPROD may be restored when someone is prepared to add a reliable source, through an administrator or Requests for undeletion.
Before you edit anything yourself: every change, deletion discussion and declined draft stays in the page's public record, and reviewers read it. A free page health check tells you what that record already shows.
Request a page health checkWhat is speedy deletion?
Speedy deletion lets an administrator delete a page without discussion when it plainly meets one of the criteria on Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion. Any editor can tag a page, and an administrator decides whether to delete it. The policy tells administrators to use speedy deletion only in the most obvious cases and to avoid deleting a page that appears incomplete too soon after it was created.
The criteria are grouped by letter. General criteria, beginning with G, apply to every type of page, including articles, drafts, user pages and talk pages. Article criteria, beginning with A, apply only to the main article namespace, so A7 cannot be used on a draft. Numbers are not reused when a criterion is repealed, which is why the lists have gaps.
A page that has survived a deletion discussion should generally not be speedily deleted. The policy allows only a few exceptions, among them newly discovered copyright infringement under G12 and creations by banned or blocked users under G5, and only where there is no controversy.
Which speedy deletion criteria affect people and companies?
These are the criteria most relevant to pages about people and organisations. The wording below is summarised from the current criteria page.
| Criterion | What it covers | Points to note |
|---|---|---|
| A7, no indication of importance | An article about a real person, an organisation, web content or an organised event that does not indicate why its subject is important or significant. | A lower standard than notability. Excludes educational institutions, and does not apply to products, books, films, albums or software. |
| G11, unambiguous advertising or promotion | Pages that are exclusively promotional and would need to be fundamentally rewritten to become encyclopedic. | Applies to drafts and user pages too. Where the subject is notable and neutral text is possible, rewriting is preferred to deletion. |
| G12, unambiguous copyright infringement | Text copied from elsewhere with no credible claim of public domain, fair use or a compatible free licence. | Earlier versions without the infringement are kept where they exist. |
| G4, recreation of a deleted page | Pages substantially similar to one deleted through its most recent deletion discussion. | Does not apply after proposed or speedy deletion, or where the reason for deletion has been addressed. |
| G5, creations in breach of bans or blocks | Pages created by banned or blocked users in breach of the ban or block. | Only where nobody else has made substantial edits. |
| G13, abandoned drafts | Drafts and Articles for Creation submissions not edited by a human for six months. | Normally restored on request. |
| G15, unambiguously LLM-generated pages | Pages showing text addressed to the user, references that do not exist or make no sense, or technical traces of the tool. | Applies if the current revision, or a substantially similar past one, shows any of those signs. |
A7 and G11 pull in opposite directions, and self-written pages are exposed to both. A7 removes pages that describe a person or company without saying why they matter. G11 removes pages that say why they matter in the subject's own promotional voice. The deletion entry is permanent either way; our guide to what a failed attempt leaves behind covers how reviewers read it.
How do you contest a speedy deletion tag?
Use the "Contest this speedy deletion" button inside the tag, which opens the page's talk page with a space to explain why the page should not be deleted. Do it straight away, because speedy deletions can be carried out quickly.
If you created the page, do not remove the tag yourself. The criteria page says the creator must not remove a speedy deletion tag, except for a handful of criteria such as G6, G7, G13 and U1. Any other editor may remove the tag, and the policy treats that as a good-faith sign that the deletion is controversial.
A useful contest is specific to the criterion:
- For A7, point to what the article says that indicates importance, and add independent sources that support it.
- For G11, rewriting is the only real answer. Remove the promotional language, and say on the talk page what you have changed.
- For G12, replace the copied text with original wording, or show that the source is in the public domain or released under a compatible free licence.
- For G4, explain what is new since the discussion, with sources, and link to the old discussion.
State your connection to the subject in the contest. Administrators will see it in the history anyway.
What happens after a speedy or proposed deletion?
The page is deleted, the deletion log records the administrator and the criterion, and anyone visiting the title sees that entry. What can be done next depends on the process used.
| How it was deleted | The route back |
|---|---|
| Proposed deletion | Restored on request through Requests for undeletion, without argument. |
| BLPPROD | Restored when someone is ready to add a reliable source. |
| G13 | Restored on request so work can continue. |
| A7 or G11 | Not covered by Requests for undeletion. Ask the deleting administrator, or write a new version through Articles for Creation. |
| G12 | The infringing text is not restored. A new version must be original. |
| Any speedy deletion outside its criterion | Ask the administrator, then deletion review if needed. |
If a tag is contested and the page survives, the page has not been cleared. An editor who still thinks it should go can open a deletion discussion, or use proposed deletion if the page is still eligible for it. The time between the contest and any next step is the time to fix whatever the tag identified. The restoration routes are explained in our guide to restoring a deleted page.
Can you contest a deletion tag without help?
For a proposed deletion where the problem is missing sources, usually yes. Remove the tag, add the independent sources, disclose your connection, and the proposal is over. For a BLPPROD, one reliable source supporting a statement about the person ends the process. Neither needs anyone's permission.
Speedy deletion tags are harder, because the clock is short and the person most motivated to save the page is the one the rules restrict. A creator cannot remove the tag, and a contest that defends promotional wording or copied text rarely changes the outcome. Each deletion that goes ahead adds a line to the title's log, and a title that is deleted and recreated repeatedly can be protected against creation.
An experienced editor helps most before the tag appears, by writing a page that does not meet any criterion in the first place, and immediately after, by judging whether the page can be fixed in time or should be taken back to a draft and rebuilt. Our page repair service covers tagged and deleted pages, and a free page health check usually arrives within two working days.