InfoPath Retirement - Content Type templates

Question

InfoPath Retirement - Content Type templates

Mcintosh, Rebecca 181

Hello,

Could you please direct me to the relevant resources to review and handle the retirement of InfoPath Forms associated with Content Types? I cannot seem to find anything relating to this and when I review my sites with these appearing on the microsoft365-assessment tool I cannot find the corresponding Form to disable it.

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Gabriel-N 18,875 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello @Mcintosh, Rebecca

Based on my research, when the report shows InfoPath usage at the Content Type level, it doesn’t always mean there’s still an actual form you can find in the UI. In many cases, the content type was customized with InfoPath in the past, and SharePoint simply retains that “InfoPath-enabled” flag, even if the form itself is no longer visible or may have already been removed.

That’s likely why you’re seeing entries like template.doc/template.docx marked as enabled, but can’t locate a specific form to disable.

Instead of looking for a separate form, I’d suggest checking where that content type is being used (lists/libraries) and confirming whether any of them are still relying on a custom form. If not, you can usually reset the content type or the list back to the default form to remove the InfoPath dependency.

For better assistance, and if you have admin access, you may also consider opening a support ticket from the Microsoft 365 admin center so the support team can take a closer look at your specific environment. Since this is a user-to-user forum, we don’t have backend access to investigate or escalate further, but we’re always happy to share guidance based on experience and best practices.

Hope this helps, and feel free to share any updates

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Gabriel-N 18,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-15T09:44:03.1566667+00:00

Hello @Mcintosh, Rebecca

Just writing to see how things are going with this issue.

Have you had a chance to check the replies provided?

Any update would be appreciated
Mcintosh, Rebecca 181 Reputation points

2026-06-15T10:39:40.16+00:00

Can you please describe how I would do this please?

If not, you can usually reset the content type or the list back to the default form to remove the InfoPath dependency.

I have located the Content Types that reference the template in the assessment tool - I cannot see how they were modified with InfoPath as it is a blank Word file but if it just needs to be reset to clear the dependency then I'd like to know how to do it.
Mcintosh, Rebecca 181 Reputation points

2026-06-15T10:47:14.8266667+00:00

And another question - if the Content Type was used to create a file (these are Word templates) - will those completed documents be affected by the retirement or are these now OK as they are now saved as Word docx files?
Gabriel-N 18,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-15T15:49:53.2766667+00:00
Hello @Mcintosh, Rebecca

Sorry for the late reply and thank you for your questions. For your first question:

If any lists or libraries are using these Content Types, you can try resetting them back to the default form as follows:

Switch to the classic SharePoint experience (if needed)

Go to List/Library Settings > Form Settings

Select “Use the default SharePoint form”

(Optional) Check “Delete the InfoPath Form from the server” if the option is available

Save your changes

This will reset the form experience and, in many cases, clear the InfoPath flag reported by the assessment tool.

For Site Content Types themselves, there isn’t a direct “reset to default form” option in the UI. A common long-term approach is:

Create a new clean Content Type (based on Document or the same parent type)

Do not apply any custom form or legacy template

Add this new Content Type to the affected libraries

Set it as the default

(Optional) Update existing items to use the new Content Type

Once everything has been moved over, you can hide or remove the old Content Type. In more advanced scenarios, you can also review the Content Type form associations using PnP PowerShell, but this is usually only needed if you want to inspect or clean up the configuration at a deeper level.

For your second question:

Your existing Word documents should not be affected.

Once a document has been created and saved as a standard .docx file, it is simply stored as a normal SharePoint document and is no longer dependent on InfoPath. The retirement mainly impacts interactive forms (for example, opening, editing, or submitting InfoPath-based forms).

So in your case, completed Word documents will continue to work as usual.

Hope this helps clarify things a bit, and feel free to share any updates.
Gabriel-N 18,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-16T08:49:48.5066667+00:00

Hello @Mcintosh, Rebecca

If you still have further concerns, please feel free to let me know.
Mcintosh, Rebecca 181 Reputation points

2026-06-16T12:07:25.6766667+00:00

Thank you so much for your clarifications! I believe this is now all in hand and I have all the information I need.
Gabriel-N 18,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-16T12:40:35.7933333+00:00

Thank you for your feedback @Mcintosh, Rebecca . If possible, please consider upvoting my answer or marking it as accepted so it can help others facing similar challenges. Your support also contributes to building a stronger and more helpful community.

Thank you for your understanding.

1 additional answer

Your answer

Gabriel-N 18,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-15T09:44:03.1566667+00:00

Hello @Mcintosh, Rebecca

Just writing to see how things are going with this issue.

Have you had a chance to check the replies provided?

Any update would be appreciated
Mcintosh, Rebecca 181 Reputation points

2026-06-15T10:39:40.16+00:00

Can you please describe how I would do this please?

If not, you can usually reset the content type or the list back to the default form to remove the InfoPath dependency.

I have located the Content Types that reference the template in the assessment tool - I cannot see how they were modified with InfoPath as it is a blank Word file but if it just needs to be reset to clear the dependency then I'd like to know how to do it.
Mcintosh, Rebecca 181 Reputation points

2026-06-15T10:47:14.8266667+00:00

And another question - if the Content Type was used to create a file (these are Word templates) - will those completed documents be affected by the retirement or are these now OK as they are now saved as Word docx files?
Gabriel-N 18,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-15T15:49:53.2766667+00:00

Hello @Mcintosh, Rebecca

Sorry for the late reply and thank you for your questions. For your first question:

If any lists or libraries are using these Content Types, you can try resetting them back to the default form as follows:

Switch to the classic SharePoint experience (if needed)

Go to List/Library Settings > Form Settings

Select “Use the default SharePoint form”

(Optional) Check “Delete the InfoPath Form from the server” if the option is available

Save your changes

This will reset the form experience and, in many cases, clear the InfoPath flag reported by the assessment tool.

For Site Content Types themselves, there isn’t a direct “reset to default form” option in the UI. A common long-term approach is:

Create a new clean Content Type (based on Document or the same parent type)

Do not apply any custom form or legacy template

Add this new Content Type to the affected libraries

Set it as the default

(Optional) Update existing items to use the new Content Type

Once everything has been moved over, you can hide or remove the old Content Type. In more advanced scenarios, you can also review the Content Type form associations using PnP PowerShell, but this is usually only needed if you want to inspect or clean up the configuration at a deeper level.

For your second question:

Your existing Word documents should not be affected.

Once a document has been created and saved as a standard .docx file, it is simply stored as a normal SharePoint document and is no longer dependent on InfoPath. The retirement mainly impacts interactive forms (for example, opening, editing, or submitting InfoPath-based forms).

So in your case, completed Word documents will continue to work as usual.

Hope this helps clarify things a bit, and feel free to share any updates.
Gabriel-N 18,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-16T08:49:48.5066667+00:00

Hello @Mcintosh, Rebecca

If you still have further concerns, please feel free to let me know.
Mcintosh, Rebecca 181 Reputation points

2026-06-16T12:07:25.6766667+00:00

Thank you so much for your clarifications! I believe this is now all in hand and I have all the information I need.
Gabriel-N 18,875 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-16T12:40:35.7933333+00:00

Thank you for your feedback @Mcintosh, Rebecca . If possible, please consider upvoting my answer or marking it as accepted so it can help others facing similar challenges. Your support also contributes to building a stronger and more helpful community.

Thank you for your understanding.

Answer 1

For InfoPath forms that were published as SharePoint content types, the key is to work at the content‑type and form‑template level rather than looking for a classic “form library” template in each site.

Use these steps and resources:

Identify InfoPath content types and templates
- InfoPath form templates can be published as site content types and reused across libraries in a site collection.
- A content type defines the form template, its columns, and any document‑management settings such as workflow or policy settings.
- When a form template is published as a site content type and later updated, the change is automatically applied wherever that content type is used.
- To locate the underlying XSN when the form is deployed as a content type, inspect the WSP/solution reported by your assessment tool. For InfoPath content types, the XSN is stored in a form library that was connected to the content type at deployment time. In that library, the form is stored as a file and can be downloaded directly.
Download the InfoPath XSN for analysis or retirement
- For InfoPath forms deployed as Form Library templates, the XSN is in the Forms folder of the form library. Construct a URL in the form:
  - library URL + /Forms/template.xsn
  - Example: https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/infopath1/IHaveCodeBehind/Forms/template.xsn
- For InfoPath forms deployed as Site Content Types, the XSN is stored as a file in the associated form library (linked to the content type at deployment). From that library, download the XSN file directly.
- These downloaded templates can then be inspected, updated, or removed as part of the retirement process.
Decide whether to retire or replace each form
- Before removing InfoPath content types, first determine whether the forms are still business‑critical.
- If the form is no longer relevant, it can be retired. If the underlying data is still needed, convert the InfoPath XML data into SharePoint list items before removing the form so that the information remains accessible.
Plan remediation or migration
- Use the sandbox solution transformation guidance for InfoPath to analyze existing forms, understand whether they use code‑behind, and decide whether to fix and redeploy or move away from InfoPath to an alternative solution.
- The guidance also points to tools such as the SharePoint SandBox Solution scanner and the PnP transformation utilities that help discover and migrate InfoPath‑based solutions.
Central management considerations
- Where InfoPath Forms Services is used, form templates and associated forms can be stored and managed centrally on a server running InfoPath Forms Services.
- Publishing InfoPath templates as content types allows centralized updates: updating the content type updates all libraries using that type, which is useful when systematically retiring or replacing InfoPath forms across a site collection.

For deeper technical details and tools specifically aimed at analyzing and transforming InfoPath solutions (including those deployed as content types), review the InfoPath sandbox transformation guidance and the InfoPath Forms Services and developer resources.

References:

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InfoPath Retirement - Content Type templates

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