- A
Remove the Owner role from all users in the project
Why wrong: Organization admins can still delete projects regardless of project-level IAM — and removing Owner breaks normal administration.
- B
Set an organization policy denying the resourcemanager.projects.delete permission
Why wrong: Organization policies use constraints that restrict resource configuration — `resourcemanager.projects.delete` is not a standard org policy constraint for this purpose.
- C
Create a project lien using the Cloud Resource Manager API or gcloud
A lien blocks the `resourcemanager.projects.delete` operation on a project. Even users with delete permissions cannot delete the project until the lien is removed via API.
- D
Enable deletion protection in the project's IAM settings in the Console
Why wrong: There is no 'deletion protection' toggle in the GCP Console IAM settings — project liens are the correct mechanism and require API or gcloud to manage.
Protect Your GCP Project from Accidental Deletion with a Project Lien
This ACE practice question tests your understanding of ace exam topics. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A team runs a critical production project and wants to prevent anyone — including project owners and organization admins — from accidentally deleting it. Which mechanism provides this protection?
Quick Answer
The answer is to create a project lien using the Cloud Resource Manager API or the `gcloud` command. This mechanism is correct because a lien explicitly blocks the `resourcemanager.projects.delete` operation at the resource manager level, preventing accidental deletion regardless of the user’s role—including project owners and organization admins. On the Google Associate Cloud Engineer exam, this concept tests your understanding of operational safeguards versus identity-based permissions; a common trap is confusing liens with IAM roles or Org Policies, which control access but do not block the delete action itself. Remember that a lien acts like a physical lock on the project’s deletion switch, and it must be explicitly removed before the project can be deleted. For the exam, think of the mnemonic “Lien = Lock on Deletion” to distinguish it from other protection mechanisms.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Create a project lien using the Cloud Resource Manager API or gcloud
A project lien is the correct mechanism because it explicitly prevents the deletion of a Google Cloud project by blocking the `resourcemanager.projects.delete` operation until the lien is removed. This protection works regardless of the user's role, including project owners and organization admins, and is managed via the Cloud Resource Manager API or `gcloud` command. It is designed specifically for accidental deletion prevention, not for access control.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Remove the Owner role from all users in the project
Why it's wrong here
Organization admins can still delete projects regardless of project-level IAM — and removing Owner breaks normal administration.
- ✗
Set an organization policy denying the resourcemanager.projects.delete permission
Why it's wrong here
Organization policies use constraints that restrict resource configuration — `resourcemanager.projects.delete` is not a standard org policy constraint for this purpose.
- ✓
Create a project lien using the Cloud Resource Manager API or gcloud
Why this is correct
A lien blocks the `resourcemanager.projects.delete` operation on a project. Even users with delete permissions cannot delete the project until the lien is removed via API.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Enable deletion protection in the project's IAM settings in the Console
Why it's wrong here
There is no 'deletion protection' toggle in the GCP Console IAM settings — project liens are the correct mechanism and require API or gcloud to manage.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse IAM permissions (like denying `resourcemanager.projects.delete`) with project-level operational locks (liens), or assume a UI toggle exists for deletion protection when it does not in Google Cloud.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
A project lien works by attaching a `Lien` resource to the project via the `cloudresourcemanager.googleapis.com` API, which checks for active liens before allowing the `projects.delete` method. The lien can be set with an origin (e.g., `appengine.googleapis.com`) and a reason, and it persists until explicitly removed by a principal with the `resourcemanager.projects.updateLiens` permission. In real-world scenarios, this is critical for production projects where automated scripts or human error could otherwise trigger deletion, especially when using Terraform or CI/CD pipelines.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A company's IT admin needs to give a contractor read-only access to production logs without sharing account credentials. Using role-based access control (RBAC) and temporary scoped permissions — not a permanent shared password — is the correct pattern. Questions like this test whether you can apply least-privilege access across cloud identity services.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this ACE question test?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Create a project lien using the Cloud Resource Manager API or gcloud — A project lien is the correct mechanism because it explicitly prevents the deletion of a Google Cloud project by blocking the `resourcemanager.projects.delete` operation until the lien is removed. This protection works regardless of the user's role, including project owners and organization admins, and is managed via the Cloud Resource Manager API or `gcloud` command. It is designed specifically for accidental deletion prevention, not for access control.
What should I do if I get this ACE question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
This ACE practice question is part of Courseiva's free Google Cloud certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the ACE exam.
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