easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
Google ACE A project was accidentally deleted Practice Question
A project was accidentally deleted. A GCP administrator realizes the mistake 3 days later. What is the maximum time window in which the project can be restored?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse the 30-day project soft-delete period with shorter retention windows for other GCP services (like 7-day backup retention for Cloud SQL or 24-hour snapshot deletion), leading them to underestimate the recovery window.
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
✓
30 days — projects can be restored using `gcloud projects undelete` within this window
Google Cloud projects have a 30-day soft-delete period after deletion. During this window, the project can be recovered using the `gcloud projects undelete` command or the Cloud Resource Manager API, restoring all associated resources and configurations.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
24 hours — projects are permanently deleted after one day
Why it's wrong here
The recovery window is far longer than 24 hours; it spans 30 days from the moment the project is deleted, as documented in the project lifecycle. Within those first 24 hours, the project is still in its recoverable soft-delete phase, so the claim that it disappears after one day is incorrect. You could safely wait several days before initiating recovery with `gcloud projects undelete` without losing data.
- ✗
7 days — projects enter a one-week soft-delete period
Why it's wrong here
A 7-day soft-delete period is not accurate; the official retention period is a full 30 days, not one week. While some cloud services use shorter grace periods, Google Cloud explicitly configures this deletion window to give administrators a comfortable month to notice and correct accidental deletions. After 30 days the project is permanently expired, but a seven-day claim would misrepresent the actual duration and lead to unnecessary panic.
- ✓
30 days — projects can be restored using `gcloud projects undelete` within this window
Why this is correct
Deleted Google Cloud projects are not removed instantly; instead, they enter a soft-delete state for exactly 30 days. During this window, you can restore the project by running `gcloud projects undelete [PROJECT_ID]` or by using the Cloud Console's Resource Manager page. After 30 days, the project and its underlying resources are permanently purged and cannot be recovered. Note that the project ID must still be available and you need appropriate IAM permissions to perform the undelete.
- ✗
Projects are permanently deleted immediately and cannot be recovered
Why it's wrong here
This statement is false because Google Cloud intentionally provides a 30-day grace period to safeguard against accidental deletions. The recovery mechanism is a core feature: the `undelete` command and the Console allow you to bring a deleted project back to an active state. If projects were permanently deleted immediately, the `gcloud projects undelete` operation would be useless, and many users would lose critical resources due to simple mistakes.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.