# Delete imported key material
<a name="importing-keys-delete-key-material"></a>

You can delete the imported key material from a KMS key at any time. Also, when imported key material with an expiration date expires, AWS KMS deletes the key material. In either case, when the key material is deleted, the [key state](key-state.md) of the KMS key changes to *Pending import*, and the KMS key can't be used in any cryptographic operations.

Symmetric encryption keys can have multiple key materials associated with them. For these keys, KMS assigns a unique identifier to each key material. You can use the [ListKeyRotations](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/APIReference/API_ListKeyRotations.html) API to view these key material identifiers and corresponding key material state (see [RotationsListEntry](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/APIReference/API_RotationsListEntry.html)). A key material state of `PENDING_ROTATION` or `PENDING_MULTI_REGION_IMPORT_AND_ROTATION` indicates the key material is not permanently associated with the KMS key. Deletion or expiration of any permanently associated key material changes the key state to *Pending import*. You can delete a specific key material by specifying its identifier using the `key-material-id` parameter in the [DeleteImportedKeyMaterial](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/APIReference/API_DeleteImportedKeyMaterial.html) API.

**Considerations for multi-Region keys**
+ When you delete the key material of a primary Region key that is in `PENDING_ROTATION` or `PENDING_MULTI_REGION_IMPORT_AND_ROTATION` state, you'll also be deleting the key materials for the replica Region keys.
+ If you delete the key material in a primary or replica Region key, only that specific key is affected and other related multi-region keys remain unchanged. Any primary or replica Region keys that have all their permanently associated key materials continue to be usable in cryptographic operations.

**Warning**  
The `key-material-id` parameter is optional and if you do not specify it, AWS KMS will delete the current key material.

Along with disabling the KMS key and withdrawing permissions, deleting key material can be used as a strategy to quickly, but temporarily, halt the use of the KMS key. In contrast, scheduling the deletion of a KMS key with imported key material also quickly halts the use of the KMS key. However, if the deletion is not canceled during the waiting period, the KMS key, associated key materials, and all key metadata are permanently deleted. For details, see [Deleting KMS keys with imported key material](deleting-keys.md#import-delete-key).

To delete key material, you can use the AWS KMS console or the [DeleteImportedKeyMaterial](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/APIReference/API_DeleteImportedKeyMaterial.html) API operation. AWS KMS records an entry in your AWS CloudTrail log when you [delete imported key material](ct-deleteimportedkeymaterial.md) and when [AWS KMS deletes expired key material](ct-deleteexpiredkeymaterial.md).

**How deleting key material affects AWS services**  
When you delete any key material, the KMS key becomes unusable right away (subject to eventual consistency). However, resources encrypted with [data keys](data-keys.md) protected by the KMS key are not affected until the KMS key is used again, such as to decrypt the data key. This issue affects AWS services, many of which use data keys to protect your resources. For details, see [How unusable KMS keys affect data keys](unusable-kms-keys.md).

## Using the AWS KMS console
<a name="importing-keys-delete-key-material-console"></a>

You can use the AWS KMS console to delete key material.

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/kms](https://console.aws.amazon.com/kms).

1. To change the AWS Region, use the Region selector in the upper-right corner of the page.

1. In the navigation pane, choose **Customer managed keys**.

1. Do one of the following:
   + Select the check box for a KMS key with imported key material. Choose **Key actions**, **Delete key material**. For symmetric encryption keys that have multiple key materials associated with them, this will delete the current key material. 
   + For symmetric encryption KMS keys with imported key material, choose the alias or key ID of a KMS key. Choose the **Key material and rotations** tab. The key material table will list all of the key materials associated with the key. Choose **Delete key material** from the **Actions** menu in the row corresponding to the key material you want to delete.

1. Confirm that you want to delete the key material and then choose **Delete key material**. The KMS key's status, which corresponds to its [key state](key-state.md), changes to **Pending import**. If the deleted key material was in `PENDING_ROTATION` state, there is no change to the KMS key's status.

## Using the AWS KMS API
<a name="importing-keys-delete-key-material-api"></a>

To use the [AWS KMS API](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/APIReference/) to delete key material, send a [DeleteImportedKeyMaterial](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/APIReference/API_DeleteImportedKeyMaterial.html) request. The following example shows how to do this with the [AWS CLI](https://aws.amazon.com/cli/).

Replace `1234abcd-12ab-34cd-56ef-1234567890ab` with the key ID of the KMS key whose key material you want to delete. You can use the KMS key's key ID or ARN but you cannot use an alias for this operation. The following command deletes the current key material which may be the only key material associated with the key.

```
$ aws kms delete-imported-key-material --key-id 1234abcd-12ab-34cd-56ef-1234567890ab
```

To delete a specific key material, specify the key material identified using the `key-material-id` parameter. Replace `123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0` with the identifier of the key material you want to delete.

```
$ aws kms delete-imported-key-material --key-id 1234abcd-12ab-34cd-56ef-1234567890ab \
    --key-material-id 123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef0
```