How long does Pipeline keep your data? Here's what stays, what's recoverable, and for how long.
Introduction
Real estate records outlive the deal. A state audit, a lawsuit, or a referral dispute can land years after closing, and your license usually requires you to hold the file that long anyway. So the real question isn't whether Pipeline stores your documents. It's how long they stay reachable, and what changes when something about the account changes.
Retention here follows the account rather than a calendar. Nothing runs on a purge schedule, and nothing expires quietly while your account is active and paid. What moves the line is a deliberate change: deleting a document, deleting a transaction, or closing the account. Each of those starts its own clock, and the clocks are different lengths, which is why "is it still there?" has more than one answer.
That gives you a plain answer for a compliance officer or an attorney. While the account is active and paid, the file is there. And if you'd rather your records didn't depend on a subscription at all, they don't have to: Pipeline gives you a way to hold your own copy offline, and a way to keep the account readable long after you've stopped doing deals. If an account has already lapsed and you need something out of it, ask before you assume it's gone.
How It Works
Retention comes down to three things: whether your account is active, whether an item was deleted, and whether the account was canceled.
While Your Account Is Active
Pipeline keeps your data for a minimum of 10 years from the date each transaction is created, and in practice it stays available for as long as your account remains active and paid. Pipeline doesn't run an automatic purge — nothing is deleted on a schedule.
If a Document Is Deleted
When you delete a document, it isn't gone right away. Deleted documents stay recoverable for about a year. After that, Pipeline removes them permanently. If you need one back, retrieve it before that window closes.
If a Transaction Is Deleted
Our team can often recover a transaction you deleted recently — send us the transaction details and we'll work to restore it. Deletions are permanent once they age out, so the sooner you ask, the better.
After You Cancel
When you cancel an account, Pipeline removes its data and online access ends. Our team can sometimes recover and reinstate a removed account for a fee, within a limited window. That gets harder the longer it's been, so download your backups before you cancel if you want to keep your records.
Keep Your Own Copy
Want your data in hand regardless of what happens to the account? You have two options: download your monthly backups for an offline copy you keep, or switch to the Archive Plan for continued read-only online access. Either way, you're covered.
Questions about your specific account? Email help@paperlesspipeline.com and we'll walk through it with you.
Find a Document Somebody Deleted
Knowing the window is one thing; knowing where to look is another. Deleted documents sit on a page of their own, and what you see there depends on your role — a master admin sees everything that was removed, while everyone else sees only what they deleted themselves.
Delete a doc and it doesn't vanish. It lands in Deleted Docs, where it stays for a year with a record of who removed it and when.
See Deleted Docs
Data Retention FAQ
Active accounts keep their data for years, deleted docs are recoverable for a window, and canceled accounts are removed. Answers to the common questions about how long your data lasts. See Data Retention FAQ.