How can I restore files from a locked state?

Hi Totem Road, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Are you the team admin for this Dropbox team account?

Do you see any deleted files on this page in order to recover them?

This will help me to assist further!

Thank you for the response. Sadly, there is isn't anything in deleted files. 

Is there anything else I can try? 

Hi Totem Road,

I understand your concern about recovering files from a locked Dropbox account. A locked account typically occurs when Dropbox detects suspicious activity, policy violations, or prolonged non-payment (for Business/Pro accounts). If the account was locked permanently, Dropbox may have initiated deletion after a grace period.

Unfortunately, if the account was permanently deleted, recovery is usually not possible. However, from my experience, here are steps to check:

1. Contact Dropbox Support Immediately
• Submit a ticket at Dropbox Support and explain the situation.
• Provide:
• The account’s email address.
• Any emails about the "locked state" (screenshots help).
• Proof of ownership (e.g., domain verification for the company).
2. Check Backups or Local Copies
• If any team members had local synced copies of the files, check their devices.
• Look for backups in email attachments, external drives, or cloud backups (e.g., Google Drive, Time Machine).
3. For Business Accounts
• If your company had Dropbox Business, admins might have a 30-day window to restore deleted files via the Admin

Totem Road wrote:

Is there anything else I can try?

Unfortunately not, once an account is in a locked state and you get the emails saying things will be removed that's permanent (as it says on the email). 

There is now no way, via Dropbox, to recover those files: https://help.dropbox.com/account-access/team-locked-state 

Thank you everyone for the advice - I feared this may be the case. 

I will try the steps suggested in best hope.