Site collections with subsites

Last updated Oct 17, 2026 Policies

AI summary

Rencore Governance identifies Site Collections with more than one subsite. Subsites are difficult to move, archive, or manage independently, and Microsoft recommends using separate sites connected through hub sites instead. Use this detection to plan which subsites to convert to standalone sites.

Severity: Information Operation Generally available

What it detects

Shows all Site Collections that have more subsites than the root site.

Why it matters

Subsites live inside their parent site collection, so they are hard to move, archive or delete on their own, and their permissions and storage are harder to manage. Microsoft recommends separate sites connected through hub sites instead of subsites. Use this list to plan which subsites to turn into sites of their own.

The rule

Every Site Collection that has more than 1 Sites

In Rencore Governance

Details

Applies to	Site collection
Connector	SharePoint
Severity	Information
Category	Operation
Recommended	No
Recommended automation	None
License type	Standard

Other policies that check Site collection objects:

Confidential site referenced in Copilot agent (High)
Unused classic sites (Low)
SharePoint extranet sites (Information)
Classic sites (Information)
SharePoint site is inactive for more than 90 days (Medium)
SharePoint site collection lacks sensitivity label (Medium)
SharePoint site collections near storage limit (High)
SharePoint site collections with disabled owners accounts (Low)
SharePoint site collection is owned by external users (High)
SharePoint site collections with less than 2 site owners (Medium)
SharePoint site collections without any owners (Medium)
SharePoint site collection contains more than 10 agents (Medium)
Site collection is unused with more than 1 GB (Medium)
Sites that have no hubsite configured (Information)
Site collection is near subsite limit (Low)
Site collection is near the list/library limit (Low)
Site collections has reached the list/library limit (Medium)
Site collection has reached the subsite limit (Medium)

Frequently asked questions

What does the site collections with subsites policy detect?

The Site collections with subsites policy shows all Site Collections that have more subsites than the root site.

Which objects does the site collections with subsites policy check?

The Site collections with subsites policy checks Site collection objects from the SharePoint inventory and reports each one that matches its rule as a violation.

How severe is a violation of the site collections with subsites policy?

Violations of the Site collections with subsites policy have Information severity. The policy is in the Operation category.

Which module includes the site collections with subsites policy?

The Site collections with subsites policy comes with the SharePoint connector in the Digital Workplace module of Rencore Governance, which every Plan includes.

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