how to force delete in laravel 5.4

Stefan Bogdanescu

Founder & Senior Architect · 2026-06-29

Laravel Company

Title: Troubleshooting Force Deletion Issues in Laravel 5.4

Introduction
When building a user management system alongside soft deletion and force deletion options, ensuring that the force deletion option works flawlessly is essential. However, it's not uncommon for developers to encounter issues during implementation that lead to errors, such as the MethodNotAllowedHttpException we've encountered in our example. This article will guide you through diagnosing and solving your force deletion problems in Laravel 5.4.

The Route Setup
Ensure that the route is correctly defined and linked with the controller function handling the request. In our case, the following code:

php
Route::post('users/{user}/delete', 'UserController@forcedelete');

should lead to a post route that triggers the forcedelete() method in the UserController class. If the URL is not matching with the expected route or if there are other issues, this could cause problems. Double-check your code and make sure everything aligns correctly.

The Controller Code
The controller function should look like:

php
public function forcedelete(User $user)
{
     $user->forceDelete();
     return redirect('users/trash');
}

This code handles the force deletion and redirects to a specified route. If you're using different routes or not redirecting at all, check if it's causing issues with other parts of your application, such as error handling or access control.

The View Code
In our example, there is an HTML form containing an anchor tag for initiating the deletion process. Make sure this code is placed correctly in the view file and follows proper syntax:

html
<a href="{{ url('users/'.$user->id.'/delete') }}" 
   onclick="event.preventDefault(); document.getElementById('delete').submit();">
    <i class="fa fa-trash-o btn btn-danger btn-xs"></i>
</a>

<form id="delete" action="{{ url('users/'.$user->id.'/delete') }}" 
      method="POST" style="display: none;">
    {{ csrf_field() }}
    {{ method_field('DELETE') }}
</form>

Inspect and Ensure Proper Execution for CSS Classes, IDs, Action URLs, and Form Fields
Ensure that all CSS classes, IDs, action URLs, and form fields are correctly defined in your code. Mistakes in these areas could lead to unexpected behavior or errors when executing the force deletion action.

Double-Check the Database Configuration and Migrations
Make sure you've configured the database connection properly in the .env file and that all user details exist correctly within the user table. Review your Laravel migrations for any inconsistencies or issues that could result from faulty schema definitions.

Diagnose Potential Cause: MethodNotAllowedHttpException
In our example, you're experiencing a MethodNotAllowedHttpException error. This exception is raised when the HTTP method used to make the request (e.g., GET, POST) does not match any of the allowed methods defined for the route in question. Ensure that your code follows proper Laravel conventions and best practices, particularly concerning routing, controller functions, and form submissions.

Conclusion
To solve your force deletion issues on Laravel 5.4, follow these steps: ensure the correctness of your route definitions, controller code, view code, and database configuration. Additionally, inspect the proper execution of CSS classes, IDs, action URLs, and form fields within your application. If all seems to be in order, consider checking for potential compatibility issues or library conflicts that could lead to unexpected behavior. Lastly, make use of Laravel debugging tools like dd(), var_dump(), or laravel-debugbar to pinpoint the root cause of the problem and provide insightful information about your application's state.