Question:

Neither Admins nor Vault users can directly delete controlled document templates once they are created. However, Vault deletes controlled document templates in the following circumstances:

• When the existing version of the template document moves out of its Steady state
• When you delete the template document or its latest Steady state version
• When you clear the value in the Template Document Type field and re-approve the document to Steady state

But why the Document Template was not removed after the document moves out of the Steady state?

Answer:

There are several possible causes:

• The steady state of the lifecycle changes, so when moving source documents to obsolete, the system doesn't think it moves out of the Steady state.
• The document moves from the Steady state into the Superseded state directly.
• The field "Template Document Type" is empty when the document moves out of the Steady state.

Related Documentation:

Vault Help: Creating & Managing Controlled Document Templates