In general, a catalog should be empty before you permanently delete it. If you choose, however, you can delete the catalog and all catalog data sets, SMS-managed non-catalog data sets, or objects cataloged in it.

If the BCS is empty (it contains only records describing itself and the VVDS on its volume), simply delete it using DELETE USERCATALOG. This removes the entries for the BCS from the VTOC and VVDS, and removes the entry in the master catalog. If the BCS is shared with other systems, use EXPORT DISCONNECT on the sharing systems to finish deleting the catalog.

If the BCS no longer exists, but has a connector record in the master catalog, use EXPORT DISCONNECT to delete the connector record.

When you delete a non-empty catalog using FORCE, catalog data sets and objects cannot be erased, even if you specify ERASE on the DELETE command. You should delete any sensitive data individually before deleting the non-empty catalog.