diff --git a/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/AbstractGlobalIdServiceBean.java b/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/AbstractGlobalIdServiceBean.java
index 044ca644cc4..6305b871cc0 100644
--- a/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/AbstractGlobalIdServiceBean.java
+++ b/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/AbstractGlobalIdServiceBean.java
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ public abstract class AbstractGlobalIdServiceBean implements GlobalIdServiceBean
     DataFileServiceBean datafileService;
     @EJB
     SystemConfig systemConfig;
+    
+    public static String UNAVAILABLE = ":unav";
 
     @Override
     public String getIdentifierForLookup(String protocol, String authority, String identifier) {
@@ -57,19 +59,19 @@ protected Map<String, String> addBasicMetadata(DvObject dvObjectIn, Map<String,
 
         String authorString = dvObjectIn.getAuthorString();
         if (authorString.isEmpty() || authorString.contains(DatasetField.NA_VALUE)) {
-            authorString = ":unav";
+            authorString = UNAVAILABLE;
         }
 
         String producerString = dataverseService.findRootDataverse().getName();
 
         if (producerString.isEmpty() || producerString.equals(DatasetField.NA_VALUE)) {
-            producerString = ":unav";
+            producerString = UNAVAILABLE;
         }
 
         String titleString = dvObjectIn.getCurrentName();
 
         if (titleString.isEmpty() || titleString.equals(DatasetField.NA_VALUE)) {
-            titleString = ":unav";
+            titleString = UNAVAILABLE;
         }
 
         metadata.put("datacite.creator", authorString);
@@ -77,7 +79,20 @@ protected Map<String, String> addBasicMetadata(DvObject dvObjectIn, Map<String,
         metadata.put("datacite.publisher", producerString);
         metadata.put("datacite.publicationyear", generateYear(dvObjectIn));
         return metadata;
-    }  
+    } 
+    
+    protected Map<String, String> addDOIMetadataForDestroyedDataset(DvObject dvObjectIn) {
+        Map<String, String> metadata = new HashMap<>();
+        String authorString = UNAVAILABLE;
+        String producerString = UNAVAILABLE;
+        String titleString = "This item has been removed from publication";
+
+        metadata.put("datacite.creator", authorString);
+        metadata.put("datacite.title", titleString);
+        metadata.put("datacite.publisher", producerString);
+        metadata.put("datacite.publicationyear", "9999");
+        return metadata;
+    } 
 
     protected String getTargetUrl(DvObject dvObjectIn) {
         logger.log(Level.FINE,"getTargetUrl");
@@ -424,7 +439,7 @@ public String getMetadataFromDvObject(String identifier, Map<String, String> met
         metadataTemplate.setTitle(dvObject.getCurrentName());
         String producerString = dataverseService.findRootDataverse().getName();
         if (producerString.isEmpty()  || producerString.equals(DatasetField.NA_VALUE) ) {
-            producerString = ":unav";
+            producerString = UNAVAILABLE;
         }
         metadataTemplate.setPublisher(producerString);
         metadataTemplate.setPublisherYear(metadata.get("datacite.publicationyear"));
diff --git a/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/DOIDataCiteRegisterService.java b/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/DOIDataCiteRegisterService.java
index af2e0e43d56..1eae797fa32 100644
--- a/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/DOIDataCiteRegisterService.java
+++ b/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/DOIDataCiteRegisterService.java
@@ -116,22 +116,17 @@ public String registerIdentifier(String identifier, Map<String, String> metadata
         return retString;
     }
 
-    public String deactivateIdentifier(String identifier, HashMap<String, String> metadata, DvObject dvObject) {
+    public String deactivateIdentifier(String identifier, Map<String, String> metadata, DvObject dvObject) {
         String retString = "";
-        DOIDataCiteRegisterCache rc = findByDOI(identifier);
-        try {
-            DataCiteRESTfullClient client = getClient();
-            if (rc != null) {
-                rc.setStatus("unavailable");
-                retString = client.inactiveDataset(identifier.substring(identifier.indexOf(":") + 1));
-            }
-        } catch (IOException io) {
 
-        }
+            String metadataString = getMetadataForDeactivateIdentifier(identifier, metadata, dvObject);
+            retString = client.postMetadata(metadataString);
+            retString = client.inactiveDataset(identifier.substring(identifier.indexOf(":") + 1));
+
         return retString;
     }
-
-    public static String getMetadataFromDvObject(String identifier, Map<String, String> metadata, DvObject dvObject) {
+    
+        public static String getMetadataFromDvObject(String identifier, Map<String, String> metadata, DvObject dvObject) {
 
         Dataset dataset = null;
 
@@ -148,7 +143,7 @@ public static String getMetadataFromDvObject(String identifier, Map<String, Stri
         if (dvObject.isInstanceofDataset()) {
             String description = dataset.getLatestVersion().getDescriptionPlainText();
             if (description.isEmpty() || description.equals(DatasetField.NA_VALUE)) {
-                description = ":unav";
+                description = AbstractGlobalIdServiceBean.UNAVAILABLE;
             }
             metadataTemplate.setDescription(description);
         }
@@ -157,7 +152,7 @@ public static String getMetadataFromDvObject(String identifier, Map<String, Stri
             //Note: File metadata is not escaped like dataset metadata is, so adding an xml escape here.
             //This could/should be removed if the datafile methods add escaping
             String fileDescription = StringEscapeUtils.escapeXml(df.getDescription());
-            metadataTemplate.setDescription(fileDescription == null ? ":unav" : fileDescription);
+            metadataTemplate.setDescription(fileDescription == null ? AbstractGlobalIdServiceBean.UNAVAILABLE : fileDescription);
             String datasetPid = df.getOwner().getGlobalId().asString();
             metadataTemplate.setDatasetIdentifier(datasetPid);
         } else {
@@ -173,13 +168,13 @@ public static String getMetadataFromDvObject(String identifier, Map<String, Stri
         }
         
         if (title.isEmpty() || title.equals(DatasetField.NA_VALUE)) {
-            title = ":unav";
+            title = AbstractGlobalIdServiceBean.UNAVAILABLE;
         }
         
         metadataTemplate.setTitle(title);
         String producerString = dataset.getLatestVersion().getRootDataverseNameforCitation();
         if (producerString.isEmpty() || producerString.equals(DatasetField.NA_VALUE)) {
-            producerString = ":unav";
+            producerString = AbstractGlobalIdServiceBean.UNAVAILABLE;
         }
         metadataTemplate.setPublisher(producerString);
         metadataTemplate.setPublisherYear(metadata.get("datacite.publicationyear"));
@@ -189,6 +184,31 @@ public static String getMetadataFromDvObject(String identifier, Map<String, Stri
         return xmlMetadata;
     }
 
+    public static String getMetadataForDeactivateIdentifier(String identifier, Map<String, String> metadata, DvObject dvObject) {
+
+        DataCiteMetadataTemplate metadataTemplate = new DataCiteMetadataTemplate();
+        metadataTemplate.setIdentifier(identifier.substring(identifier.indexOf(':') + 1));
+        metadataTemplate.setCreators(Util.getListFromStr(metadata.get("datacite.creator")));
+
+        metadataTemplate.setDescription(AbstractGlobalIdServiceBean.UNAVAILABLE);
+
+        String title =metadata.get("datacite.title");
+        
+        System.out.print("Map metadata title: "+ metadata.get("datacite.title"));
+        
+        metadataTemplate.setAuthors(null);
+        
+        metadataTemplate.setTitle(title);
+        String producerString = AbstractGlobalIdServiceBean.UNAVAILABLE;
+
+        metadataTemplate.setPublisher(producerString);
+        metadataTemplate.setPublisherYear(metadata.get("datacite.publicationyear"));
+
+        String xmlMetadata = metadataTemplate.generateXML(dvObject);
+        logger.log(Level.FINE, "XML to send to DataCite: {0}", xmlMetadata);
+        return xmlMetadata;
+    }
+
     public String modifyIdentifier(String identifier, HashMap<String, String> metadata, DvObject dvObject) throws IOException {
 
         String xmlMetadata = getMetadataFromDvObject(identifier, metadata, dvObject);
@@ -279,6 +299,8 @@ public HashMap<String, String> getMetadata(String identifier) throws IOException
             DOIDataCiteRegisterCache rc = findByDOI(identifier);
             if (rc != null) {
                 metadata.put("_status", rc.getStatus());
+            } else {
+                metadata.put("_status", "public");
             }
         } catch (RuntimeException e) {
             logger.log(Level.INFO, identifier, e);
@@ -418,8 +440,9 @@ public String generateXML(DvObject dvObject) {
                 .replace("${publisher}", this.publisher)
                 .replace("${publisherYear}", publisherYearFinal)
                 .replace("${description}", this.description);
+        
         StringBuilder creatorsElement = new StringBuilder();
-        if (!authors.isEmpty()) {
+        if (authors!= null && !authors.isEmpty()) {
             for (DatasetAuthor author : authors) {
                 creatorsElement.append("<creator><creatorName>");
                 creatorsElement.append(author.getName().getDisplayValue());
@@ -444,27 +467,32 @@ public String generateXML(DvObject dvObject) {
             }
 
         } else {
-            creatorsElement.append("<creator><creatorName>:unav</creatorName></creator>");
+            creatorsElement.append("<creator><creatorName>").append(AbstractGlobalIdServiceBean.UNAVAILABLE).append("</creatorName></creator>");
         }
 
         xmlMetadata = xmlMetadata.replace("${creators}", creatorsElement.toString());
 
         StringBuilder contributorsElement = new StringBuilder();
-        for (String[] contact : this.getContacts()) {
-            if (!contact[0].isEmpty()) {
-                contributorsElement.append("<contributor contributorType=\"ContactPerson\"><contributorName>" + contact[0] + "</contributorName>");
-                if (!contact[1].isEmpty()) {
-                    contributorsElement.append("<affiliation>" + contact[1] + "</affiliation>");
+        if (this.getContacts() != null) {
+            for (String[] contact : this.getContacts()) {
+                if (!contact[0].isEmpty()) {
+                    contributorsElement.append("<contributor contributorType=\"ContactPerson\"><contributorName>" + contact[0] + "</contributorName>");
+                    if (!contact[1].isEmpty()) {
+                        contributorsElement.append("<affiliation>" + contact[1] + "</affiliation>");
+                    }
+                    contributorsElement.append("</contributor>");
                 }
-                contributorsElement.append("</contributor>");
             }
         }
-        for (String[] producer : this.getProducers()) {
-            contributorsElement.append("<contributor contributorType=\"Producer\"><contributorName>" + producer[0] + "</contributorName>");
-            if (!producer[1].isEmpty()) {
-                contributorsElement.append("<affiliation>" + producer[1] + "</affiliation>");
+
+        if (this.getProducers() != null) {
+            for (String[] producer : this.getProducers()) {
+                contributorsElement.append("<contributor contributorType=\"Producer\"><contributorName>" + producer[0] + "</contributorName>");
+                if (!producer[1].isEmpty()) {
+                    contributorsElement.append("<affiliation>" + producer[1] + "</affiliation>");
+                }
+                contributorsElement.append("</contributor>");
             }
-            contributorsElement.append("</contributor>");
         }
 
         String relIdentifiers = generateRelatedIdentifiers(dvObject);
diff --git a/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/DOIDataCiteServiceBean.java b/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/DOIDataCiteServiceBean.java
index fd8fe834586..8753e2138ec 100644
--- a/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/DOIDataCiteServiceBean.java
+++ b/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/DOIDataCiteServiceBean.java
@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@
 public class DOIDataCiteServiceBean extends AbstractGlobalIdServiceBean {
 
     private static final Logger logger = Logger.getLogger(DOIDataCiteServiceBean.class.getCanonicalName());
+    
+    private static final String PUBLIC = "public";
+    private static final String FINDABLE = "findable";
+    private static final String RESERVED = "reserved";
+    private static final String DRAFT = "draft";
 
     @EJB
     DOIDataCiteRegisterService doiDataCiteRegisterService;
@@ -168,7 +173,7 @@ public void deleteRecordFromCache(Dataset datasetIn){
     public void deleteIdentifier(DvObject dvObject) throws Exception {
         logger.log(Level.FINE,"deleteIdentifier");
         String identifier = getIdentifier(dvObject);
-        HashMap<String, String> doiMetadata = new HashMap<>();
+        Map<String, String> doiMetadata = new HashMap<>();
         try {
             doiMetadata = doiDataCiteRegisterService.getMetadata(identifier);
         } catch (Exception e) {
@@ -176,10 +181,10 @@ public void deleteIdentifier(DvObject dvObject) throws Exception {
         }
 
         String idStatus = doiMetadata.get("_status");
-
         if ( idStatus != null ) {
             switch ( idStatus ) {
-                case "reserved":
+                case RESERVED:
+                case DRAFT:    
                     logger.log(Level.INFO, "Delete status is reserved..");
                     try {
                         doiDataCiteRegisterService.deleteIdentifier(identifier);
@@ -188,16 +193,15 @@ public void deleteIdentifier(DvObject dvObject) throws Exception {
                     }
                     break;
                        
-                case "public":
+                case PUBLIC:
+                case FINDABLE:
                     //if public then it has been released set to unavailable and reset target to n2t url
-                    updateIdentifierStatus(dvObject, "unavailable");
+                    Map<String, String> metadata = addDOIMetadataForDestroyedDataset(dvObject);
+                    metadata.put("_status", "registered");
+                    metadata.put("_target", getTargetUrl(dvObject));                   
+                    doiDataCiteRegisterService.deactivateIdentifier(identifier, metadata, dvObject);
                     break;
             }
-            return;
-        }
-        if (idStatus != null && idStatus.equals("public")) {
-            //if public then it has been released set to unavailable and reset target to n2t url
-            doiDataCiteRegisterService.deactivateIdentifier(identifier, doiMetadata, dvObject);
         }
     }
 
@@ -224,7 +228,7 @@ public boolean publicizeIdentifier(DvObject dvObject) {
         }
         String identifier = getIdentifier(dvObject);
         Map<String, String> metadata = getUpdateMetadata(dvObject);
-        metadata.put("_status", "public");
+        metadata.put("_status", PUBLIC);
         metadata.put("datacite.publicationyear", generateYear(dvObject));
         metadata.put("_target", getTargetUrl(dvObject));
         try {
diff --git a/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/DataCitation.java b/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/DataCitation.java
index f4aa169516f..051055efb42 100644
--- a/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/DataCitation.java
+++ b/src/main/java/edu/harvard/iq/dataverse/DataCitation.java
@@ -615,12 +615,12 @@ public Map<String, String> getDataCiteMetadata() {
         String authorString = getAuthorsString();
 
         if (authorString.isEmpty()) {
-            authorString = ":unav";
+            authorString = AbstractGlobalIdServiceBean.UNAVAILABLE;
     }
         String producerString = getPublisher();
 
         if (producerString.isEmpty()) {
-            producerString = ":unav";
+            producerString =  AbstractGlobalIdServiceBean.UNAVAILABLE;
         }
 
         metadata.put("datacite.creator", authorString);