diff --git a/_data/sidebars/releases_sidebar.yml b/_data/sidebars/releases_sidebar.yml
index 343483a8edde..bd8f8686aa75 100644
--- a/_data/sidebars/releases_sidebar.yml
+++ b/_data/sidebars/releases_sidebar.yml
@@ -57,158 +57,229 @@ entries:
       url: /releases/2025-07/index.html
     - title: June
       url: /releases/2025-06/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: May
       url: /releases/2025-05/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: April
       url: /releases/2025-04/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: March
       url: /releases/2025-03/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: February
       url: /releases/2025-02/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: January
       url: /releases/2025-01/index.html
+      archived: true
   - title: 2024 Releases
     folderitems:
     - title: November
       url: /releases/2024-11/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: October
       url: /releases/2024-10/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: September
       url: /releases/2024-09/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: August
       url: /releases/2024-08/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: July
       url: /releases/2024-07/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: June
       url: /releases/2024-06/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: May
       url: /releases/2024-05/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: April
       url: /releases/2024-04/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: March
       url: /releases/2024-03/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: February
       url: /releases/2024-02/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: January
       url: /releases/2024-01/index.html
+      archived: true
   - title: 2023 Releases
     folderitems:
     - title: December
       url: /releases/2023-12/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: November
       url: /releases/2023-11/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: October
       url: /releases/2023-10/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: September
       url: /releases/2023-09/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: August
       url: /releases/2023-08/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: July
       url: /releases/2023-07/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: June
       url: /releases/2023-06/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: May
       url: /releases/2023-05/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: April
       url: /releases/2023-04/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: March
       url: /releases/2023-03/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: February
       url: /releases/2023-02/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: January
       url: /releases/2023-01/index.html
+      archived: true
   - title: 2022 Releases
     folderitems:
     - title: December
       url: /releases/2022-12/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: November
       url: /releases/2022-11/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: October
       url: /releases/2022-10/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: September
       url: /releases/2022-09/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: August
       url: /releases/2022-08/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: July
       url: /releases/2022-07/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: June
       url: /releases/2022-06/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: May
       url: /releases/2022-05/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: April
       url: /releases/2022-04/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: March
       url: /releases/2022-03/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: February
       url: /releases/2022-02/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: January
       url: /releases/2022-01/index.html
+      archived: true
   - title: 2021 Releases
     folderitems:
     - title: December
       url: /releases/2021-12/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: November
       url: /releases/2021-11/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: October
       url: /releases/2021-10/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: September
       url: /releases/2021-09/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: August
       url: /releases/2021-08/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: July
       url: /releases/2021-07/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: June
       url: /releases/2021-06/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: May
       url: /releases/2021-05/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: April
       url: /releases/2021-04/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: March
       url: /releases/2021-03/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: February
       url: /releases/2021-02/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: January
       url: /releases/2021-01/index.html
+      archived: true
   - title: 2020 Releases
     folderitems:
     - title: December
       url: /releases/2020-12/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: November
       url: /releases/2020-11/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: October
       url: /releases/2020-10/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: September
       url: /releases/2020-09/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: August
       url: /releases/2020-08/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: July
       url: /releases/2020-07/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: June
       url: /releases/2020-06/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: May
       url: /releases/2020-05/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: April
       url: /releases/2020-04/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: March
       url: /releases/2020-03/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: February
       url: /releases/2020-02/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: January
       url: /releases/2020-01/index.html
+      archived: true
   - title: 2019 Releases
     folderitems:
     - title: December
       url: /releases/2019-12/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: November
       url: /releases/2019-11/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: October
       url: /releases/2019-10-11/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: September
       url: /releases/2019-09-17/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: August
       url: /releases/2019-08-06/index.html
+      archived: true
     - title: July
       url: /releases/2019-07-10/index.html
+      archived: true
   - title: Deprecated
     url: /releases/deprecated/index.html
     folderitems:
diff --git a/_includes/sidebar.html b/_includes/sidebar.html
index c20a6fc7e27c..93851bba2dd9 100644
--- a/_includes/sidebar.html
+++ b/_includes/sidebar.html
@@ -29,14 +29,15 @@
           {% endif %}
           <ul>
             {% for folderitem in folder.folderitems %}
+              {% if folderitem.archived %}{% assign folderitem_title = folderitem.title | append: " (Archived)" %}{% else %}{% assign folderitem_title = folderitem.title %}{% endif %}
               {% if folderitem.external_url %}
-                <li><a title="{{folderitem.title}}" href="{{folderitem.external_url}}" target="_blank" rel="noopener">{{folderitem.title}}</a></li>
+                <li><a title="{{folderitem_title}}" href="{{folderitem.external_url}}" target="_blank" rel="noopener">{{folderitem_title}}</a></li>
               {% elsif page.url == folderitem.url %}
-                <li class="active"><a title="{{folderitem.title}}" href="{{folderitem.url | relative_url }}">{{folderitem.title}}</a></li>
+                <li class="active"><a title="{{folderitem_title}}" href="{{folderitem.url | relative_url }}">{{folderitem_title}}</a></li>
               {% elsif folderitem.type == "empty" %}
-                <li><a title="{{folderitem.title}}" href="{{folderitem.url | relative_url }}">{{folderitem.title}}</a></li>
+                <li><a title="{{folderitem_title}}" href="{{folderitem.url | relative_url }}">{{folderitem_title}}</a></li>
               {% else %}
-                <li><a title="{{folderitem.title}}" href="{{folderitem.url | relative_url }}">{{folderitem.title}}</a></li>
+                <li><a title="{{folderitem_title}}" href="{{folderitem.url | relative_url }}">{{folderitem_title}}</a></li>
               {% endif %}
               {% for subfolders in folderitem.subfolders %}
                 <li class="subfolders">
diff --git a/eng/ignore-links.txt b/eng/ignore-links.txt
index ca799822b3a7..5bc11625c7b2 100644
--- a/eng/ignore-links.txt
+++ b/eng/ignore-links.txt
@@ -2,4 +2,80 @@
 https://github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-pr
 https://github.com/azure/azure-rest-api-specs-pr
 https://github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-pr/blob/main/onboarding/Core_Concepts.pdf
-https://github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-pr/blob/24384df0202021ab86ee37fcb14e9554182cd014/training/azure-sdk-apis/principles/approachable/README.md
\ No newline at end of file
+https://github.com/Azure/azure-sdk-pr/blob/24384df0202021ab86ee37fcb14e9554182cd014/training/azure-sdk-apis/principles/approachable/README.md
+
+# BEGIN auto-generated archived release notes (managed by eng/scripts/Generate-Release-Structure.ps1)
+# Release notes older than 12 months. They stay available on the site but
+# are excluded from link verification so outdated links in old notes don't fail CI.
+/azure-sdk/releases/2019-07-10/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2019-08-06/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2019-09-17/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2019-10-11/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2019-11/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2019-12/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2020-01/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2020-02/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2020-03/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2020-04/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2020-05/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2020-06/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2020-07/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2020-08/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2020-09/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2020-10/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2020-11/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2020-12/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2021-01/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2021-02/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2021-03/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2021-04/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2021-05/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2021-06/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2021-07/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2021-08/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2021-09/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2021-10/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2021-11/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2021-12/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2022-01/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2022-02/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2022-03/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2022-04/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2022-05/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2022-06/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2022-07/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2022-08/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2022-09/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2022-10/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2022-11/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2022-12/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2023-01/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2023-02/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2023-03/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2023-04/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2023-05/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2023-06/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2023-07/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2023-08/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2023-09/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2023-10/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2023-11/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2023-12/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2024-01/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2024-02/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2024-03/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2024-04/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2024-05/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2024-06/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2024-07/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2024-08/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2024-09/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2024-10/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2024-11/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2025-01/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2025-02/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2025-03/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2025-04/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2025-05/index.html
+/azure-sdk/releases/2025-06/index.html
+# END auto-generated archived release notes
diff --git a/eng/scripts/Generate-Release-Structure.ps1 b/eng/scripts/Generate-Release-Structure.ps1
index 0f1e4d2e1ce6..956306787c80 100644
--- a/eng/scripts/Generate-Release-Structure.ps1
+++ b/eng/scripts/Generate-Release-Structure.ps1
@@ -7,6 +7,109 @@ param (
   [string[]]$ExcludeFileNames = @()
 )
 
+# Markers that delimit the auto-generated list of archived release note pages in
+# the ignore-links file. Everything between these markers is regenerated by
+# Update-ArchivedReleaseNotes so it can be kept in sync automatically.
+$script:ArchivedReleasesBeginMarker = "# BEGIN auto-generated archived release notes (managed by eng/scripts/Generate-Release-Structure.ps1)"
+$script:ArchivedReleasesEndMarker = "# END auto-generated archived release notes"
+
+# Parse the year/month a release note page represents from its sidebar url.
+# Returns the first-of-month DateTime, or $null if the url is not a monthly release page.
+function Get-ReleaseMonthFromReleaseUrl($url)
+{
+  if ($url -match "^/releases/(?<year>\d{4})-(?<month>\d{2})(?:-\d{2})?/index\.html$") {
+    return [DateTime]::new([int]$matches["year"], [int]$matches["month"], 1)
+  }
+  return $null
+}
+
+# Marks monthly release notes older than $monthsToKeep as archived in the sidebar and
+# regenerates the managed block of archived release note urls in the ignore-links file so
+# that link verification skips (and does not recurse into) release notes older than the
+# rolling window. Older notes remain reachable on the site; they are just not verified.
+# Operates purely on text so it works regardless of how the yaml file was formatted.
+function Update-ArchivedReleaseNotes
+{
+  param(
+    [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$sidebarPath,
+    [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$ignoreLinksPath,
+    [DateTime]$referenceDate = [DateTime]::Now,
+    [int]$monthsToKeep = 12,
+    [string]$siteBaseUrl = "/azure-sdk"
+  )
+
+  # Anything strictly older than the first day of the month, $monthsToKeep months ago, is archived.
+  $cutoff = [DateTime]::new($referenceDate.Year, $referenceDate.Month, 1).AddMonths(-$monthsToKeep)
+
+  $lines = @(Get-Content -LiteralPath $sidebarPath)
+  $newLines = new-object "System.Collections.Generic.List[string]"
+  $archivedUrls = new-object "System.Collections.Generic.List[string]"
+
+  for ($i = 0; $i -lt $lines.Count; $i++) {
+    $line = $lines[$i]
+    $newLines.Add($line)
+
+    if ($line -match "^(?<indent>\s*)url:\s*[""']?(?<url>/releases/\S+?/index\.html)[""']?\s*$") {
+      $indent = $matches["indent"]
+      $url = $matches["url"]
+      $releaseMonth = Get-ReleaseMonthFromReleaseUrl $url
+
+      if ($releaseMonth) {
+        # Consume an existing archived marker (if any) so we can recompute it.
+        if (($i + 1) -lt $lines.Count -and $lines[$i + 1] -match "^\s*archived:\s*(true|false)\s*$") {
+          $i++
+        }
+
+        if ($releaseMonth -lt $cutoff) {
+          $newLines.Add("$($indent)archived: true")
+          $archivedUrls.Add("$siteBaseUrl$url")
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  Set-Content -LiteralPath $sidebarPath -Value $newLines -NoNewline:$false
+
+  $sortedArchivedUrls = $archivedUrls | Sort-Object -Unique
+
+  # Rebuild the ignore-links file keeping everything outside the managed block untouched.
+  $ignoreLines = @(Get-Content -LiteralPath $ignoreLinksPath)
+  $staticLines = new-object "System.Collections.Generic.List[string]"
+  $inManagedBlock = $false
+  foreach ($ignoreLine in $ignoreLines) {
+    if ($ignoreLine -eq $script:ArchivedReleasesBeginMarker) { $inManagedBlock = $true; continue }
+    if ($ignoreLine -eq $script:ArchivedReleasesEndMarker) { $inManagedBlock = $false; continue }
+    if (!$inManagedBlock) { $staticLines.Add($ignoreLine) }
+  }
+
+  # Trim trailing blank lines from the static portion so we control the spacing.
+  while ($staticLines.Count -gt 0 -and $staticLines[$staticLines.Count - 1].Trim() -eq "") {
+    $staticLines.RemoveAt($staticLines.Count - 1)
+  }
+
+  $outputLines = new-object "System.Collections.Generic.List[string]"
+  $outputLines.AddRange($staticLines)
+
+  if ($sortedArchivedUrls.Count -gt 0) {
+    $outputLines.Add("")
+    $outputLines.Add($script:ArchivedReleasesBeginMarker)
+    $outputLines.Add("# Release notes older than $monthsToKeep months. They stay available on the site but")
+    $outputLines.Add("# are excluded from link verification so outdated links in old notes don't fail CI.")
+    foreach ($archivedUrl in $sortedArchivedUrls) {
+      $outputLines.Add($archivedUrl)
+    }
+    $outputLines.Add($script:ArchivedReleasesEndMarker)
+  }
+
+  Set-Content -LiteralPath $ignoreLinksPath -Value $outputLines
+
+  Write-Host "Marked $($sortedArchivedUrls.Count) release note page(s) older than $monthsToKeep months as archived (cutoff $($cutoff.ToString('yyyy-MM')))."
+}
+
+# When dot-sourced (e.g. to reuse the functions above) stop here without running the
+# folder/sidebar generation below.
+if ($MyInvocation.InvocationName -eq '.') { return }
+
 if ($releaseDateString -eq "") {
   $releaseDate = [DateTime]::Now
 }
@@ -45,7 +148,12 @@ if ($publishRelease) {
   }
 
   $yml | ConvertTo-Yaml -OutFile $releaseSidebar -Force
-  
+
+  ### Archive release notes older than the rolling 12-month window so link
+  ### verification only checks recent notes (older notes stay on the site).
+  $ignoreLinksFile = Resolve-Path "$PSScriptRoot\ignore-links.txt"
+  Update-ArchivedReleaseNotes -sidebarPath $releaseSidebar -ignoreLinksPath $ignoreLinksFile -referenceDate $releaseDate
+
   # If the release folder exists exit otherwise continue on and create the release folder
   if (Test-Path $releaseFolder) {
     exit 0