Tritium removal is a major unsolved development task for next step devices with carbon plasma facing components. The 2-3 order of magnitude increase in duty cycle and associated tritium accumulation rate in a next step tokamak will place unprecedented demands on tritium removal technology. The associated technical risk can be mitigated only if suitable removal techniques are demonstrated on tokamaks before the construction of a next step device. This article reviews the history of codeposition, the tritium experience of TFTR and JET and the potential impact of tritium removal on ITER's planned physics schedule. The merits and shortcomings of various tritium removal techniques are discussed with particular emphasis on oxidation and laser surface heating.