Set up and manage access requests

The access request feature allows people to request access to content that they don't currently have permission to see. As a site owner, you can configure the feature to send you mail when someone requests access to a site. You can then choose whether to approve or decline their request. If you approve the request, you can also specify the level of permission you’d like to assign to a user.

The access request feature also works together with the Share command for sites. If someone who is not a site owner for a site (that is, someone who does not have full control for a site) uses the Share command to invite other people to view a site, then that action will generate an access request for the site owner. A site owner can then approve or decline the request or specify the permission level to be assigned to the new user.

Important: If a site is using mail-enabled security groups, then the site owners might not receive access- request email messages. For more information and to resolve this issue, see Notifications sent to SharePoint sites connected to Microsoft 365 groups aren’t received.

Together, the Share command and the access request feature simplify the process of managing who has access to a site. Site users have the opportunity to invite other people to collaborate on sites (unless you disable this feature), while site owners have the ultimate authority over who has access to these sites and what level of permissions users are assigned.

Summary of who gets the email when users request access:

Who gets the access request email by default

Users in Owners group

Primary Site administrator

Group-connected sites (including Microsoft Teams)

Users in Owners group

Modern sites without a group (#STS3 TeamSite)

Users in Owners group

Primary Site administrator

What do you want to do?

• Change access requests settings
• Approve or decline access requests for a site
• Manage invitations to external users
  • Withdraw invitations
  • Resend an invitation

  Change access requests settings

  First, you might want to decide whether members of your SharePoint in Microsoft 365 site groups can invite non-members to access the site contents. You can enable or disable this ability.

  

  Note: Disabling the option to allow sharing does not hide the Share menu, but it does show an error message when a team member attempts to share.

  To enable or disable sharing by team members with non-members

  

  Go to Settings

  • Site owners and members can share files, folders, and the site. People with Edit permissions can share files and folders.
  • Site owners and members, and people with Edit permissions can share files folders, but only site owners can share the site.
  • Only site owners can share files, folders, and the site.

  Site owners can set up the access request feature so that it sends them an email when someone requests access to a site.

  To set up access requests

  

  Go to Settings

  The site owners (this will display the name of the site, such as Contoso Radio owners)

  Note: On Project sites, if you choose the option for the site owners group, access requests are sent to the site collection primary admin.

  Approve or decline access requests for a SharePoint site

  Note: Users that have been invited using Azure Active Directory B2B will appear under "Access Requests" instead of "External User Invitations."

  

  1. Go to Settings
  Note: The Access requests button only appears if there are pending access requests.

  

  Tip: To view past requests, click Show History.

  Manage invitations to external users

  If you are a Microsoft 365 customer who is using SharePoint, then you can also use the Access Requests page to manage guest user invitations that have been issued to people who do not have licenses for your Microsoft 365 subscription.

  Important: Only site collection administrators, SharePoint administrators in Microsoft 365, and members of the site's default Owners group have permission to use the Access Requests page. However, if a user has been removed from Owners group, and is later granted Full Control permission to the site, the user will be denied access to the Access Requests page. To resolve this situation, see "Access Denied" to Access Requests list or "Request approval failed" when you process a pending request.

  Withdraw invitations

  If you want to withdraw an invitation you have sent to an external user, you can revoke the invitation before it is accepted.

  

  Go to Settings

  If the external user has already accepted an invitation, and you want to remove their access, you can do so by removing them from the SharePoint permissions group to which you assigned them. Your Microsoft 365 admin or SharePoint admin may also remove them from the list of users for your environment.

  Resend an invitation

  By default, any invitations you send to external users will expire in 90 days. You can resend an invitation within those 90 days, but that doesn't extend the length of time the invitee has to respond. You can't resend an expired invitation.

  Note: If an invitee does not accept the invitation within 90 days, and you still want that person to have access to your site, you need to send a new invitation.

  

  1. Go to Settings

  What do you want to do?

  • Change access requests settings
  • Approve or decline access requests for a site

  Change access requests settings

  First, you might want to decide whether members of your site groups can invite non-members to access the site contents. You can enable or disable this ability.

  Note: Disabling the option to allow sharing does not hide the Share menu, but it does show an error message when a team member attempts to share.

  To enable or disable sharing by team members with non-members

  

  Go to Settings

  

  >Site Permissions.

• Click Advanced permission settings.
• On the Permissions tab, click Access Request Settings.
• In the Access Requests Settings dialog box, select or de-select Allow members to share the site and individual files or folders. The checkbox under this one, Allow members to invite others to the site members group, Team Site Members. This setting must be enabled to let members share the site will automatically be selected or deselected.
• Click OK.

  Site owners can set up the access request feature so that it sends them an email when someone requests access to a site.

  To set up access requests

  

  Go to Settings

  Approve or decline access requests for a SharePoint site

  

  1. Go to Settings