Guest user onboarding refers to the process of inviting and granting access to external collaborators such as partners, vendors, consultants, or freelancers in your organization’s digital environment. In Azure AD, this is handled through Azure AD B2B (Business-to-Business) collaboration.
This feature enables secure sharing of apps and services with guest users from any organization while maintaining control over your corporate data.
Why Guest User Onboarding is Important
- Streamlines collaboration between internal and external users
- Enforces organization policies (MFA, Conditional Access)
- Improves security by tracking guest activity and access
- Saves time with automated and customized workflows
- Supports branding for consistent user experience
Step 1: Set Up Azure AD for External Collaboration
- Sign in to the Azure Portal
- Navigate to:
Azure Active Directory > External Identities > External collaboration settings - Configure the following:
- Guest invite settings: Choose who can invite guests (admins only, users, specific groups)
- Guest user access restrictions: Restrict permissions of guest users (default: limited access)
- Email one-time passcode (OTP): Enable for identity providers without federation
This governs your organization’s global policy for all guest users.
Step 2: Choose the Invitation Method
Azure AD supports multiple ways to onboard guest users:
1. Manual Invitation via Azure AD
- Go to
Azure AD > Users > New guest user - Fill in:
- Name
- Email address
- Optional message
- Select Groups or roles for immediate assignment
- Click Invite
The user receives an email with a link to accept the invitation.
2. Bulk Invitation
- Use a CSV file and Azure AD PowerShell or Microsoft Graph API
- Useful for inviting dozens or hundreds of users
Example PowerShell:
Import-Csv "guests.csv" | ForEach-Object {
New-AzureADMSInvitation -InvitedUserEmailAddress $_.Email -InviteRedirectUrl "https://yourapp.com" -SendInvitationMessage $true
}
3. Automated via API or Logic Apps
- Use Microsoft Graph API for automated guest onboarding
- Or trigger via Power Automate / Logic Apps based on form submission, event, or approval
Step 3: Customize the Invitation Experience
- Go to
Azure AD > External Identities > Custom user journeys (preview) - Use Azure AD B2C or Custom Policies to:
- Customize invitation emails
- Add organization branding (logos, colors)
- Display compliance notices or agreements
This enhances user trust and aligns the onboarding with your organization’s visual identity.
Step 4: Configure Terms of Use and Consent
Add compliance and data protection controls.
Configure Terms of Use:
- Go to
Azure AD > Identity Governance > Terms of Use - Upload your Terms PDF
- Choose:
- Who must accept (all guests or specific groups)
- Expiry and reacceptance policy
- Link it to your invitation policy
User Consent:
- Ensure that guest users give explicit consent when accessing sensitive applications, if needed
Step 5: Assign Access Upon Onboarding
You can assign guest users to:
- Microsoft 365 Groups (for Teams/SharePoint)
- Azure AD security groups
- Enterprise Applications (SaaS or custom apps)
Use Entitlement Management for automated assignment:
- Go to
Azure AD > Identity Governance > Entitlement Management - Create Access Packages
- Define:
- Who can request
- What access is granted (groups, apps, SharePoint sites)
- Approval workflows
- Lifecycle and expiration settings
This approach avoids manual provisioning and deprovisioning.
Step 6: Enforce Security Controls
Conditional Access
- Require MFA
- Restrict access from risky locations
- Limit session duration
- Require compliant device
Access Reviews
- Schedule periodic reviews of guest users
- Automatically remove stale or inactive users
Navigate to: Azure AD > Identity Governance > Access Reviews
Choose reviewers, frequency, and auto-removal settings.
Step 7: Monitor and Audit Guest Activity
Use the following for transparency:
- Azure AD Sign-In Logs: Monitor guest sign-in behavior
- Audit Logs: Track invites, acceptances, removals
- Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps: Advanced guest session monitoring
Best practice: Create alerts for unusual guest activity (e.g., sign-in from unknown location or many sign-ins in short time).
Step 8: Manage and Remove Guest Users
- Go to
Azure AD > Users > Filter by Guest users - Review sign-in status, last activity, group membership
- Manually delete inactive users, or automate using PowerShell or Access Reviews
Example PowerShell to list inactive guests:
Get-AzureADUser -Filter "UserType eq 'Guest'" |
Where-Object { $_.LastLogonDateTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-90) }
Bonus: Integrate Guest Onboarding into Teams
- Invite guests directly in Microsoft Teams
- Customize Teams templates to include permissions and pre-configured resources
- Enable Shared Channels (Teams Connect) for seamless B2B collaboration
Best Practices
- Limit who can invite guests to control exposure
- Brand your experience for professionalism
- Use access packages to automate provisioning
- Conduct access reviews regularly
- Enable Terms of Use for compliance
- Apply Conditional Access for robust security
- Monitor guest activity and remove inactive accounts
- Audit and report regularly