Use this guide to create a group and manage membership in Microsoft Entra ID, including inviting external users (guests).

Prerequisites

• You must have permission to create and manage groups in the tenant
  (for example: Groups Administrator, User Administrator, or Global Administrator).
• Have the information ready:
  • Group name (for example: <Group Name>)
  • Membership approach: Assigned (manual) or Dynamic (rule-based)
  • Group Owner(s)

Create a Security Group (recommended for access control)

• Open the Microsoft Entra admin center.
• Go to: Entra ID -> Groups -> All groups.
• Select New group.
• Set the group details:
  • Group type: Security
  • Group name: <Group Name>
  • Membership type: Assigned (manual) is the simplest option
• Assign Owner(s) (recommended):
  • Owners can manage membership without needing a Global Admin.
• Select Create.

Note: If you need a Teams-enabled collaboration space, consider creating a Microsoft 365 group instead.
Security groups are commonly used for access control to apps, SharePoint resources, and Azure roles.

Add Members to a Group

• Go to: Entra ID -> Groups -> All groups.
• Select the group you want to manage.
• Open Members.
• Select Add members.
• Search for users, select them, then choose Add.

Remove Members from a Group

• Go to: Entra ID -> Groups -> All groups, then select the group.
• Open Members.
• Select the user(s) to remove.
• Select Remove.

Invite External Users (Guests)

• External people must be invited to the tenant first (they become Guest users).
• After the invite is accepted, you can grant access via group membership.
• Invite a guest user:
  • Go to: Entra ID -> Users -> All users.
  • Select New user -> Invite external user.
  • Fill in the invite details:
    • Email: the external user’s email address
    • Display name: optional but recommended
    • Personal message: optional
  • Optional: assign the user to a group during the invite:
    • In the invite flow, add Group assignment -> select <Group Name>.
  • Select Review + invite (or equivalent), then Invite.

Note: The invited user must redeem the invitation (accept it) before they can access tenant resources you grant them.

Common Issues

• You can’t see the New group or Invite external user options:
  • Your account likely lacks the required directory role. Ask a tenant admin to grant a role such as Groups Administrator or User Administrator.
• Inviting external users fails or is blocked:
  • External collaboration settings may restrict invitations. Ask a tenant admin to review Entra ID external collaboration settings.