A new hire clicks a link to your project site and lands on a “You need access” page. Whether they can ask to get in, and whose inbox that request lands in, is a site setting you control.
In this tutorial, we’ll set up SharePoint access requests on a SharePoint Online site, choose who receives them, and add a custom message for requesters.
You’ll also see what the requester sees, how to approve or decline a pending request, and why owners sometimes never get the request email. We tested every step on our own site with a real request from a test user.
Quick answer: SharePoint access requests are set per site. Go to Settings > Site permissions > Change how members can share, turn Allow access requests On, pick the site owners group or a specific email, and select Save. Pending requests show up in Site settings > Access requests and invitations, and in the request email itself (Give access / Decline request).
What You Need Before You Start
An access request is a note someone without permission sends from the access-denied page. Only owners and admins can set them up, as our guide to the SharePoint site owner role explains.
- A SharePoint Online site where you’re a site owner (a member of its Owners group) or a site admin
- For Teams or Microsoft 365 group sites: owner rights in the group, because group owners become site owners
Step 1: Open Site Permissions
Open the site’s home page and select the Settings gear at the top right. Choose Site permissions. Our walkthrough to check site permissions in SharePoint Online covers the rest of this panel.
Step 2: Turn On Access Requests and Choose Who Gets Them
In the Site permissions pane, under Site Sharing, select Change how members can share. The Site sharing settings panel opens.
- Set Allow access requests to On.
- Under Choose who will receive access requests for this site, keep the owners group (ours reads SPGuides Owners) or pick Specific email and enter a user or distribution list.
- Optionally fill in Add a custom message to the request access page, for example: Please allow three days for us to review your request.
- Select Save.
The Sharing permissions buttons above are separate: they decide whether members or only owners can share. The Share menu stays visible either way, and a share by a non-owner can become an access request. Our SharePoint permissions best practices help you choose.
The classic Access Request Settings dialog
On the classic page, select Advanced permissions settings, open the PERMISSIONS tab in the ribbon and select Access Request Settings.
On our group-connected site, the dialog calls the owners option SPGuides Admins, and Site settings had no Users and Permissions section, so use the gear menu path.
Step 3: Request Access From the Access Denied Page
We tested it as Miller, an IT engineer who isn’t a site member. Older SharePoint pages said “You need permission to access this site”; today the page reads You need access with “You don’t have access to this item.” below it.
Miller typed a reason in the Write a message to the site owner box and selected Request access.
The page then changed to “You’ve requested access” with “We will email you when the item owner responds.” If people get “Sorry, this site hasn’t been shared with you” and no request option, access requests are off. Files and folders follow their site’s setting; for one file, share a link, as in our guide to SharePoint Online external sharing.
Step 4: Approve or Decline Pending Access Requests
Each request is also stored in the site. Go to Settings > Site contents and select Access requests, or use Access requests and invitations in Site settings. Neither appears until the first request arrives.
- Under PENDING REQUESTS, select the ellipsis (…) next to the person to open the details.
- In Permission, choose the group to add them to (ours defaulted to SPGuides Members [Edit]) and reply in Conversation if you like.
- Select APPROVE or DECLINE. Use SHOW HISTORY later to review past decisions.
Grant the lowest level that does the job; the Visitors group gives Read. Our comparison of SharePoint Contribute vs Edit permissions shows what each level allows.
Does This Work on Teams and Microsoft 365 Group Sites?
Yes. On group-connected sites, including Teams, requests go to the group owners by default, and Microsoft recommends managing members in Teams or the group. Our communication site vs team site comparison explains the difference.
Private and shared channel sites are managed in Teams only; SharePoint shows their permissions as read-only.
Access Requests Cheat Sheet
Default recipients by site type, from Microsoft’s docs and our test site. To get an owner’s address in a flow, extract the site owner email with Power Automate.
| Site type | Default recipient | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Team site with a Microsoft 365 group or Teams | Group owners (group administrators) | Classic dialog shows <Group> Admins |
| Communication site | Owners group | Change in Site sharing settings |
| Team site without a group / classic site | Owners group | Same panel or classic dialog |
| Project site | Primary site admin | Owners-group option routes there |
| OneDrive | Primary site admin | The OneDrive owner |
Why Aren’t Site Owners Getting Access Request Emails?
Often they are, but they miss them. Our request came from SharePoint Online (no-reply@sharepointonline.com) with the subject “Miller wants to access ‘SPGuides'” and landed in the Other tab of the Focused Inbox. Ask owners to check Other and Junk first.
Owners can pick a level under What access should this person have? and select Give access or Decline request right in the email.
If nothing arrives at all, Microsoft warns that sites using mail-enabled security groups might not deliver request emails. Also confirm the toggle is on and Specific email doesn’t hold a former employee’s address. Project sites mail the primary site admin.
Approvers with Full Control who aren’t site admins or in the Owners group get “Request approval failed”.
Can You Manage Access Requests With PowerShell?
Partly. Set-SPOSite has no access request parameter, but its -DisableSharingForNonOwners switch stops non-owners from inviting new users. The request email is stored on the site’s RequestAccessEmail property, which CSOM-based scripts like our PnP PowerShell scripts for SharePoint can read or change.
Set-SPOSite -Identity https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/Sales -DisableSharingForNonOwnersCommon Mistakes to Avoid
- Sending requests to one person. Use a distribution list so approvals don’t stall during vacations.
- Approving with Full Control. Pick Read or Edit; you can raise it later.
- Giving approvers Full Control instead of Owners membership. They need the Owners group or site admin rights.
Next Steps
Turn access requests on, send a test request from a second account and approve it. Then browse more permission topics in our SharePoint tutorials.
We’d read one of these next if you’re tightening who can get into your sites:
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I request access to a SharePoint site?
On the access-denied page, select Request access and send it. The site owner, or the address the owner chose, approves or declines it.
Who receives SharePoint access requests?
The Owners group by default; group owners on Teams and Microsoft 365 group sites. Owners can switch to a specific email or distribution list.
Where do I find pending access requests in SharePoint?
In Settings > Site contents > Access requests. The button only appears while requests are pending.
How do I turn off access requests in SharePoint Online?
In Site sharing settings, set Allow access requests to Off and select Save. People then get no option to ask for access.
Can I add a custom message to the SharePoint request access page?
Yes, in the Site sharing settings panel under Access requests. Microsoft covers every option in Set up and manage access requests.
Hey! I’m Bijay Kumar, founder of SPGuides.com and a Microsoft Business Applications MVP (Power Automate, Power Apps). I launched this site in 2020 because I truly enjoy working with SharePoint, Power Platform, and SharePoint Framework (SPFx), and wanted to share that passion through step-by-step tutorials, guides, and training videos. My mission is to help you learn these technologies so you can utilize SharePoint, enhance productivity, and potentially build business solutions along the way.