Microsoft Teams lets you add people from outside your organisation as guests — they can join channels, participate in chats, attend meetings, and access shared files. This is useful for working with contractors, clients, or partners without needing to set up a full Microsoft 365 account for them. Here is how to add an external guest.
Before You Start: Check Guest Access is Enabled
Guest access is controlled by your Microsoft 365 admin. If you can’t add guests, it may be disabled. An admin can enable it at admin.microsoft.com → Teams admin centre → Users → Guest access.
Add a Guest to a Team
- In the Teams sidebar, click the three dots (···) next to the Team name
- Click Manage team
- Click the Members tab
- Click Add member
- Type the external person’s email address
- Teams will show them as a guest — click Add
- Select their role: Member (can post and access channels) or Owner (can manage the team)
- Click Close
The guest receives an email invitation. They click the link to join — they can use their existing Microsoft, Google, or personal email account to sign in. They don’t need a Microsoft 365 licence.
What Guests Can and Can’t Do
Guests in Microsoft Teams have access to:
- Standard channels they’ve been added to (not private channels unless specifically invited)
- Channel chat and file sharing
- Meeting attendance and video calls
- Shared files in the channel’s SharePoint library
Guests cannot:
- See or search for other users in your organisation’s directory
- Create new Teams or channels (by default — this can be changed by admins)
- Access Teams or channels they haven’t been invited to
- Use certain admin features
Inviting an External Person to a Meeting (Without Adding to the Team)
If you just want someone to attend a single meeting rather than join a Team permanently, you don’t need to add them as a guest at all — simply add their email address when scheduling the meeting. They’ll receive an invitation and can join via a browser without a Teams account.
Adding a Guest to a Specific Channel Only
For shared channels (a specific channel type — see our channel guide), you can add external people directly to the channel without making them a guest in the whole Team. This is the best option when you want to collaborate on a specific project without giving someone access to your entire Team.
Removing a Guest
- Go to the Team → Manage team → Members
- Find the guest in the list
- Click the X next to their name to remove them
They immediately lose access to the Team, channels, and files. They retain any files they downloaded locally.
Guest Access vs External Access — What’s the Difference?
Guest access (described above) adds an external person as a named member of a specific Team. External access (also called federation) lets users from another Microsoft Teams organisation find and message your users directly in Teams chat — without joining a Team. Both can be enabled independently in the Teams admin centre.
