(Updated) Microsoft Teams admin center: New Teams External Collaboration Administrator role

Updated March 2, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We’re excited to announce the rollout of a new built-in role-based access control (RBAC) role in the Microsoft Teams admin center called Teams External Collaboration Administrator. This role provides targeted administrative capabilities for managing external collaboration settings (Federation) in Teams, enabling organizations to delegate responsibilities securely without granting full Teams admin permissions.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in mid-March 2026 (previously early February) and expect to complete by late March 2026 (previously mid-February).

[How this will affect your organization:]

• Who is affected: Admins who manage external collaboration settings in Microsoft Teams.
• What will happen:
  • A new RBAC role, Teams External Collaboration Administrator, will be available.
  • Key capabilities include:
    • Manage external access settings for federated domains.
    • Manage External Access Policies to allow or disallow external domains.
  • Role limitations:
    • No access to the Teams admin center portal; management is only through PowerShell.
    • Assignment to Administrative Units is not supported.
  • Global admins can assign or unassign this new RBAC role from the Microsoft Entra admin center or Microsoft 365 admin center.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified dates with no admin action required before the rollout.
To prepare:

• Notify your Global admins about the availability of this new role.
• Update internal documentation and training materials to reflect the new role and its capabilities.
• Learn more:
  • Use Microsoft Teams administrator roles to manage Teams – Microsoft Learn
  • Microsoft Entra built-in roles – Microsoft Learn

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified; review as appropriate for your organization.

Updated January 30, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We’re excited to announce the rollout of a new built-in role-based access control (RBAC) role in the Microsoft Teams admin center called Teams External Collaboration Administrator. This role provides targeted administrative capabilities for managing external collaboration settings (Federation) in Teams, enabling organizations to delegate responsibilities securely without granting full Teams admin permissions.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in early February 2026 (previously late January) and expect to complete by mid-February 2026.

[How this will affect your organization:]

• Who is affected: Admins who manage external collaboration settings in Microsoft Teams.
• What will happen:
  • A new RBAC role, Teams External Collaboration Administrator, will be available.
  • Key capabilities include:
    • Manage external access settings for federated domains.
    • Manage External Access Policies to allow or disallow external domains.
  • Role limitations:
    • No access to the Teams admin center portal; management is only through PowerShell.
    • Assignment to Administrative Units is not supported.
  • Global admins can assign or unassign this new RBAC role from the Microsoft Entra admin center or Microsoft 365 admin center.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified dates with no admin action required before the rollout.
To prepare:

• Notify your Global admins about the availability of this new role.
• Update internal documentation and training materials to reflect the new role and its capabilities.
• Learn more:
  • Use Microsoft Teams administrator roles to manage Teams – Microsoft Learn
  • Microsoft Entra built-in roles – Microsoft Learn

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified; review as appropriate for your organization.