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Bulk add group members in Azure Active Directory

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You can add multiple members to a group by using a comma-separated values (CSV) file to bulk import group members in the portal for Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), part of Microsoft Entra.

Understand the CSV template

Download and fill in the bulk upload CSV template to successfully add Azure AD group members in bulk. Your CSV template might look like this example:

Spreadsheet for upload and call-outs explaining the purpose and values for each row and column

CSV template structure

The rows in a downloaded CSV template are as follows:

  • Version number: The first row containing the version number must be included in the upload CSV.
  • Column headings: The format of the column headings is <Item name> [PropertyName] <Required or blank>. For example, Member object ID or user principal name [memberObjectIdOrUpn] Required. Some older versions of the template might have slight variations. For group membership changes, you have the option of which identifier to use: member object ID or user principal name.
  • Examples row: We have included in the template a row of examples of acceptable values for each column. You must remove the examples row and replace it with your own entries.

Additional guidance

  • The first two rows of the upload template must not be removed or modified, or the upload can't be processed.
  • The required columns are listed first.
  • We don't recommend adding new columns to the template. Any other columns you add are ignored and not processed.
  • We recommend that you download the latest version of the CSV template as often as possible.
  • Add at least two users' UPNs or object IDs to successfully upload the file.

To bulk import group members

  1. Sign in to the Azure portal with a User administrator account in the organization. Group owners can also bulk import members of groups they own.

  2. In Azure AD, select Groups > All groups.

  3. Open the group to which you're adding members and then select Members.

  4. On the Members page, select bulk operations and then choose Import members.

  5. On the Bulk import group members page, select Download to get the CSV file template with required group member properties.

    The Import Members command is on the profile page for the group

  6. Open the CSV file and add a line for each group member you want to import into the group (required values are either Member object ID or User principal name). Then save the file.

    The CSV file contains names and IDs of the members to import

  7. On the Bulk import group members page, under Upload your csv file, browse to the file. When you select the file, validation of the CSV file starts.

  8. When the file contents are validated, the bulk import page displays File uploaded successfully. If there are errors, you must fix them before you can submit the job.

  9. When your file passes validation, select Submit to start the Azure bulk operation that imports the group members to the group.

  10. When the import operation completes, you'll see a notification that the bulk operation succeeded.

Check import status

You can see the status of all of your pending bulk requests in the Bulk operation results page.

Check status in the Bulk Operations Results page.

For details about each line item within the bulk operation, select the values under the # Success, # Failure, or Total Requests columns. If failures occurred, the reasons for failure will be listed.

Bulk import service limits

Each bulk activity to import a list of group members can run for up to one hour. This enables importation of a list of at most 40,000 members.

Next steps