Understand calendar and delegate permissions in Exchange Online

Exchange Online calendar access combines folder permissions with optional delegate behavior. Choose the least-permissive role that lets a user complete the required work, and treat mailbox-level access as a separate permission.

Calendar permission roles

A calendar permission entry grants a named role or a set of granular rights to a user. Named roles are easier to review and maintain.

Role Read Create Edit Delete Typical use
Owner All items Yes All items All items Full control of the calendar folder, including folder-owner capabilities.
PublishingEditor All items Yes All items All items Editor access plus permission to create subfolders.
Editor All items Yes All items All items Manage all calendar items. This is also the role required for delegate flags.
PublishingAuthor All items Yes Own items Own items Author access plus permission to create subfolders.
Author All items Yes Own items Own items Create items and manage only items created by that user.
NoneditingAuthor All items Yes No Own items Create items without editing them later.
Reviewer All items No No No View access to calendar items without permission to change them.
Contributor No Yes No No Create items without viewing existing items.
LimitedDetails Free/busy, subject, and location No No No View availability and limited meeting details.
AvailabilityOnly Free/busy only No No No View availability without meeting details.
None No No No No No calendar access.

Granular rights can combine individual capabilities such as ReadItems, CreateItems, EditOwnedItems, EditAllItems, DeleteOwnedItems, DeleteAllItems, CreateSubfolders, FolderOwner, FolderContact, and FolderVisible. Use a named role when it meets the requirement. A named role makes the intended access clearer during later reviews.

Default and Anonymous identities

Every calendar includes two special permission entries:

  • Default applies to authenticated users in the organization who don't have an explicit permission entry. Its typical value is AvailabilityOnly.
  • Anonymous applies to callers who aren't authenticated and don't have access through a calendar-sharing relationship. Its typical value is None.

Changing Default changes the baseline calendar access for the organization. Lowering it below AvailabilityOnly can prevent users from retrieving free/busy information for that calendar.

Increasing Anonymous above None can expose calendar information more broadly than intended. Use a calendar-sharing relationship when an external recipient needs access.

Delegate access

A delegate manages a calendar on behalf of its owner, who is also called the principal. An Outlook delegate has the Editor calendar role and a Delegate sharing permission flag.

The SharingPermissionFlags value applies only to calendar folders and requires the Editor role:

  • None adds no delegate behavior.
  • Delegate identifies the user as an Outlook delegate.
  • CanViewPrivateItems lets the user view private calendar items. Delegate access doesn't include this capability by default.

The flags can be combined as Delegate,CanViewPrivateItems.

Delegate access also coordinates meeting-request delivery and related delegate settings. Configure delegate relationships from Outlook while the calendar owner is signed in. Exchange Online PowerShell is appropriate for calendar folder permission administration and validation, but it isn't the preferred method for creating a complete delegate relationship.

Calendar permissions and mailbox permissions

Calendar folder access and mailbox-level access are different:

  • A calendar role grants access only to the calendar folder.
  • Full Access grants mailbox-level access but doesn't define the user's calendar role.
  • Send on behalf lets a user send messages on behalf of a mailbox owner. Outlook grants this right as part of delegate configuration, but it can also exist without delegate access.

Review both folder-level and mailbox-level permissions when you evaluate a user's effective access.

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