Forum Discussion

mobun's avatar
mobun
Copper Contributor
Apr 16, 2026

Restirct user access to SPO Root SiteCollection

Hi everyone,

In a tenant, the SharePoint Online root site collection was deliberately locked down to a very small audience.

We are currently seeing some issues that could be related to this. While investigating, I noticed that some Microsoft documentation seems to imply that the root site collection plays a special role and should be accessible for the users, for example:

  • https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/modern-root-site
  • https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sharepoint/sites/url-that-resides-under-root-site-collection-is-broken

However, I couldn’t find any explicit or official recommendation stating whether restricting access to the root site collection is supported or discouraged.

So my question is:
Is it a best practice or implicit requirement that the root site collection remains broadly accessible for M365 / SharePoint Online to work reliably?

Thanks!

Permissions
SharePoint Online

1 Reply

  • Radzik_PL's avatar
    Radzik_PL
    Brass Contributor
    Apr 18, 2026

    Hi,

    From my experience, I see that there is an "implicit requirement," although it's not an explicitly documented requirement. The root site serves an infrastructural function as the entry point for all of SharePoint Online. Lack of access to the root site caused service issues; for example, the Graph API required permissions for the root site, and Viva Connections assumed that the Home Site was accessible to users.

    Microsoft defaults to broad access (EEEU). Even in April 2019, as I recall, there was a thread about Microsoft accidentally restoring default permissions for this site when adding a new feature, indicating that functionality may be tied to its permissions.

    The root site also cannot be deleted – its absence causes 404 errors and the inaccessibility of sub-sites. Personally, I would avoid limiting access to the root site and at least maintain "Limited Access" for internal users.

    Links for more info: 

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sharepoint/sites/url-that-resides-under-root-site-collection-is-broken

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/modern-root-site

    SharePoint root site permissions issue | Microsoft Community Hub

    Root site permissions | Microsoft Community Hub

     

    I hope I helped you gain a new perspective.😎