Fix Microsoft Graph Planner Permission Error When Retrieving Plans
Question details
The user is encountering a permission error via Microsoft Graph when attempting to retrieve plans for a group without being a member of that specific group.
- Product
- Microsoft Graph API / Microsoft Planner
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Attempting to retrieve all plans across various Planner groups programmatically using the Microsoft Graph API without adding the service account to every individual group.
- Observed behavior
- Microsoft Graph returns a permission error, blocking access to the plans because the querying account lacks direct membership in the respective Planner groups.
Verify the current Graph API permissions granted to your application or user account, and ensure you have administrative access to your Microsoft 365 Admin Center to manage group memberships.
Add the Querying Account to the Relevant Planner Groups
Because Microsoft Planner currently lacks support for application-level API permissions, the only functional workaround is to explicitly add the querying user account as a member of the groups.
Microsoft Planner APIs operate under a service limitation where application permissions alone are insufficient for retrieving group plans. The service enforces delegated permissions, meaning the account executing the API call must physically be a member of the Microsoft 365 group associated with the plan.
Navigate to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center using an administrator account.
In the left-hand navigation pane, expand the 'Teams & groups' section and click on 'Active teams and groups'.
Locate and click on the specific Microsoft 365 group whose Planner plans you are trying to access via the Graph API.
Switch to the 'Members' tab, click 'View all and manage members', and add the account used for your Graph API queries to the group.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Microsoft Graph return a 403 Forbidden error for Planner APIs?
This error typically occurs because the account attempting to retrieve the data is not a member of the underlying Microsoft 365 group associated with the Planner plan. Planner currently requires delegated permissions and direct group membership to access its data.
Can I use Application permissions (app-only access) for Microsoft Planner Graph APIs?
No. As of the current Microsoft Planner service limitations, Application permissions are not supported for Planner APIs. You must use Delegated permissions with a user account that has direct access to the plans.
Is there a workaround to access all Planner plans without joining every group?
Currently, there is no supported workaround. You must manually or programmatically add the querying service account to the necessary groups, or wait for Microsoft to release application permission support for Planner.
