Permission & Access Issues

How to Automatically Grant SharePoint List Item Access from a Person Column

Aamir Naveed Akram Oct 12, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to know if entering a user's name into a SharePoint Person or Group column can automatically grant them edit permissions for that specific list item.

Automatically Grant SharePoint List Item Access from a Person Column

Product: SharePoint Online
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Assigning item-level permissions dynamically based on the user specified in a list column.
Observed behavior: The standard SharePoint Online interface does not automatically grant item-level edit access when a person is entered in a Person or Group column.

Before you start

Ensure you have Full Control or Site Owner permissions on the SharePoint list to modify access rights, and confirm you have an active Microsoft Power Automate license to create custom flows.

Solution 1Recommended

Create a Power Automate Flow to Grant Item-Level Access

Since SharePoint does not support this natively, you must create a custom Power Automate flow that triggers when an item is modified, breaks default inheritance, and grants the specified user edit permissions.

To achieve automatic permission assignment, you need to break the default list permission inheritance for the newly created or modified item. Power Automate can handle this securely in the background.

Be cautious when designing this flow: having too many unique item-level permissions in a single SharePoint list can severely impact performance and loading times.

Create an automated cloud flow

Open Microsoft Power Automate, click on 'Create', and select 'Automated cloud flow'. Choose the trigger 'When an item is created or modified' under SharePoint.

Configure the SharePoint trigger

Select your Site Address and the specific List Name where the Person or Group column is located.

Stop sharing the item

Add a new action and search for 'Stop sharing an item or a file' (SharePoint). Select your Site Address, List Name, and use the dynamic content 'ID' from the trigger to specify the list item. This breaks permission inheritance.

Grant access to the selected user

Add another action called 'Grant access to an item or a folder'. Input your Site Address, List Name, and the Item ID. In the 'Recipients' field, insert the dynamic content of the 'Person Column Email' from your trigger.

Set role to 'Can edit'

In the 'Roles' field of the Grant Access action, select 'Can edit'. Save your flow and test it by creating a new list item and adding a user to the Person column.

Create a Power Automate Flow to Grant Item-Level Access

Unique Permissions Limit: SharePoint has a limit of 50,000 unique permissions per list, but performance degrades long before reaching this limit. Use item-level permissions sparingly.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I automatically grant permissions using standard SharePoint list settings?

No, standard SharePoint Online settings do not support dynamically assigning item-level access based solely on data entered in a Person or Group column. A custom automated workflow is required.

Will breaking permission inheritance affect my SharePoint list performance?

Yes, generating a large number of unique item-level permissions can cause severe performance degradation and slow down list views. Microsoft recommends using folder-level or group-based permissions whenever possible.

Where can I get help building complex Power Automate flows?

You can find detailed assistance, workflow templates, and expert advice by participating in the official Microsoft Power Automate Community forums.

Document & File Issues