Permission & Access Issues

How to Change SharePoint Folder Permissions Using Power Automate Flow

Maira Mehtab Sep 28, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to automate a SharePoint workflow that dynamically removes a submitter's folder access, grants temporary access to multiple reviewers, and restores the original permissions once the review is completed.

Product: Microsoft SharePoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Managing dynamic document folder access and permission hand-offs during a multi-stage review process.
Observed behavior: SharePoint lacks a simple built-in action for this complex permission toggling, requiring an automated workflow solution to handle the inheritance and access changes.

Before you start

Ensure you have Full Control or Site Owner permissions for the SharePoint site, and verify that your Microsoft 365 account has the necessary licenses to create and execute Power Automate flows.

Solution 1Recommended

Automate Permission Changes Using Power Automate Triggers

Create a custom Power Automate flow that triggers upon list or document status changes to dynamically break inheritance and manage SharePoint folder permissions.

Because SharePoint requires custom workflows to handle complex permission toggling, using Microsoft Power Automate is the most effective approach. By configuring specific status triggers, the flow can automatically stop permission inheritance, remove the original submitter's access, and grant temporary access to designated reviewers.

Create a new automated cloud flow

Open Microsoft Power Automate and create a new automated cloud flow. Set the trigger to 'When an item is created or modified' in your specific SharePoint list or document library.

Break permission inheritance

Add the 'Stop sharing an item or a file' SharePoint action to the flow. Select your site address, list or library name, and use dynamic content to map the ID of the folder or item. This isolates the folder's permissions from the parent site.

Grant reviewer access

Add the 'Grant access to an item or a folder' action. Specify the email addresses of the three reviewers and assign them the appropriate role (such as 'Can view' or 'Can edit').

Monitor review status

Configure a 'Condition' or 'Wait for an update' action that actively monitors the item to detect when the review status is marked as complete.

Restore submitter permissions

Once the review completes, add actions to remove the reviewers' access (using 'Stop sharing' again or HTTP requests) and use 'Grant access' one final time to restore the original submitter's permissions.

Advanced Workflow Design: Since this requires careful permission mapping and handling of specific user IDs, it is highly recommended to seek detailed workflow templates or technical guidance directly from the Microsoft Power Platform Community.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change SharePoint folder permissions without using Power Automate?

Yes, you can manually manage permissions by navigating to the folder in SharePoint, clicking 'Manage Access', selecting 'Advanced settings', stopping inheritance, and manually adding or removing users. However, this manual process is tedious for recurring multi-stage reviews.

What permission level is required to run a flow that changes access rights?

The user account that creates and authenticates the Power Automate flow must have at least 'Full Control' or 'Site Owner' permissions on the target SharePoint site to successfully break inheritance and modify folder access rights.

Why isn't the 'Grant access' action updating my folder permissions correctly?

This usually happens if you have not broken the folder's permission inheritance first. If a folder is still inheriting access rules from its parent library, attempting to grant or remove access at the individual folder level via flow may be overridden or fail to behave as expected.

Document & File Issues