Security Policy Errors

How to Fix Cannot Create a SharePoint App Client ID and Secret

Maira Mehtab Sep 21, 2026 868 views

Question details

Users or administrators encounter an error when attempting to create a new client ID and client secret for SharePoint App-Only access.

Product: Microsoft SharePoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Creating a client ID and client secret by following Microsoft's documentation for SharePoint App-Only access.
Observed behavior: An error message appears during the creation process, preventing the generation of the app credentials, even in test tenants.

Before you start

Ensure you have Microsoft 365 global administrator or SharePoint administrator privileges before attempting to troubleshoot or escalate tenant-level configuration errors.

Solution 1Recommended

Open a Service Request in Microsoft 365 Admin Center

If you are the tenant administrator, open a support ticket directly with Microsoft, as this is typically a backend or tenant-specific issue.

Since the issue persists even in test tenants and there are no active service-health incidents reported, Microsoft's development team needs to collect logs to investigate the root cause.

Sign in to Admin Center

Create a Support Request

Navigate to the Support section in the left menu and select 'Help & support' or 'New service request'.

Provide Documentation Details

Describe the issue clearly, mentioning that you are following the official SharePoint App-Only access documentation.

Attach Evidence

Upload screenshots of the exact error message and include your tenant details so Microsoft can accurately identify the service-related failure.

Solution 2

Contact Your Organization's IT Administrator

If you are a standard user or developer without admin privileges, you must escalate the problem internally.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is SharePoint App-Only access used for?

SharePoint App-Only is an authorization model that allows an application to access SharePoint resources based strictly on the permissions granted to the app itself, regardless of which user is executing the application.

Why am I getting an error when creating a client ID in a test tenant?

Recent security policy changes or unlisted backend service issues from Microsoft can sometimes block the generation of client secrets. Opening a service request helps Microsoft's development team collect tenant-specific logs to unblock you.

How do I check for Microsoft 365 service-health incidents?

Administrators can log into the Microsoft 365 admin center, navigate to the 'Health' section in the left pane, and select 'Service health' to check for any known outages affecting SharePoint Online.

Microsoft Office Security Issues