Add or Delete a Non-Employee User

This article provides a comprehensive guide for managing non-employee users within a company account. It outlines the purpose of adding or deleting these users, who typically require access for specific tasks without needing an employee profile. The content includes steps for adding a non-employee user, detailing the necessary access level settings and the information required for setup. It also explains the process for deleting or reactivating a user, highlighting the importance of maintaining access levels for potential future use. Key considerations include user permissions, restrictions, and billing information, with the assurance that non-employee users will not incur additional charges. The article serves as a resource for effectively managing external collaborators in the account.

Jul 8, 2026
Knowledge

Title

Article Text

Purpose: To guide you through the process of adding or deleting a non-employee user in your company's account, providing clear instructions and important considerations for managing these external users.

Table of Contents

Overview
Add a non-employee user
Delete a non-employee user
Reactivate a non-employee user

Overview

Non-employee users are typically outside collaborators who need access to your company's account for specific tasks but do not require an employee profile. These users function differently from regular employees and have unique access, visibility, and permission settings. You can use the table below to understand how non-employee users are set up to function in your account. You will not be billed for non-employee users.

Category	Details
Access Level Settings	Non-employee users should be in a custom or Full Admin access level. This is because users in employee access levels can only see their own profile, which non-employee users do not have. Since employees cannot report to non-employee users (this would break critical functions like the org chart and Performance Management), putting them in a manager access level would not be useful. You can assign a non-employee user as the Account Owner.
Permissions (Can Do)	Can be part of the approval process for information updates, time off requests, and custom approvals Can have onboarding and offboarding tasks assigned. Can be added as a signer to e-signature templates using the Specific Person option Can be a collaborator on a job opening Can create job openings
Restrictions (Cannot Do)	Cannot receive automated e-signature requests Cannot be assigned as a manager in an employee's Reports To field, since they do not have an employee profile to store reporting information Cannot be a hiring lead for job openings
Billing	Customers will not be billed for non-employee users.
Reports	Non-employee users do not appear in most BambooHR reports since they do not have an associated employee profile. However, they will appear in the Audit Trail report when applicable.
Display Name	Non-employee users' names will appear as {Last name} {First name} on the list, even though the display name settings may be different, such as ({First name} {Last name}).
Company Directory & Org Chart	Non-employee users will not show up on the employee list, company directory, and org chart.
ATS	Non-employee users can do everything in the ATS except be assigned as the following: Hiring Lead Contact for Offer Letter Who to Contact on the New Hire Packet Manager

Add a non-employee user

To add a non-employee user in BambooHR, navigate to Settings and select Access Levels. Determine which access level they should be added to (Full Admin or custom).

Once an access level is selected, click on the action menu in the top right corner and select Add a New Non-Employee User.

Next, you will get a prompt to add the user's first name, last name, and email address. As soon as you save the addition, an invitation is sent to the user to log in to BambooHR.

Non-employee users will not show up in the company directory, and they will not have an employee profile. For more information about non-employee users, click here.

Need to add a non-employee user as a Full Admin? Click here for more information.

Delete a non-employee user

If you plan to restore this user's access in the future, switch their access level to No Access instead of deleting them. This removes access but keeps their information available to reactivate later.

If you still need to delete the user, find the non-employee user in their assigned access level and then click their name.

If you plan to delete this user but may re-add them later or reuse their email address, we recommend updating the email first (e.g., by adding an 'x' before it) to prevent an "email already used" error.

Then, click Delete User, and confirm the deletion by clicking Delete User again.

Reactivate a non-employee user

If a non-employee user was previously moved to No Access and needs access again, you can reactivate their account by updating their access level.

Navigate to Settings > Access Levels > No Access. Here, find the non-employee user and hover your cursor over their row. Then, select the Manage Access option that appears to the right and update their access level assignments in the next step.

Once everything is all set, click Update Access.

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