Active Directory ProActive Directory Pro
Book a demo Free Trial

Bulk Create Microsoft 365 Users from CSV

Create many Microsoft 365 (Entra ID) accounts at once from a CSV file. Assign licenses, apps and groups to every user with a saved template, auto generate passwords or enter your own.

How to bulk create Microsoft 365 users

  1. Click Tools > Users, then Bulk create in the toolbar.

  2. Click Download template. The file already contains every supported column and one sample row.

  3. Fill in the template with the users you want to create, one row per user. Only two columns are required:

    • userPrincipalName
    • displayName

    Delete any columns you don't need. Every other column in the table below is optional and falls back to the template or a default when left blank. Save the file when you are done.

    Leave the password column blank and the app generates a random password for that user. You can download every password after the run (step 8).

  4. (Optional) To give every user the same licenses, apps and groups, pick a saved template from the Template for licenses & groups dropdown.

    Templates are created under Tools > Users > New user: fill in the shared defaults, groups and licenses (including which apps are on), then click Save as new. A row can override the dropdown with its own template column.

  5. Click Choose CSV and select your file.

  6. Review the Preview. Each row shows the values it will set, plus the Template, Licenses and Apps it will receive. Required columns are highlighted, and any column the app doesn't recognize is listed as ignored. Fix anything flagged in red (for example a template name that doesn't exist).

  7. Click Create N users. A Creating X of N indicator shows progress, and each row updates to Created or an error as it finishes.

    A row marked Created * means the account was created but a follow-up step (license, manager or group) had an issue. Hover the row to see which, the account still exists.

  8. Click Download results (with passwords) to save a CSV of each user's sign-in name, status and password. Keep this file somewhere safe, then delete it.

    Adding users to mail-enabled or distribution groups happens in the background after creation; you will get a notification as each completes.

A value in the CSV always wins. Blank cells fall back to the selected template, then to a default. If you assign licenses, each user needs a usageLocation (a two-letter country code), set it with the column or in the template, or the license step fails for that user.

Video Demo

Watch the bulk create users video

Supported columns

Column headers are matched without case sensitivity, and the aliases below are accepted too. Any column not listed here is ignored.

Column Aliases & notes Required
userPrincipalName upn, the full sign-in name, for example jsmith@contoso.com Yes
displayName The name shown in Microsoft 365, for example John Smith Yes
mailNickname username, defaults to the part of the UPN before the @ No
password Blank = auto-generate. A supplied password must meet the tenant's complexity policy. No
firstName givenName No
lastName surname No
jobTitle No
department No
company companyName No
office officeLocation No
employeeType No
manager The manager's user principal name No
mobilePhone mobile No
businessPhone phone No
streetAddress street No
city No
state province No
postalCode zip No
country No
usageLocation Two-letter country code (for example US). Required if the user is assigned a license. No
accountEnabled true or false (default true) No
forceChangePassword true or false (default true), require a password change at first sign-in No
template A saved template name for this row; overrides the dropdown selection No