Sep 23, 2026

Need Admin Approval in Microsoft 365? How to Get Past It

You tried to sign in to an app with your work Microsoft account and got a screen saying “Need admin approval.” Nothing is broken. Your company’s Microsoft 365 is set so that an IT administrator has to OK an app before employees can connect it to their email, calendar or files. One admin clicks approve once, and it’s cleared for everybody.

The quick fix: send your IT admin the name of the app and a link to approve it. If the screen has a box asking why you need access, fill that in instead, since it goes straight to them. Details and a copy-paste message are below.

What the screen actually says

There are two versions, and which one you got tells you what to do next.

“Need admin approval” is the dead end. The full text reads something like: “[App] needs permission to access resources in your organization that only an admin can grant. Please ask an admin to grant permission to this app before you can use it.” There’s no button to ask. Your company hasn’t switched on Microsoft’s request feature, so you have to contact IT yourself.

“Approval required” comes with a text box and a Request approval button. Your company has turned on the admin consent workflow, so the request goes to designated reviewers by email, and you get an email back when they approve, deny or block it.

If you’re looking at an error code instead of friendly text, here’s the translation:

Code	What it means	What to do
AADSTS90094	The app wants access that only an admin can grant	Ask your admin to approve the app
AADSTS90093	Your company turned off employee approvals entirely	Ask your admin to approve the app
AADSTS900941	Microsoft flagged the app as risky, so only an admin can approve it	Ask your admin, and expect them to look harder
AADSTS65004	You sent an approval request and clicked Back to app	Normal. Wait for the approval email, then sign in again
AADSTS90090	A temporary glitch on Microsoft’s side	Try again in a few minutes

Why your company blocks it

Microsoft 365 lets each organization decide who is allowed to connect new apps. Most companies pick one of three settings:

Employees can’t approve any app. Every new app needs an admin. This is the most common reason people hit the screen.
Employees can approve only low-risk apps from verified publishers. Microsoft’s own recommendation. Anything asking for broader access, like sending email or reading shared files, still needs an admin.
Employees can approve anything that doesn’t specifically need an admin. Even here, some permissions always require one, such as reading every user’s data in the company.

A few other things trigger it: the app requires users to be assigned to it first, or Microsoft’s risk checks flagged the request.

None of this is a judgment on you or the app. Apps that read and send email are exactly what these settings exist to review, so an AI assistant, a scheduling tool, a CRM plugin or a meeting recorder will almost always land here at a company with the stricter settings.

How to get approved

1. Check which account you signed in with

Before you email anyone, look at the account in the top of the Microsoft screen. People lose days here because they signed in as:

A guest in a client’s organization. Approval then has to come from that client’s admin, not yours. Sign out and pick your own work account.
The wrong one of two work accounts. Choose Use another account and try again.

2. If there’s a request box, use it

Write one specific sentence. Reviewers approve faster when they can see the business reason without replying to ask:

I use this to draft email replies and schedule meetings from my Outlook calendar. It only acts on my own mailbox.

Then select Request approval. If you submit more than once, only the first request goes through, so don’t keep clicking.

3. If there’s no request box, message IT directly

Most apps that connect to Outlook publish an admin consent page that lists their permissions and sends the admin straight to Microsoft’s approval screen. Find it on the vendor’s help site (search for “[app name] admin consent”) and put the link in your message, because it saves your admin from hunting for it.

Here’s a message you can paste into email or Teams:

Hi, I’m trying to connect [app name] to my Outlook and Microsoft says it needs admin approval.

Here’s the vendor’s admin consent page, which lists every permission it asks for: [link]

It uses delegated permissions, so it only acts on the mailbox of whoever signs in and connects it. It’s a one-time approval for the organization and can be revoked in Entra ID at any time.

Thanks!

Only write the “delegated permissions” line if the vendor’s page says so. If you don’t know who your admin is, your IT help desk will, and in a small company it’s usually whoever set up your Microsoft 365 subscription.

4. Retry once they say yes

You won’t get a notification in the app itself. When your admin replies that it’s approved, go back to the app and start the connection again from scratch. If the screen still appears, wait a few minutes, since the approval can take a moment to take effect.

What not to do

Don’t forward work email to a personal account to get around it. That usually breaks company policy and is exactly what the setting is there to prevent.
Don’t sign in with a personal Microsoft account and expect it to reach your work mailbox. It won’t, and personal and work accounts are separate in Microsoft 365.
Don’t wait silently. If nobody has acted in a couple of days, send the direct message in step 3 even if you already used the request box. Requests also expire after a number of days your company sets.

If you’re the admin

The approval itself takes about a minute. Our walkthrough on how to grant admin consent in Microsoft 365 covers the four ways to do it, what to check before you click, how to limit an app to one team, and how to turn on the request box so employees can ask you properly next time.

Connecting Carly?

If the app you were connecting is Carly, send your admin carlyassistant.com/admin-setup. It lists every permission in plain language and hands off to Microsoft’s approval screen. If your admin asks whether approving means Carly reads everyone’s email, it doesn’t: Carly acts only for people who connect their own account, and only sees what they can already see. The full walkthrough, with a ready-made message, is in Need admin approval to connect Outlook? Google accounts usually connect without an admin step, so you can start there while you wait.

Frequently asked questions

What does “Need admin approval” mean?

Your company’s Microsoft 365 requires an administrator to approve an app before employees can connect it. It is a company setting, not a problem with your account, password or licence.

How do I get admin approval in Microsoft 365?

If Microsoft shows a request box, type a short reason and select Request approval. If it doesn’t, message your IT admin with the app’s name and the vendor’s admin consent link, and ask them to grant consent for the organization.

How long does admin approval take?

The approval takes an admin about a minute. The wait is how long it takes to reach the top of their list, which is why sending the permission list up front speeds things up.

Can I bypass “Need admin approval”?

No, not without an admin. The block is enforced by Microsoft on your company’s behalf. The way through is getting an admin to approve the app once for the organization.

Why does it say “Approval required” for some people and “Need admin approval” for others?

“Approval required” means your company turned on Microsoft’s admin consent workflow, so you can send a request from the screen. “Need admin approval” means it’s off and you have to contact IT directly.

Will approving the app give it access to everyone’s email?

Not for apps that use delegated permissions. Those act only for the person who signs in and connects, and never beyond what that person can already do. Apps that use application permissions are different, which is why your admin should read the list before approving.

I approved it but still see the screen. Why?

Either the app is now asking for a permission that wasn’t approved the first time, or the approval hasn’t taken effect yet. Wait a few minutes and try again, then check with your admin.

Want someone to handle the setup?

Book a short call. We'll walk your IT admin through the Microsoft approval, connect your email and calendar, and have your AI assistant working on them.

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