SharePoint Permissions Audit Checklist: What to Review Before an Access Review
What to gather, which patterns to treat as high risk, what to remediate, and how often to repeat it.
An access review fails in one of two ways: you miss something, or you cannot show what you checked. Both are checklist problems rather than tooling problems. This page is the checklist — the order to work in, the patterns worth treating as high risk, and what a defensible sign-off actually needs in it.
Looking for the step-by-step instructions instead? How to generate a SharePoint permissions report without PowerShell walks through producing the report itself. Or generate the report visually with SPO Scout.
Why Permission Audits Matter
Before diving into the how-to, let's understand why permission audits are critical:
- Security compliance: Regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 require documented access controls
- Data protection: Identifying overshared content prevents unauthorized data access
- User departures: Ensuring former employees no longer have access
- Risk management: Discovering "Anyone with the link" shares before they become breaches
The Problem with PowerShell Audits
Traditional PowerShell-based permission audits have several challenges:
Complexity
A basic permission audit script requires understanding of PnP PowerShell, the SharePoint object model, recursion patterns, and proper credential handling. Most scripts are 100+ lines of code.
Maintenance
Microsoft regularly updates APIs, breaking existing scripts. What worked last month might fail today without warning.
Expertise Dependency
Organizations often depend on one person who knows how to run the scripts. When they're unavailable, audits don't happen.
Time Investment
Writing, testing, and debugging scripts takes hours before you even get your first report.
The Browser-Based Alternative
A SharePoint admin extension solves these problems by providing a visual interface for permission audits. Here's how it works:
Gathering the Report
Step 1: Install the Extension
Install SPO Scout from the Chrome Web Store. The extension works on Chrome, Edge, and other Chromium-based browsers. Installation takes about 30 seconds.
Step 2: Navigate to Your SharePoint Site
Open the SharePoint site or document library you want to audit. The report runs on the whole site and reaches every folder and file with unique permissions. It covers the site you have open, not its subsites.
Step 3: Open SPO Scout
Click the SPO Scout icon in your browser toolbar. The extension panel opens alongside your SharePoint page.
Step 4: Run the Permission Report
In the side panel, run Permissions Report, or Permissions Report (Expanded) on Pro, which also lists the members of each SharePoint group. SPO Scout shows which lists and libraries inherit, and every library, folder and file with unique permissions with the users and groups on each.
Step 5: Review the Results
The report shows:
- The users and groups on each object with unique permissions, and their permission levels
- SharePoint groups and their members (Pro)
- Items with unique (broken) permissions
- Items shared through a link, since sharing gives an item unique permissions (the links themselves come from the separate shared-links scan)
Step 6: Export for Documentation
On Pro, export the report to CSV, PDF or JSON for compliance documentation — a file the auditors can keep, rather than screenshots.
Types of Permission Audits
SPO Scout supports several types of permission audits:
Site-Wide Audit
Analyze permissions across a whole site: its lists and libraries, and every folder and file with unique permissions. Useful for quarterly compliance reviews or when preparing for security audits.
Library-Level Audit
Focus on a specific document library. Ideal for auditing sensitive document repositories like HR files, financial records, or legal documents.
User-Specific Audit
Check one user’s access on a site and its lists and libraries with the User Permissions Report; repeat it on each site that matters. It does not cover individual folders or files, or access through Microsoft 365 groups. Essential when employees leave the organization or change roles.
Sharing Link Audit
List the sharing links on items in a library, one library at a time and up to 2,000 items per scan (Pro). Critical for finding overshared content and "Anyone with the link" permissions.
What to Look for in Your Audit
Once you have your permission report, focus on these high-risk areas:
1. "Anyone with the Link" Shares
These are the highest risk. Anyone who gets the link—intentionally or accidentally—can access the content. These should be rare and well-documented.
2. External User Access
Review all external (guest) users. Are they still working with your organization? Do they need the access they have?
3. Broken Permission Inheritance
Items with unique permissions are harder to manage and audit. Each one represents a potential security gap where someone might have access they shouldn't.
4. Over-Privileged Users
Users with Full Control or Design permissions should be limited. Most users only need Read or Edit access.
5. Former Employee Access
Cross-reference your permission report with HR records. Former employees should have no SharePoint access.
Taking Action on Audit Findings
Identifying issues is only half the battle. SPO Scout also helps you remediate problems:
- Remove shared links in bulk: Delete multiple sharing links at once (Pro feature)
- Reset to inherited permissions: Restore permission inheritance on items with unique permissions (Pro feature)
- Export for IT action: Generate lists for your IT team to process through admin center or PowerShell
Scheduling Regular Audits
Permission audits shouldn't be a once-a-year panic before compliance reviews. We recommend:
- Monthly: Quick scan of high-sensitivity libraries
- Quarterly: Full site collection audit with export for documentation
- Immediately: After employee departures or role changes
- Before migrations: Document current state for comparison
Comparison: PowerShell vs. Browser Extension
| Factor | PowerShell | SPO Scout |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | Hours | 30 seconds |
| Learning curve | Steep | Minimal |
| Maintenance | Ongoing | Automatic updates |
| Report export | Requires coding | One-click |
| Who can run it | Script experts | Any admin |
Getting Started
Ready to run your first permission audit without PowerShell? Here's how to start:
- Install SPO Scout from the Chrome Web Store
- Navigate to a SharePoint site you want to audit
- Click the extension and run a permission report
- Review findings and export for documentation
The free tier includes 3 analyses per day—enough to evaluate the tool and run audits on your most critical sites. Upgrade to Pro for unlimited audits and advanced export options.
Permission audits don't have to be complicated. With the right SharePoint admin extension, you can maintain security compliance without becoming a PowerShell expert.
Run Your First Audit in 5 Minutes
No PowerShell required. No complicated setup. Just install and audit.
Install SPO Scout FreeGuides for each step of an access review
The mechanics behind the checklist above.
- How to Find Unique Permissions in SharePoint Online →
Find the libraries, lists, folders and files with unique permissions in a SharePoint site, and who has access to each, in one SPO Scout report.
- SharePoint Permission Inheritance: How Broken Inheritance Works →
How SharePoint permission inheritance works, why broken inheritance piles up, and how SPO Scout shows the exceptions in a site with who has access to each.
- How to Check What a User Can Access in SharePoint →
SPO Scout's free User Permissions Report shows, in one search, what a person is granted directly or through SharePoint groups on a site and its lists.
- SharePoint Permission Reporting Tools Compared →
SharePoint permission reporting tools compared, and why SPO Scout is a quick start: every exception, who has access, and no app registration.