PermissionSet

Supported Calls

create(), delete(), describeSObjects(), query(), retrieve(), search(), update(), upsert()

Child Relationships

PermissionSet has a read-only child relationship with PermissionSetGroup. PermissionSet contains the aggregated permissions for the group.

Fields

Field Name	Details
Description	Type string Properties Create, Filter, Nillable, Group, Sort, Update Description A description of the permission set. Limit: 255 characters.
HasActivationRequired	Type boolean Properties Create, Defaulted on create, Filter, Group, Sort, Update Description Indicates whether the permission set requires an associated active session (`true`) or not (`false`).
IsCustom	Type boolean Properties Defaulted on create, Filter, Group, Sort Description If `true`, the permission set is custom (created by an admin); if `false`, the permission set is standard and related to a specific permission set license.
IsOwnedByProfile	Type boolean Properties Defaulted on create, Filter, Group, Sort Description If `true`, the permission set is owned by a profile. Available in API version 25.0 and later.
Label	Type string Properties Create, Filter, Group, Sort, Update Description The permission set label, which corresponds to Label in the user interface. Limit: 80 characters.
LicenseId	Type reference Properties Create, Filter, Group, Nillable, Sort Description The ID of either the related PermissionSetLicense or UserLicense associated with this permission set. Available in API version 38.0 and later. Use this field instead of UserLicenseId, which is deprecated and only available up to API Version 37.0.
Name	Type string Properties Create, Filter, Group, Sort, Update Description The unique name of the object in the API. This name can contain only underscores and alphanumeric characters, and must be unique in your organization. It must begin with a letter, not include spaces, not end with an underscore, and not contain two consecutive underscores. Corresponds to API Name in the user interface. Limit: 80 characters.
NamespacePrefix	Type string Properties Filter, Group, Nillable, Sort Description The namespace prefix for a permission set that's been installed as part of a managed package. If the permission set isn't packaged or is part of an unmanaged package, this value is empty. Available in API version 23.0 and later.
Permissions`PermissionName`	Type boolean Properties Create, Filter, Update Description One field for each permission. If `true`, users assigned to this permission set have the named permission. The number of fields varies depending on the permissions for the organization and license type. To get a list of available permissions in the SOAP API, use `describeSObjects()`. Tip
PermissionSetGroupId	Type reference Properties Filter, Group, Nillable, Sort Description If the permission set is owned by a permission set group, this field returns the ID of the permission set group. If the permission set isn’t owned by a permission set group, this field returns a null value. Available in API version 45.0 and later. We provide this feature to selected customers through a pilot program that requires agreement to specific terms and conditions. To be nominated to participate in the program, contact Salesforce. Because pilot programs are subject to change, we can’t guarantee acceptance. This pilot feature isn’t generally available, as referenced in this document or in press releases or public statements. We can’t guarantee general availability within any particular time frame or at all. Make your purchase decisions only on the basis of generally available features. Note
ProfileId	Type reference Properties Filter, Group, Nillable, Sort Description If the permission set is owned by a profile, this field returns the ID of the Profile. If the permission set isn’t owned by a profile, this field returns a null value. Available in API version 25.0 and later.
Type	Type reference Properties Filter, Group, Nillable, Sort Description Available in API version 46.0 and later.
UserLicenseId	Type reference Properties Create, Filter, Group, Nillable, Sort Description ID of the UserLicense associated with this permission set. This field is nillable in API version 26.0 and later and available up to API version 37.0 In API version 38.0 and later, use LicenseId.

Usage

Use the PermissionSet object to query existing permission sets.

For example, to search for all permission sets that contain the “Modify All Data” permission:

When combined with the PermissionSetAssignment object, you can create a nested query that returns all users assigned to a particular permission like “Modify All Data”:

If the permission set isn’t assigned to a user, you can also create or delete a permission set.

User Licenses

The user license controls the permissions that are available in a permission set.

Every permission set can be associated with a user license or permission set license. If you plan to assign a permission set to multiple users with different user and permission set licenses, leave LicenseId empty. If only users with one type of license use this permission set, set the LicenseId to that single user or permission set license. If you want a permission set associated with a permission set license, then set LicenseId to the permission set license. To get the LicenseId, run this query:

Alternatively, to query a user or profile for the LicenseId.

Child Objects

When using the API, think of each permission set or related set of access controls as an empty container that you fill with permission records.

In the API, a permission set can contain user, object, and field permissions, and setup entity access settings for other settings, such as Apex classes.

ObjectPermissions and FieldPermissions objects are available in API version 24.0 and later.
The SetupEntityAccess object is available in API version 25.0 and later.
The PermissionSetGroupComponent object is available in API version 45 and later.

Only user permissions are managed in the PermissionSet API object; all other permission types are managed in child API objects.

In these child objects, access is stored in a record, while the absence of a record indicates no access. To return a record in a SOQL query, a minimum permission or setting is required for each child object.

Because permissions are stored in related objects, it’s important to understand what questions to ask when using SOQL. For example, let’s say you want to know which permission sets have “Delete” on an object. You also want to know which ones include permissions that allow approval of a return merchandise authorization (where the approval checkbox is controlled with field permissions). Asking the right questions when using SOQL with permission sets ensures that you get the information you need, such as whether to migrate permissions or assign a permission set to a user.

For example, the following returns all permission sets where the “Read” permission is enabled for the Merchandise__c object.

You can query for all permission sets that have “Read” on an object. However, you can’t query for permission sets that have no access on an object, because no records exist for that object. For example, the following returns no records because the object must have at least “Read” to return any records.

If you have at least the “Read” permission on an object, you can create a conditional query on other permissions in the same object. For example, the following returns any records where the object has at least the “Read” permission but not the “Edit” permission.

To set an object or field permission to no access, delete the record that contains the permission. For example, to disable all object permissions in the Merchandise__c object for a particular permission set, first query to retrieve the ID of the object permission record.

Then delete the IDs returned from the query.

If you try to update the object or field permissions by setting all permissions to false, the permission record is automatically deleted. Any subsequent queries for the record ID won’t return results and you must add a new permission record to grant access.

Note

View a Permission Set with Nested Queries

You can build on the PermissionSet object using child relationships that show all of the permissions in a single permission set. For example, the following returns all permission sets and displays the “Transfer Leads” permission, as well as any “Read” permissions on any objects and fields.

Associated Profiles

In API version 25.0 and later, every profile is associated with a permission set that stores the profile’s user, object, and field permissions, as well as setup entity access settings. You can query permission sets that are owned by profiles but not modify them.

The following example returns all permission sets, including those owned by a profile.

The following returns all permission sets except those owned by profiles.

Because permission sets have child objects in the API, you can query their values on permission sets owned by a profile. For example, the following returns all enabled object permission records for profiles only.

Once you have the IDs for permission sets that are owned and not owned by profiles, use the PermissionSetAssignment object to see if users can access objects or fields via their profile permissions or their permission sets. For example, the following SOQL query returns all users who have the “Read” permission on the Merchandise__c object. It also specifies whether the permission is granted through a profile or permission set.

For permission sets that are owned by profiles, don’t use Name and Label values that are returned in a query. Name and Label values from queries can change.