How to Create a Microsoft Teams Shared Channel for External Partners

Set up a shared channel, invite partner staff through B2B direct connect, and verify who can see its conversations and files.

Check the prerequisites

Only a team owner can create a shared channel. People outside your organization need a work or school Teams account, and both organizations must configure Microsoft Entra B2B direct connect. Teams channel policies must permit creation and external invitations. Existing guest accounts cannot be added as shared channel members. Ask both administrators to confirm their cross-tenant relationship before inviting external participants.

Create and share the channel

1. In Teams on desktop or the web, open the host team and choose to create a channel. Microsoft’s mobile app does not support shared-channel creation.
2. Enter a clear name and description, then select Shared as the channel type. Review the default option to share the channel with everyone on the host team.
3. As channel owner, open More options → Share channel → Share with people. Search for internal colleagues or enter the partner’s work account.
4. Select Share, then inspect Manage channel → Members to verify who was added. External participants can be members, but not owners.

Check conversations and files

Only the shared channel’s owners and members can see its channel conversations; other members of the parent team do not automatically gain access. Microsoft creates a separate SharePoint site for shared-channel files. Review separate file and folder sharing, because direct SharePoint access can remain after a person is removed from the channel.

If an invitation fails

Ask both administrators to verify Teams channel policies and inbound and outbound B2B direct connect settings for the partner tenant. Confirm that the person has a work or school account and that you selected the organization identity rather than a guest account in your tenant. Microsoft says cross-tenant changes can take time to apply.

Sources

Microsoft Support: Create a shared channel; Microsoft Support: Share a channel with people; Microsoft Learn: Shared channels; Microsoft Learn: External shared-channel setup.