How to Check the Site Collection Administrator in SharePoint Online – Via 4 Quick Solutions

When a SharePoint Online administrator creates a site, a site collection administrator (SCA) is automatically assigned. However, having multiple SCAs can seem convenient, but it also increases the risk of data leaks or misuse. To maintain security, I always recommend keeping the number of site collection admins to a minimum.

Today, I’ll explain how to check the Site Collection Administrator in SharePoint Online. Once you’ve identified them, you can make decisions about adding or removing SCAs.

So, let’s proceed:

• How to Check the Site Collection Administrator in SharePoint Online
  • Method 1: Via Admin Center
  • Method 2: Using Site Settings
  • Method 3: Using PowerShell
  • Method 4: Check All SCAs Simultaneously
• Best Practices for Managing SCA
• Author’s Verdict
• People Also Ask (FAQs)

How to Check the Site Collection Administrator in SharePoint Online

You can search the site collection administrators using the three different methods. I will explain all of them simply with step-by-step instructions in the upcoming sections:

#Method 1: Via Admin Center

Through the SharePoint Online Admin Center, one can quickly get information about all the site admins. Here’s how:

• Sign in to Microsoft 365 Admin Center and select Admin Centers > SharePoint.
• In the Active Sites list > site collection.
• Click the site name to open the details panel.
• Under Permissions, expand Site admins.
• Here, you’ll see the list of Site Collection Administrators.

This is the most straightforward method I found to check all the SCAs in minutes.

#Method 2. How to Check the Site Collection Administrator in SharePoint Online Using Site Settings?

From the site settings option, you can also find their site collection administrators. Let’s see how.

• Step 1. Open the SharePoint Site.
• Step 2. Hit the Settings option.
• Step 3. Choose the Site Settings.
• Step 4. Now, click on Site Collection Administrators from the Users and Permissions option.
• Step 5. Now you identify all SharePoint site collection admins.

#Method 3. Get Site Collection Administrator Using PowerShell in SharePoint Online

If you want to do this task automatically, then PowerShell will be your go-to. Just make sure you have admin credentials, and download or update SharePoint Online Management Shell to execute the same.

When everything is set, run the following PowerShell commands to learn how to check the site collection administrator in SharePoint Online:

$SP_Admin_URL = "enter complete URL"
$SP_Admin_Name = "name of the admin"
$Site_Collection_URL="URL of Site Collection"

$Get_Password = Read-host -assecurestring "Enter Password for $SP_Admin_Name"
$Credential = new-object -typename System.Management.Automation.PSCredential -argumentlist $SP_Admin_Name, $Get_Password

Connect-SPOService -url $SP_Admin_URL -credential $Credential

$Site_Collection = Get-SPOSite $Site_Collection_URL

$Site_Admins = Get-SPOUser -Site $Site_Collection_URL -Limit ALL | Where { $_.IsSiteAdmin -eq $True}
foreach($Site_Admin in $Site_Admins)
{
Write-host $Site_Admin.LoginName
}

#Method 4. Check All SCAs Simultaneously

To find all site collection administrators, use the following PowerShell commands:

$AdminCenterURL = "https://Crescent-admin.sharepoint.com"
$NameofAdmin = "[email protected]"

$Password = Read-host -assecurestring "Enter Password for $NameofAdmin"
$Credential = new-object -typename System.Management.Automation.PSCredential -argumentlist $NameofAdmin, $Password

Try {
Connect-SPOService -url $AdminCenterURL -credential $Credential

$AllSPSites = Get-SPOSite -Limit ALL

Foreach ($Site in $AllSPSites)
{
Write-host “URL of Site $Site.URL”

$Site_Adminstrators = Get-SPOUser -Site $Site.Url -Limit ALL | Where { $_.IsSiteAdmin -eq $True}
foreach($SPAdmin in $Site_Adminstrators)
{
Write-host $SPAdmin.LoginName
}
}
}
catch {
write-host "Found an Error"
}

Best Practices for Managing SCA

Follow this checklist to manage SCAs effectively:

• Audit Site Collection Administrators regularly, or at least quarterly, to ensure only necessary users have access.
• Limit the number of SCAs to reduce the risk of accidental changes or data misuse.
• Verify the business justification before adding someone as an SCA.
• Use PowerShell scripts for bulk checks in large environments or during SharePoint migration to quickly identify unnecessary permissions.

Author’s Verdict

Confirming the Site Collection Administrator is quick and essential for maintaining the security of SharePoint’s data. After this discussion, I guarantee that you now have precise knowledge of how to check the site collection administrator in SharePoint Online effortlessly. Moreover, with the proper set of instructions and the solution that we’ve discussed above, one can easily get the information about the SCAs without any hassle.

People Also Ask (FAQs)

Q. Why Check the Site Collection Administrator?

Knowing who the SCA is helps in:

• If a user can’t access or manage content, the SCA can help.
• During security reviews, it’s critical to verify administrator access.
• If you need to hand over site ownership, you know who to contact.

Q. What are the roles and responsibilities of SharePoint Site Collection Administrators?

SCA plays a vital role in SharePoint management, including:

1. Site collection admins are responsible for the site structure management, i.e.
   • Creating navigation for the SharePoint users.
   • Checking the site usage reports.
2. Data security operations, such as backup SharePoint Online to local storage, are also handled by them.
3. All of the permissions and access rights of the SharePoint users are also managed by the site collection administrator.
4. The configuration of third-party apps in the SharePoint site is also managed by SCA.
5. SharePoint Online tenant to tenant migration is also handled by the site collection administrators if required.

Q. How to check the site collection administrator in SharePoint Online without being a SharePoint admin?
No, this is not possible. You need at least site collection admin or SharePoint admin rights to view or manage SCAs.

Q. Are SCAs the same as site owners?
No. A site owner has control over a specific site, while SCAs have full control over the entire site collection, including subsites.

Q. Can I add more than two SCAs?
Yes. While there’s an “Owner” and “SecondaryContact” in PowerShell output, you can add multiple SCAs through the SharePoint Admin Center or Site Settings page.