Microsoft Teams shared calling and call delegation
Verified 2026-09-25 · 60 sources · tier 2 · 4 disputed
Also known as Shared Calling, call delegation, shared line appearance.
Teams Phone Shared Calling allows users without individual phone numbers to use the phone number of an Auto attendant resource account for inbound and outbound PSTN calls 26. In contrast, Teams Phone call delegation authorizes a delegate to make or receive calls on behalf of a delegator 17.
Shared Calling Architecture and Configuration
In a Shared Calling deployment, users do not each receive a phone number 26. Instead, an inbound PSTN call connects to an Auto attendant rather than directly to the user 40. On normal outbound PSTN calls, the caller ID presented is the phone number assigned to the resource account named in the user's Shared Calling policy, which is typically the organization's main Auto attendant number 46. By default, Shared Calling users call each other by name; optional extension dialing is supported by assigning each user a Direct Routing number with a unique extension, such as the resource account digits followed by ;ext= 39.
Microsoft documents Shared Calling setup as 10 ordered steps: license users and enable voice; give the resource account a number; associate the resource account with an Auto attendant; give it an emergency location; configure service-number funding or routing; create a voice routing policy with no PSTN usages; enable emergency calling for users; create the Shared Calling policy; assign it to users; and optionally configure extension dialing 55.
Users enabled for Shared Calling require a Teams Phone license and must be Enterprise Voice enabled, but they must not have an assigned phone number or their own Calling Plan 4358. Furthermore, Shared Calling users must not have a voice routing policy with valid PSTN usages; if the global policy contains usages, an administrator must assign them a policy with empty PSTN usages 59. If a user's voice routing policy contains PSTN usages, that user does not use Shared Calling and instead behaves as though they have an assigned phone number 60.
Shared Calling policies define two elements: the resource account used for outbound calls and the emergency numbers used as emergency callback numbers 47. The same resource account can be used in more than 1 Shared Calling policy 51. However, if the resource account's number is removed, reassigned, or ported, the policy remains configured while outbound calls fail for users set to call from that number 44. All numbers in a single Shared Calling policy—both the resource account number and any emergency callback numbers—must be of the same number type and country 54.
Shared Calling routing policies are managed in the Teams admin center under Voice > Shared calling policies, or via PowerShell using New-CsTeamsSharedCallingRoutingPolicy, Get-CsTeamsSharedCallingRoutingPolicy, Set-CsTeamsSharedCallingRoutingPolicy, Remove-CsTeamsSharedCallingRoutingPolicy, and Grant-CsTeamsSharedCallingRoutingPolicy 21. In New-CsTeamsSharedCallingRoutingPolicy, -Identity and -ResourceAccount are mandatory, whereas -EmergencyNumbers is optional 53. The -ResourceAccount parameter accepts only the Identity or ObjectId of the resource account 53.
Resource Account PSTN Connectivity
The shared resource account can hold a Calling Plan service number, an Operator Connect number or a Direct Routing number 52:
| Connectivity Type | Number and Routing Requirements | Funding Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Calling Plan | Uses a Calling Plan service number 52. | Requires a Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan license 23. Sources disagree on credit prerequisites: one source states calls are funded with pay-as-you-go minutes and Communications Credits are needed only under a Microsoft Online Subscription Agreement 25, while the cmdlet reference states a Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan and a funded Communications Credits license are required without exception 24. |
| Operator Connect | Uses an Operator Connect number 52. | Microsoft states to confirm Shared Calling support with the operator; otherwise, no funding step is needed 45. |
| Direct Routing | Uses a Direct Routing number 52. The resource account must have an online voice routing policy with valid PSTN usages 27. | Routed via Direct Routing voice routing policies 27. |
If inbound calling is required, the resource account must be associated with an Auto attendant scoped to reach the intended users 20. If no funding is available on a Calling Plan service number, callers hear a voice prompt stating that they are not set up to use the calling feature and should contact their administrator 57.
Calling Plan service numbers cannot be used for Shared Calling in Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan, or for a limited number of existing Calling Plan service numbers in other countries 22.
Emergency Calling in Shared Calling
Every Shared Calling user must be assigned an emergency call routing policy, regardless of whether the resource account uses Calling Plan, Operator Connect, or Direct Routing 36. For Calling Plan and Operator Connect resource accounts, the user's emergency call routing policy should have no online PSTN usages, whereas for Direct Routing it must have online PSTN usages 37. If Calling Plan or Operator Connect Shared Calling is configured in the same tenant alongside Direct Routing, site-assigned emergency call routing policies cannot be used 56.
The emergency location transmitted for a Shared Calling user prioritizes the dynamic location from the Teams client; if unavailable, routing falls back to the static location assigned to the resource account's phone number 42. The resource account number must have an emergency location set using Set-CsPhoneNumberAssignment -LocationId 50. However, some Calling Plan markets do not allow setting a location on service numbers, in which case Microsoft directs administrators to the Telephone Number Services service desk 41. Globally, emergency calling for Shared Calling is supported, but outside North America customers must contact each carrier to upload the emergency addresses of the resource account numbers into the carrier's emergency database 38.
Emergency callback numbers (ECBNs) in a policy are optional; if omitted, the resource account number serves as the emergency callback number 31. However, falling back to the resource account number is not supported when that number is a Calling Plan toll-free service number, which requires adding Calling Plan subscriber numbers as emergency numbers 34. When a resource account uses a Calling Plan service number, all emergency callback numbers must be Calling Plan subscriber numbers 29.
When an emergency call is placed:
- The next available emergency number in the policy becomes the caller ID and is reserved for 60 minutes, during which inbound calls ring that user directly 28.
- If all emergency numbers in the policy are reserved, the cmdlet reference states the first number in the list is reused 30.
- Emergency callback numbers must accept inbound PSTN calls and be available within the tenant for Calling Plan and Operator Connect 33.
- Each emergency callback number can appear in only 1 Shared Calling policy and cannot be assigned to any user or resource account 35.
- An emergency number cannot be deleted or reassigned until removed from the policy using
Set-CsTeamsSharedCallingRoutingPolicy -EmergencyNumbers @{remove=...}32.
Call Delegation
Teams Phone call delegation—referred to in the industry as shared line appearance—permits a delegator to authorize an assistant (delegate) to place and receive calls on their behalf 17. Call forwarding and delegation administration requires the Teams Only coexistence mode 18. Both the delegator and delegate must hold a Teams Phone license 11. To receive external calls, the manager must have PSTN connectivity and an assigned phone number 14. A delegate without an assigned number must still be Enterprise Voice enabled, verified by the presence of a dial pad in the Teams Calls app 8.
Delegation is controlled tenant-wide or per-user by the AllowDelegation setting in TeamsCallingPolicy, which defaults to on 1. AllowDelegation governs client configuration of delegation, routing inbound calls to delegates, and delegate dial-out on behalf of delegators 2. When delegation is disabled for a user, an administrator must remove that user's existing delegation relationships in the Teams admin center to prevent incorrect call routing 5.
Sources disagree on the maximum delegate count per user: the New-CsUserCallingDelegate cmdlet documentation specifies that a user can have up to 25 delegates 12, whereas the administration documentation states Teams permits more than 25 relationships but recommends no more than 25 due to potential UI usability and performance degradation 13.
When a delegate places an outbound PSTN call on behalf of a delegator, the delegator's settings govern licensing checks, dial-out restrictions, and call routing 9. However, delegates do not inherit delegator permissions from calling policies; the delegate remains bound by their own calling policy 3. If the delegator and delegate reside in different geographic locations, the PSTN provider must support cross-geographic caller ID 7. Circular delegation is restricted to Teams phone devices; when delegates cross-delegate, each sees only their direct relationship 4.
In Microsoft's delegation availability table, joining active calls is not supported on the Teams Mac app or mobile apps, and shared call history is not available on Mac, mobile or Teams IP phones 6:
| Action / Capability | Teams Mac App | Teams Mobile Apps |
|---|---|---|
| Join active calls | Not supported 6 | Not supported 6 |
| Shared call history | Not available 6 | Not available 6 |
By default, unanswered calls route to voicemail after 30 seconds if answering rules are never altered, even though PowerShell and the Teams admin center indicate an unanswered target of none with a 20-second delay 19.
Delegation is configured in PowerShell using Get-CsUserCallingSettings, Set-CsUserCallingSettings, New-CsUserCallingDelegate, Set-CsUserCallingDelegate, and Remove-CsUserCallingDelegate 16. New-CsUserCallingDelegate requires 5 mandatory Boolean parameters: MakeCalls, ReceiveCalls, ManageSettings, PickUpHeldCalls, and JoinActiveCalls 15. Microsoft Graph call delegation APIs remain in beta preview, are unsupported for production use, and are limited to listing and retrieving delegators and delegates 10.
See also
- See also Microsoft Teams auto attendants and call queues.
- See also Microsoft Teams Calling Plans.
- See also Microsoft Teams Phone architecture and licensing.
- See also Teams Phone Direct Routing and SBC certification.
- See also Teams Operator Connect and Azure Communication routing.
- See also Teams voice routing policies and dial plans.
- See also Setting up Microsoft Teams Direct Routing.
- See also Setting up Microsoft Teams auto attendants and call queues.
- See also Setting up dynamic emergency calling in Microsoft Teams.
- See also Microsoft Teams compliance recording.
- See also RedSky E911 for enterprise UC.
- See also Teams contact center integration models.
Applicability
Applies to: Microsoft Teams Phone, MicrosoftTeams PowerShell module, Microsoft Teams clients, and Microsoft Graph. Deployments: multi-tenant. Sources checked 2026-09-25. Shared Calling is currently available only in Microsoft public clouds 49. Calling Plan service numbers cannot be used for Shared Calling in Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan, or for a limited number of existing Calling Plan service numbers in other countries 22. Shared Calling management cmdlets require Teams PowerShell Module 5.5.0 or later 48. Delegation management cmdlets require Teams PowerShell Module 4.0 or later 16. Graph call delegation APIs are documented under the graph-rest-beta endpoint 10.
What remains uncertain
- Sources disagree on whether a Calling Plan service-number resource account always requires a funded Communications Credits license or only requires it under a Microsoft Online Subscription Agreement 2524.
- Sources disagree on whether a user can have a hard limit of 25 delegates or whether Teams allows more than 25 with a soft recommendation 1213.
- How delegation behaves when the delegator is a Shared Calling user with no assigned number is not covered by the sources below.
- Pay-as-you-go Calling Plan per-minute rates used by Shared Calling resource accounts are not covered by the sources below.
- Whether Shared Calling with static resource-account location meets Kari's Law and RAY BAUM'S Act dispatchable location duties is not covered by the sources below.
- Shared Calling availability timeline for GCC, GCC High, and DoD is not covered by the sources below.
- Teams Phone Resource Account license requirements for the Shared Calling resource account are not covered by the sources below.
- Per-feature precedence between delegator settings and delegate calling policy on on-behalf-of calls is not covered by the sources below.
- Voicemail behaviour for Shared Calling users and for callers reaching them via the Auto attendant is not covered by the sources below.
See also
Depends on
- Microsoft Teams auto attendants and call queues — Shared Calling routes inbound PSTN calls through an Auto attendant whose resource account number is also the outbound caller ID
Related to
- Microsoft Teams Calling Plans — A Calling Plan service number on the shared resource account needs a Pay-As-You-Go Calling Plan and funding; Calling Plan service numbers are unsupported for Shared Calling in seven countries
- RedSky E911 for enterprise UC — Shared Calling emergency location prefers the dynamic location from the Teams client and falls back to the static location on the resource account number
Sources
- 1Delegation is enabled by the TeamsCallingPolicy AllowDelegation setting, which is on by default; once enabled, users can set up their own delegation relationships in Teams.Configure call forwarding and delegation settings · Enable delegation · Checked 2026-09-25
- 2AllowDelegation governs three things: configuring delegation in the Teams client, routing inbound calls to delegates, and delegates making outbound calls on behalf of their delegators.Set-CsTeamsCallingPolicy (MicrosoftTeams) · Parameters, -AllowDelegation · Checked 2026-09-25
- 3When a delegate and delegator have different calling policies, the delegate is bound by their own calling policy and does not inherit the delegator's calling policy permissions; Microsoft recommends giving both the same calling policy.Configure call forwarding and delegation settings · Dialing Permissions and Routing, second paragraph · Checked 2026-09-25
- 4Circular delegation is permitted only for Teams phone devices; when delegates also delegate to each other, each sees only their own delegation, not the original one.Configure call forwarding and delegation settings · Limitations, third paragraph · Checked 2026-09-25
- 5When delegation is turned off for a user, the admin must also remove that user's delegation relationships in the Teams admin center to avoid incorrect call routing.Configure call forwarding and delegation settings · Enable delegation, Important box · Checked 2026-09-25
- 6In Microsoft's delegation availability table, joining active calls is not supported on the Teams Mac app or mobile apps, and shared call history is not available on Mac, mobile or Teams IP phones.Configure call forwarding and delegation settings · Call delegation availability table, rows 'Join active calls' and 'See shared call history' · Checked 2026-09-25
- 7If the delegator and delegate are in different geographic locations, the PSTN provider must allow caller ID from a different geographic location for delegated calls.Configure call forwarding and delegation settings · Limitations, second paragraph · Checked 2026-09-25
- 8A delegate with no phone number must still be Enterprise Voice enabled; a dial pad in the delegate's Calls app shows it is set up correctly.Configure call forwarding and delegation settings · License required, Note · Checked 2026-09-25
- 9When a delegate makes an outbound PSTN call on behalf of a delegator, the delegator's settings control the licensing checks, dial-out restrictions and call routing.Configure call forwarding and delegation settings · Dialing Permissions and Routing, first paragraph · Checked 2026-09-25
- 10The Microsoft Graph call delegation APIs are in beta (preview), where Microsoft says they may change and are not supported for production use; the documented operations only list and get delegates and delegators.Working with the call delegation APIs in Microsoft Graph (preview) · Important box; Common use cases table · Checked 2026-09-25
- 11For call delegation, both the manager (delegator) and the assistant (delegate) must each have a Teams Phone license; delegation is included with Teams Phone.Configure call forwarding and delegation settings · License required · Checked 2026-09-25
- 12The New-CsUserCallingDelegate reference states that a user can have up to 25 delegates.disputedNew-CsUserCallingDelegate (MicrosoftTeams) · Parameters, -Delegate · Checked 2026-09-25
- 13The admin article says Teams allows more than 25 delegation relationships per user but recommends no more than 25, because UI usability and performance may suffer beyond that.disputedConfigure call forwarding and delegation settings · Limitations, first paragraph · Checked 2026-09-25
- 14To receive external calls through delegation, the manager must have PSTN connectivity and an assigned phone number.Configure call forwarding and delegation settings · License required, third paragraph · Checked 2026-09-25
- 15New-CsUserCallingDelegate lists five mandatory Boolean permission parameters: MakeCalls, ReceiveCalls, ManageSettings, PickUpHeldCalls and JoinActiveCalls.New-CsUserCallingDelegate (MicrosoftTeams) · Syntax and Parameters, Mandatory rows · Checked 2026-09-25
- 16Delegation is administered in PowerShell with Get-CsUserCallingSettings, Set-CsUserCallingSettings, New-CsUserCallingDelegate, Set-CsUserCallingDelegate and Remove-CsUserCallingDelegate, available in Teams PowerShell module 4.0 or later.Configure call forwarding and delegation settings · Use PowerShell, cmdlet list · Checked 2026-09-25
- 18The admin call forwarding and delegation settings feature is available only in the Teams Only coexistence mode.Configure call forwarding and delegation settings · Introduction, Important box · Checked 2026-09-25
- 19If call answering rules are never changed, unanswered calls go to voicemail after 30 seconds by default, even though the admin center and PowerShell show the unanswered target as none with a 20-second delay.Configure call forwarding and delegation settings · Additional notes · Checked 2026-09-25
Documents
Configure call forwarding and delegation settings
Configure Shared Calling
New-CsTeamsSharedCallingRoutingPolicy (MicrosoftTeams)
New-CsUserCallingDelegate (MicrosoftTeams)
Plan for Shared Calling
Set-CsTeamsCallingPolicy (MicrosoftTeams)
Teams Phone licensing
Working with the call delegation APIs in Microsoft Graph (preview)
Cite this page
APA
WarmTransfer. (2026, September 25). Microsoft Teams shared calling and call delegation. WarmTransfer. https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/teams-shared-calling
BibTeX
@misc{warmtransfer-teams-shared-calling,
title = {Microsoft Teams shared calling and call delegation},
author = {{WarmTransfer}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/teams-shared-calling},
note = {Verified 2026-09-25}
}