> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://support.pears.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://support.pears.io/engage/partners/partner-permissions.md).

# Partner Permissions

Control who can open a partner record, share it with specific people or units, and approve or deny access requests.

Every partner record carries its own permissions. Each user's access is worked out from the **sharing grants** on the record, and determines how much of the partner they see when they open it.

{% hint style="info" %}
**TIP:** CRM contacts use the same sharing model with a different default. See [Contact Permissions](/engage/community-relationships/contact-permissions.md).
{% endhint %}

## Access Tiers

| Tier           | What the user sees                                                                                                                                                                                            | How it's granted                                                                                                                                    |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Restricted** | The partner is listed, and its **Name**, **Start date**, **End date**, **Site**, **Unit**, **Owner**, and record timestamps are visible. Opening it shows a limited preview with a **Request access** button. | The floor — every user in your organization holds at least this much.                                                                               |
| **View**       | The full partner record, read-only.                                                                                                                                                                           | A sharing grant with **View Only** access that reaches the user.                                                                                    |
| **Edit**       | The full record, with the ability to change it.                                                                                                                                                               | A sharing grant with **View & Edit** access, or being the record's owner, the owner's supervisor, a Data Manager, or an Organization Administrator. |

{% hint style="warning" %}
**NOTE:** A partner is never hidden from a list. Restricted users can see that the record exists and who owns it — that is how they know whom to ask. What the tier protects is the rest of the record.
{% endhint %}

## The Baseline Grant

When you finish a partner's [General Information](/engage/partners/add-a-partner.md), PEARS creates the record's first sharing grant automatically, targeting the **Unit** you selected. Everyone in that unit — and in the units beneath it — gets **View Only** access.

Every later share adds another grant. Access is the union of every grant that reaches a user, so the widest grant wins.

{% hint style="info" %}
**TIP:** The baseline grant is created once. Editing the partner later never re-widens a record whose owner has already narrowed or removed that first grant.
{% endhint %}

## Share a Partner

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

#### Open the Permissions section

From the partner record, click **Permissions** in the progress panel.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Add a share

Under **Shared with**, add a grant and choose what it targets:

* **Person** — One user.
* **Unit** — A unit and every unit beneath it.
* **Organization** — Your whole organization.
  {% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Choose the access level

Set the grant to **View Only** or **View & Edit**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Save

The **Scope** column on the sharing table shows whether each row reaches a **Person**, a **Unit**, or the **Organization**.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
**NOTE:** Managing a record's sharing grants is not itself a tier — it is limited to the record's owner, the owner's supervisors, Data Managers, and Organization Administrators. A user with **View & Edit** can change the partner's data but cannot re-share it.
{% endhint %}

## Request Access

A user at the **Restricted** tier sees a limited preview of the partner and a **Request access** button. Clicking a locked row in the Partners list opens the same request.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

#### Choose the access you need

Select **View Only** or **View & Edit**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Add a reason (optional)

Explain why you need access. The reason is shown to the record owner.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Submit

PEARS emails the record owner. The request appears on the partner record as **Pending**.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

### Respond to an Access Request

Pending requests are listed on the partner record under **Pending access requests**. The owner can:

* **Approve** — Creates a sharing grant for that user at the access level requested.
* **Deny** — Closes the request without granting access.

A user can have only one open request per partner at a time.

## Related Documentation

* [Contact Permissions](/engage/community-relationships/contact-permissions.md) — The same model applied to CRM contacts.
* [Collaborators](/accounts-and-permissions/accounts-and-permissions/collaborators.md) — Record-level sharing in the other PEARS modules.
* [Editable Users](/accounts-and-permissions/accounts-and-permissions/editable-users.md) — How supervisor access is determined.