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Microsoft’s former Purview compliance portal has been replaced by the unified Microsoft Purview portal. To access the current compliance tools, go to purview.microsoft.com and sign in with a work or school account from your Microsoft 365 organization.
After signing in, open Compliance Manager from the left navigation. If you cannot see it, the cause is usually missing Purview permissions, an unsupported license, or a delay after a role assignment.
How to access Microsoft Purview
- Open https://purview.microsoft.com in a browser.
- Select Sign in, if prompted.
- Use your Microsoft 365 work or school account. The portal uses the Microsoft Entra ID tenant associated with that account.
- On your first visit, read and accept the terms and privacy conditions.
- Select Get started in the welcome dialog.
- Dismiss or follow the guided teaching bubbles to open the Purview home page.
The home page provides access to the Purview solutions available to your account. The left navigation normally includes Home, Solutions, Agents, Learn, Usage center, and Settings, along with recently used solutions.
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How to open Compliance Manager
Once you are in the Microsoft Purview portal:
- Select Compliance Manager in the left navigation.
- Wait for the Compliance Manager dashboard to load.
You may also be able to open it from the Purview home page. If a Compliance posture status card is shown, select Assess using Compliance Manager or Explore posture breakdown.
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If neither option appears, select Solutions, choose View all solutions, and look under the available Risk & Compliance solutions. What appears in this area depends on your permissions and your organization’s subscription.
Compliance Manager settings
To configure Compliance Manager rather than simply view the dashboard:
- Open the Settings menu. You can use the Settings icon in the portal’s navigation or command bar.
- Select Compliance Manager.
This settings area is separate from the general Purview role-management page. For broader Purview permissions, use Settings > Roles and scopes.
Licenses and permissions required
Access is controlled by both licensing and role-based access control (RBAC). A successful Microsoft Entra sign-in alone does not guarantee access to Compliance Manager.
| Requirement | What it means |
|---|---|
| Eligible subscription | The organization must have an Office 365 or Microsoft 365 license that supports Compliance Manager. GCC Moderate, GCC High, and DoD environments are also supported, although available assessment and management capabilities vary. |
| Microsoft 365 identity | The account must belong to the organization’s Microsoft 365 tenant. An Entra identity without an Office 365 or Microsoft 365 subscription cannot access Compliance Manager. |
| Minimum access role | The user needs at least the Compliance Manager Reader role or the Global Reader role in Microsoft Entra ID. |
| Role administrator | The person assigning Compliance Manager permissions needs to be a Global Administrator or Compliance Manager Administrator. |
In GCC High and DoD environments, Compliance Manager user permissions and roles can only be configured in Microsoft Entra ID.
Compliance Manager roles
Administrators should grant the least access needed. Microsoft provides these Compliance Manager roles:
| Role | Capabilities | Microsoft Entra mapping |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance Manager Reader | Read-only access. | Global Reader or Security Reader |
| Compliance Manager Contribution | Edit data, create assessments, update improvement-action status, add notes, and upload evidence. | Compliance Administrator |
| Compliance Manager Assessor | Edit data, but cannot create assessments. | Compliance Administrator |
| Compliance Manager Administration | Manage assessments, regulatory templates, tenant data, and improvement-action assignments. | Compliance Administrator, Compliance Data Administrator, or Security Administrator |
A user can hold only one Compliance Manager role at a time. Assigning another Compliance Manager role replaces the previous one.
How an administrator assigns Purview permissions
For general Purview role management, an administrator can:
- Sign in to the Microsoft Purview portal.
- Open Settings.
- Select Roles and scopes.
- Choose the relevant Purview role group.
- Add the user or security group and save the change.
Viewing role groups in Settings > Roles and scopes requires either the Global Administrator role or the Role Management role. Microsoft states that Role Management is assigned only through the Organization Management role group.
Compliance Manager permissions can be managed in the Purview portal or Microsoft Entra ID. Be careful when combining Entra roles with scoped Purview role groups: an Entra role can override a scoped Purview assignment at runtime, making the effective permission unscoped for overlapping capabilities.
Purview permissions do not automatically provide every permission used by individual Microsoft 365 services. For example, permissions related to archiving, auditing, and MRM retention policies are managed through the Exchange admin center.
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Check the account and tenant
Make sure you are using your organization’s work or school account rather than a personal Microsoft account or an account from a different Microsoft 365 tenant. Sign out of other Microsoft accounts, open a private browsing window, and try purview.microsoft.com again.
Check the license
Your account can authenticate successfully through Microsoft Entra ID and still be denied access if the tenant does not have a qualifying Office 365 or Microsoft 365 subscription. Ask a Microsoft 365 administrator to confirm the organization’s licensing and whether the required Compliance Manager features are included.
Check the assigned role
Ask an administrator to verify that you have at least Compliance Manager Reader or Global Reader. If you need to create assessments or upload evidence, Reader access is not sufficient; you need a role with those capabilities.
Allow time for PIM changes
If access was provided through Microsoft Entra Privileged Identity Management (PIM), the permission may not appear immediately. Microsoft states that just-in-time membership for a security group used in a Purview role group can take up to two hours to apply.
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For just-in-time access, Microsoft supports PIM for Groups. Direct, just-in-time user assignments to Purview role groups are not the supported PIM model. After the activation period, sign out, close the browser session, and sign in again.
Remember that cards are permission-dependent
Missing solution cards and missing features generally have two explanations: the account lacks the required permissions, or the tenant does not have a supported subscription for that solution. A blank or reduced home page does not necessarily indicate a browser problem.
Do not use the classic governance portal by mistake
The address web.purview.azure.com is not the current Microsoft 365 compliance portal. It is the classic Microsoft Purview governance portal for Azure-based data governance.
That classic portal requires an active Microsoft Purview account created in Azure and permissions on that account. Direct access requires at least the Reader role on a collection in the Purview Data Map. Opening the account through Azure Portal requires at least Reader access under Access Control (IAM).
Use the classic address only when you are administering an Azure Purview governance account. For Microsoft 365 compliance, risk, and data-security features, use purview.microsoft.com.
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Names and locations that have changed
Some older instructions refer to menu names that no longer match the unified portal:
| Older term or instruction | Current location or name |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Purview compliance portal | Microsoft Purview portal at purview.microsoft.com |
| Classification | Classifiers, located in the left navigation for each solution |
| Standalone Content Search | Included as a core component of eDiscovery |
| Data Estate Insights | Unified Catalog > Health management > Reports |
| Data-asset search | Unified Catalog > Discovery > Data assets |
| Glossary | Unified Catalog > Discovery > Enterprise glossary |
| Roles and scopes in the main navigation | Settings > Roles and scopes |
| Privacy Risk Management | Available in the separate Microsoft Priva portal |
FAQ
What is the current URL for the Microsoft Purview compliance portal?
Use https://purview.microsoft.com. Microsoft’s former dedicated compliance portal has been retired and its current compliance features are available through the unified Microsoft Purview portal.
Can I access Compliance Manager with a personal Microsoft account?
No. Sign in with a work or school account associated with an eligible Office 365 or Microsoft 365 tenant. A personal account or an Entra identity without a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription will not provide Compliance Manager access.
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The tenant may lack a supported subscription, or your account may not have the required Purview role. You need at least Compliance Manager Reader or Microsoft Entra Global Reader. A recently activated PIM group assignment can also take up to two hours to apply.
What is the difference between purview.microsoft.com and web.purview.azure.com?
purview.microsoft.com is the current unified Microsoft Purview portal for Microsoft 365 data security, governance, risk, and compliance. web.purview.azure.com is the classic Azure-based Microsoft Purview governance portal and requires access to an Azure Purview account.
Where are Purview roles assigned now?
Open the current Purview portal, select Settings, and then select Roles and scopes. The administrator needs Global Administrator or Role Management access to view and manage the relevant role groups.
The Bottom Line
For Microsoft 365 compliance features, start at purview.microsoft.com, sign in with your organization account, and select Compliance Manager from the left navigation. If it is unavailable, verify the Microsoft 365 license, check for a Compliance Manager or Global Reader role, and allow up to two hours for PIM-based group access to take effect. Do not use web.purview.azure.com unless you specifically need the classic Azure Purview governance portal.
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