Sharing Rule
A Sharing Rule in Salesforce grants additional record access to specific groups of users beyond what is defined by the org-wide default sharing settings and the role hierarchy.
Definition
A Sharing Rule in Salesforce grants additional record access to specific groups of users beyond what is defined by the org-wide default sharing settings and the role hierarchy. Sharing Rules can be criteria-based (sharing records that match specific field values) or owner-based (sharing records owned by certain users or roles).
In plain English
“Here's a simple way to think about it: Sharing Rules are the safety valve when the role hierarchy doesn't fit. Grants additional access to specific groups (criteria-based or owner-based) without restructuring the hierarchy itself.”
Worked example
At Horizon Pharma, the org-wide default for the Account object is Private, so reps can only see their own Accounts. The admin creates a criteria-based Sharing Rule that shares all Accounts with Industry = "Healthcare" with the Compliance team's public group, giving them read-only access. This allows compliance officers to review healthcare accounts without opening up all Account data to the entire company.
Why Sharing Rules are the safety valve when the role hierarchy doesn't fit
Salesforce's standard sharing model assumes a clean hierarchy - Account Executives roll up to Sales Managers, who roll up to VPs. The role hierarchy implies access; OWD restricts to private; everyone fits. Real businesses are messier than that. A regional team that needs visibility across regions, a partner channel that's organizationally separate but operationally adjacent, a special-projects unit that needs a slice of everything - none of these fit the hierarchy cleanly. Sharing Rule is what fits them.
A Sharing Rule grants access to specific groups (criteria-based on field values, or owner-based on role/group) without restructuring the hierarchy itself. Used carefully, they're indispensable; used carelessly, they accumulate into a sharing model nobody understands. Build them with documented intent, audit them when org structure changes, and prefer fewer, broader rules over many narrow ones - sharing performance scales poorly with rule count.
How to set up Sharing Rule
Sharing Rules open up record access on top of the Org-Wide Default — they let you say "users in Role A also see records owned by Role B." They only ADD access; you can't restrict with sharing rules. The OWD must be Private (or Public Read Only) for sharing rules to be meaningful at all.
- Open Setup → Sharing Settings
Setup gear → Quick Find: Sharing Settings → Sharing Settings.
- Verify the Org-Wide Default for the object
Scroll to Organization-Wide Defaults. If the OWD for this object is Public Read/Write, sharing rules don't matter — everyone sees everything already.
- Scroll to the object's Sharing Rules section → New
Each object has its own Sharing Rules section. Click New.
- Name the rule
Label and Name. Conventions: "<from> shares with <to> at <level>" e.g. "Sales Reps share Accounts with Marketing".
- Pick Rule Type: Owner-based or Criteria-based
Owner-based: "records OWNED by group X are shared with group Y." Criteria-based: "records WHERE Field = X are shared with group Y." Criteria-based is more powerful but evaluates more often.
- Configure source and target
Source: who owns the records (Roles, Roles and Subordinates, Public Groups). Target: who gets access (same options). For criteria-based, Source is the filter.
- Pick Access Level
Read Only or Read/Write. Save.
Owner-Based, Criteria-Based, or Guest User Based. Criteria-based requires the Sharing By Criteria feature to be enabled per object.
Who owns / matches the records. Roles, Roles + Subordinates, Public Groups, Territories.
Who gets the access. Same options as Source.
Read Only or Read/Write. Cannot grant Full Access via sharing rule.
- Sharing rules only OPEN access — they cannot restrict it. To restrict, change the Org-Wide Default or use Apex Managed Sharing.
- Criteria-based sharing rules recalculate on every record save that matches or stops matching. On large data volumes this can be expensive — Salesforce caps you at 50 criteria-based rules per object.
- Sharing recalculation runs in the background. Big changes (mass Owner reassignment) can take hours to settle visibility — don't panic if a user can't see records immediately after a bulk update.
How organizations use Sharing Rule
Sharing rule grants partner-channel team visibility into specific Account regions without making them full role-hierarchy members.
Special-projects unit gets a slice of Opportunities through criteria-based sharing rule; the hierarchy stays clean.
Care coordination team accesses cross-departmental records via sharing rule; the role hierarchy didn't need to model collaboration.
Trust & references
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Sharing Rule.
- Sharing RulesSalesforce Help
- Create Criteria-Based Sharing RulesSalesforce Help
Test your knowledge
Q1. Why is understanding Sharing Rule important for Salesforce admins?
Q2. In which area of Salesforce would you typically find Sharing Rule?
Q3. Can a Salesforce admin configure Sharing Rule without writing code?
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