Contractors keep projects moving—but contractor accounts are one of the most common places security controls drift. The fastest way to tighten this up is to use Conditional Access Contractors policies that grant access quickly, limit it intelligently, and revoke it cleanly when the work is done.
This guide walks you through a practical “60-minute setup” approach in Microsoft Entra (Azure AD) so you can protect Microsoft 365 and key apps without slowing your contractors down. We’ll focus on high-impact controls: MFA, scoped access, safer sign-ins, and a repeatable offboarding path.
Conditional Access Contractors: Why Contractor Access Is a Security Risk
Even with “good people,” contractor access creates predictable risk patterns:
- Stale accounts: contractors finish a project, but access remains.
- Over-broad permissions: “temporary” access gets granted too widely to avoid tickets.
- Unmanaged devices: contractors may sign in from devices you don’t control.
- High-risk sign-ins: travel, shared networks, or unknown IP reputation can increase exposure.
- Admin portal exposure: contractors sometimes get access to management portals “just to help,” which expands blast radius.
The good news: you can reduce these risks quickly by treating contractor access as a defined workflow instead of a one-off exception. If you want to see how we approach security-first foundations, start with our About page and our service overview at Solutions.
What Conditional Access Actually Does
Conditional Access is an “if-then” policy engine: it evaluates sign-in context (user, app, device, location, and other signals) and then enforces an outcome such as allow, block, or require additional controls (like MFA). Microsoft’s policy concept overview is here: Building a Conditional Access policy.
One important note up front: Conditional Access generally requires Microsoft Entra ID P1 (or Microsoft 365 Business Premium, which includes Conditional Access capabilities). Microsoft’s licensing guidance is here: Microsoft Entra licensing.
60-Minute Setup Plan
When you’re trying to implement Conditional Access Contractors quickly, the biggest mistake is changing too much at once. The goal in 60 minutes is a minimum viable set of policies that:
- Targets only contractor identities (so you don’t break employees)
- Requires MFA
- Restricts risky sign-ins (at minimum: legacy authentication and basic guardrails)
- Uses Report-only mode first (so you can validate impact)
- Builds an offboarding rhythm you can repeat every week
We’ll walk through a practical sequence that gets you a strong baseline fast, then we’ll list “maturity upgrades” you can add later.
Step 1: Build a Contractor Group and Access Boundaries
The fastest way to keep Conditional Access Contractors policies clean is to scope them with intention.
Create a dedicated contractor group
- Create a security group for contractor accounts (example: Contractors – Scoped Access).
- Only place contractor identities in this group.
- If you use separate admin accounts, keep them out of this group (admin policies should be stricter and separate).
Define access boundaries by app
Don’t start by targeting “All cloud apps.” Start by targeting the apps contractors truly need:
- Microsoft 365 (Exchange, SharePoint, Teams) if required
- A specific SaaS tool (accounting, ticketing, project management)
- A specific line-of-business application
Rule of thumb: the fewer apps you target initially, the lower your chances of breaking legitimate work during rollout.
Step 2: Require MFA (and Don’t Over-Exclude)
For Conditional Access Contractors, MFA is one of the best “time-to-value” controls you can implement. It meaningfully reduces the risk of credential theft being enough to access your environment.
Baseline approach:
- Create a Conditional Access policy targeting the contractor group
- Target the specific apps contractors need
- Access controls: Require multifactor authentication
Common mistake: adding broad exclusions (like excluding “all trusted locations” or “all mobile devices”) to make rollout painless. Exclusions become permanent, and permanent exclusions become holes.
If you need an exception, make it:
- Time-bound
- Documented
- As narrow as possible (one user, one app, one condition)
Step 3: Require Compliant or Managed Devices (When Appropriate)
This step depends on how contractors work.
If contractors use your managed devices (company-issued laptops), requiring device compliance can be a strong control. If contractors use their own devices (BYOD), requiring compliance may not be feasible immediately.
Two practical options for Conditional Access Contractors:
- Option A (Stronger): Require compliant device for sensitive apps (finance systems, admin portals, HR systems).
- Option B (Practical): Allow access from unmanaged devices, but limit scope to lower-risk apps and enforce MFA + other guardrails.
In many SMB environments, Option B is the realistic “60-minute” baseline. Then you add device controls later when you’re ready.
Step 4: Block Risky and Legacy Authentication
Legacy authentication is a common attack path because it can bypass modern protections. If you want a fast win with Conditional Access Contractors, blocking legacy authentication is high value—especially for contractor identities.
Practical approach:
- Create a policy targeting the contractor group
- Conditions: include client apps / legacy authentication (where available)
- Access control: Block access
Also consider basic sign-in guardrails:
- Block sign-ins from countries you do not do business in (if your environment supports and your use case is clear)
- Require MFA for all sign-ins (already done in Step 2)
Important: Use Report-only mode first, then validate sign-ins before enforcing. Report-only is specifically designed to help you understand the impact of a policy before you turn it on.
Step 5: Add Time-Bound Access and Clean Offboarding
This is where contractor access goes from “security settings” to an operational workflow.
A clean Conditional Access Contractors workflow has two parts:
Grant access
- Create contractor account (or invite B2B guest identity if that’s your model)
- Add to the contractor group
- Assign only the required app access and minimal permissions
- Ensure MFA policy applies (Step 2)
- Confirm access is scoped to only the apps needed (Step 1)
Revoke access
- Remove from the contractor group (instantly removes policy scope and access boundaries)
- Disable account (if employee-type contractor identity)
- Remove/expire app assignments
- Rotate shared secrets the contractor may have known (API keys, local passwords, Wi-Fi keys, vault items)
Time-saver: Put a weekly recurring calendar reminder on Friday to review active contractor accounts and confirm they still need access.
If you want a stronger security posture overall, consider pairing identity controls with 24/7 monitoring so suspicious access patterns don’t sit unnoticed. Our overview is here: Managed Detection and Response.
Step 6: Test in Report-Only Mode, Then Enforce
Report-only mode helps you validate whether a new Conditional Access Contractors policy would block access before you enforce it. This avoids the most painful rollout outcome: breaking contractor access mid-project.
Fast rollout pattern:
- Turn policy on in Report-only
- Review sign-in results for contractor accounts
- Fix obvious exclusions and scoping issues (narrowly)
- Move to On (enforced)
- Document what you changed and why
Always keep a quick rollback option:
- Have a break-glass admin account excluded from policies (properly protected, tightly controlled)
- Know which policy you would temporarily disable if access breaks
- Keep the contractor group scoping clean so you can remove a user from scope quickly
Common Mistakes That Break Security or Productivity
- Targeting “All Users” first: always start with a narrow scope and expand.
- Overusing exclusions: exclusions become permanent holes.
- No app scoping: “All cloud apps” is rarely necessary for contractors.
- No offboarding rhythm: stale access is the most common contractor risk.
- No documentation: policies drift when only one person knows why they exist.
If you’re building a consistent, repeatable IT operations posture alongside security controls, our Managed IT overview is here: Managed IT Services. And if you want a fast starting point, our Contact Us page is the quickest way to request a contractor-access review.
60-Minute Checklist (Copy/Paste)
- Create a Contractors security group
- Target only contractor identities in initial policies
- Create MFA-required Conditional Access policy for contractor group
- Scope policy to only the apps contractors need
- Create a legacy authentication block policy for contractors
- Enable Report-only mode, review sign-ins, then enforce
- Implement an offboarding checklist and weekly review cadence
FAQ
Do I need Microsoft Entra ID P1 for Conditional Access?
In most cases, yes. Conditional Access capabilities generally require Microsoft Entra ID P1 (or Microsoft 365 Business Premium, which includes Conditional Access features). Review licensing details here: Microsoft Entra licensing.
What’s the fastest way to secure contractor access?
Start with a dedicated contractor group, require MFA, scope access to only required apps, block legacy authentication, and use Report-only mode before enforcing.
Should contractors be allowed to sign in from unmanaged devices?
It depends on the role and sensitivity of the apps. If you can’t require compliant devices immediately, enforce MFA and limit access scope, then add device requirements later for higher-risk apps.
How do I revoke contractor access quickly?
Remove the contractor from the contractor group, disable the account (if applicable), remove app assignments, and rotate any shared secrets they may have had access to.
What’s the biggest mistake companies make with contractor access?
Leaving access in place after the project ends. Stale accounts and over-broad permissions are common entry points for incidents. Conditional Access Contractors
