Query for Address Book List in Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Hi Saeydul,

Address Book Policies (ABPs) exist to provide separation by grouping users into “Virtual Organizations,” each with their own Address Lists, Global Address List (GAL), Room Lists, and Offline Address Book (OAB). This is different from a Hierarchical Address Book which imposes a structure on address lists but does not enforce segregation. ABPs can also be extended to Microsoft Teams to scope directory search – with some caveats.

Furthermore, information Barriers (IBs) are like APBs because they are also designed to provide internal separation. The difference is that IBs also prevent collaboration entirely for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams. IBs replace ABPs in the tenant so they cannot be used while there are any ABPs still in the environment. When IBs are provisioned and segments are assigned, users will be scoped to the segments they are assigned to.

Note: IBs require a minimum of Office 365 E5 licensing or Office 365 A1/A3/A5 licensing

Before deciding to deploy ABPs, there are some considerations to be aware of:

Replication of changes will not be instant; it will take a few hours to update a policy change and even longer if the user is using cached mode in Outlook

Information Barriers can’t be used if you have ABPs in place. Removal of ABPs in preparation for Information Barriers requires some effort to remove the policies from all users (Including inactive mailboxes)

ABPs do not prevent emails (neither do IBs) or Teams messages from being sent

Extending ABPs to Teams impacts Team discovery

A large amount of ABPs can become complex to manage

ABPs will not prevent users from viewing others through the other Office 365 apps (except for Teams if scoped directory search is enabled)

You can visit this article for more information about how to separate users in Office 365 using address book policies: Separate users in Office 365 using address book policies

This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.  

For more information, please consult:

Create an address book policy in Exchange Online | Microsoft Learn

Limit who users can see when searching the directory in Teams - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn

Information Barriers in Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn

Turn on address book policy routing in Exchange Online | Microsoft Learn

Procedures for address book policies in Exchange Server | Microsoft Learn

However, for the best outcome, the best next step is contacting Microsoft Support. They can review your tenant’s backend configuration, validate the current setup, and provide guidance on the solution that best aligns with your specific requirements.

You can use your admin credentials to submit a support request through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Microsoft also provides customer service phone numbers based on your region. You can find the appropriate contact number here: Customer service phone numbers - Microsoft Support 

This route ensures that a Microsoft support engineer can initiate a remote session to investigate backend configurations, run advanced diagnostic tools, and, if necessary, escalate the case to specialized teams with access to internal systems and logs. These backend resources are essential for resolving issues that go beyond what’s visible in the user interface.

As community moderators, we’re here to guide you, but due to privacy and security limitations, we don’t have access to the backend tools required for a full resolution. For this reason, contacting Microsoft Support via the Admin Center is the most secure and efficient way forward.

I hope this helps you resolve the issue quickly. I’m glad to assist and truly hope the information provided has been useful. Please feel free to reach out anytime if you need further assistance.  

If you find my post helpful, kindly consider marking it as the accepted answer. Doing so can assist others in the community who may have similar questions in finding solutions more quickly.  

Thank you for your kindness and contributions to the forum. 

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