Summary and recommendation
Filevine user management can be run manually, but complexity usually increases with role models, licensing gates, and offboarding dependencies. This guide gives the exact mechanics and where automation has the biggest impact.
Filevine uses a two-layer permission model: an org-level role (Org Admin or Standard User) governs what a person can administer, while project-level permissions control what content they can read or edit inside each case or matter.
These two layers are configured independently, so granting someone a Standard User seat does not automatically give them access to any project.
Every app that relies on a single flat role model will feel different here - plan for the extra configuration step at the project layer whenever you onboard someone new.
Quick facts
| Admin console path | Org Settings → Users (accessible via the gear/settings icon in the left navigation bar) |
| Admin console URL | Official docs |
| SCIM available | No |
| SCIM tier required | Unknown |
| SSO prerequisite | No |
User types and roles
| Role | Permissions | Cannot do | Plan required | Seat cost | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Org Admin | Full administrative access: manage users, roles, org settings, billing, integrations, and all projects across the organization. | Org Admin role should be assigned sparingly; admins can modify all user permissions and org-wide settings. | |||
| Standard User | Access to projects and tasks as granted by project-level permissions and org-level role assignments. Can create and edit content within permitted projects. | Cannot access Org Settings, manage other users, or modify org-level configurations. | ~$39/user/mo (Standard tier, per pricing seed; not independently verified from current official pricing page) | Project-level access is controlled separately from the org-level role; a Standard User may have varying access across different projects. | |
| Guest / Limited User | Read-only or restricted access to specific projects or content as explicitly granted. | Cannot create projects, manage users, or access org-wide settings. | Guest/limited seat availability and cost structure not independently confirmed from current official docs. |
Permission model
- Model type: hybrid
- Description: Filevine uses a combination of org-level roles (e.g., Org Admin, Standard User) and project-level permission sets. Project permissions can be configured per user or per team within each project, controlling access to sections, documents, tasks, and notes. This creates a two-layer model: org-level role governs administrative capabilities, while project-level permissions govern content access.
- Custom roles: Yes
- Custom roles plan: Not documented
- Granularity: Project-section level: admins can restrict or grant access to individual project sections (e.g., Documents, Notes, Tasks) per user or team within a project.
How to add users
- Log in as an Org Admin.
- Navigate to Org Settings via the gear icon in the left navigation bar.
- Select 'Users' from the settings menu.
- Click 'Add User' or 'Invite User'.
- Enter the required user details (first name, last name, email address).
- Assign an org-level role (e.g., Standard User, Org Admin).
- Optionally assign the user to teams.
- Send the invitation; the user receives an email to set their password and activate their account.
Required fields: First name, Last name, Email address, Org-level role
Watch out for:
- The invited user must activate their account via the emailed link before they can log in.
- Project-level permissions must be configured separately after the user is added at the org level.
- Adding a user increases the org's billable seat count; confirm licensing capacity before bulk additions.
| Bulk option | Availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CSV import | Unknown | Not documented |
| Domain whitelisting | Unknown | Automatic domain-based user add |
| IdP provisioning | Unknown | Not documented |
How to remove or deactivate users
- Can delete users: Unknown
- Delete/deactivate behavior: Official Filevine documentation describes a 'deactivate' action for users rather than permanent deletion. Deactivated users lose login access but their historical data, activity records, and associations within projects are retained. Whether a true permanent delete option exists for org admins could not be confirmed from available official documentation.
- Log in as an Org Admin.
- Navigate to Org Settings → Users.
- Locate the user to be deactivated.
- Select the user and choose the 'Deactivate' option.
- Confirm the deactivation.
| Data impact | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Owned records | Records, tasks, and notes previously created or assigned to the deactivated user remain in the system and are accessible to other users with project access. |
| Shared content | Shared documents and project content created by the deactivated user are retained and remain visible within the relevant projects. |
| Integrations | Not documented |
| License freed | Deactivating a user is expected to free the associated seat/license, but the exact billing cycle impact (immediate vs. next billing period) is not explicitly confirmed in available official documentation. |
Watch out for:
- Tasks or items assigned to a deactivated user should be reassigned before or after deactivation to avoid workflow gaps.
- Deactivated users may still appear in historical audit logs and activity feeds.
- Reactivating a previously deactivated user may require contacting Filevine support or following a reactivation flow in Org Settings; the exact process is not fully detailed in publicly available help docs.
License and seat management
| Seat type | Includes | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Standard User Seat | Full access to projects, tasks, documents, and collaboration features as permitted by role and project-level permissions. | ~$39/user/mo (per pricing seed data; not independently verified from current official pricing page) |
| Enterprise User Seat | Standard features plus enterprise-tier capabilities (advanced reporting, additional integrations, priority support - exact inclusions not confirmed from current official docs). | ~$79/user/mo (per pricing seed data; not independently verified from current official pricing page) |
- Where to check usage: Org Settings → Users (shows list of active users and their roles; seat count visibility depends on plan)
- How to identify unused seats: Review the Users list in Org Settings and filter by last login date or activity to identify inactive accounts. Filevine does not publicly document an automated unused-seat report in available help documentation.
- Billing notes: Filevine pricing is not publicly listed on their website; plans are sold through direct sales. Pricing seed figures (~$39/user/mo Standard, ~$79/user/mo Enterprise) are approximate and unverified from a current official source. Contact Filevine sales for current seat pricing and volume discounts.
The cost of manual management
There is no native SCIM provisioning and no bulk CSV import for users, so every new hire requires manual entry in Org Settings → Users followed by a separate round of project-level permission assignments. Admins in large organizations report that this per-project configuration step is the primary time sink during onboarding.
Deactivation is also manual: locate the user in Org Settings → Users, select Deactivate, and then reassign any open tasks before or after - there is no automated reassignment. Seat counts increase with each addition, so confirming license capacity before bulk onboarding cycles is a necessary pre-step.
What IT admins are saying
Community evidence is not specific enough to quote or summarize yet for this app.
The decision
Filevine's manual user management is workable for teams with stable, low-volume hiring cycles and a dedicated admin who understands the two-layer model. It becomes a meaningful operational burden when headcount changes frequently or when users need access across many projects at once.
No native SCIM, no bulk import, and no webhook-based deprovisioning mean that every app in your stack that depends on Filevine identity state requires a manual or custom-built sync.
Teams with compliance or audit requirements should note that deactivated users are retained in historical logs but the reactivation path is not fully documented in public help docs.
Bottom line
Filevine's user management gives admins precise control through its org-plus-project permission model, but that precision comes at the cost of manual effort at every layer.
Every app or workflow that depends on accurate, up-to-date Filevine user state will require deliberate process design - there is no automated provisioning path out of the box.
Organizations with high user turnover or complex project structures should budget meaningful admin time for both onboarding and offboarding, and should establish a regular audit cadence against the Users list in Org Settings to catch inactive seats and misaligned project permissions before they accumulate.
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