Unable to add user <user> to the group. The user may not have the privileges needed to join the group or may have hit the maximum number of groups (512).

Error Message

When adding a user to a group in Portal for ArcGIS or ArcGIS Online, the following error is returned:

Error:
Unable to add user <user name> to the group. The user may not have the privileges needed to join the group or may have hit the maximum number of groups (512).

This error occurs even though the organization has less than the maximum number of groups.

Cause

The user does not have sufficient privileges to join the group. This is common if the group has update capabilities enabled, and the user's assigned role, such as the Viewer type, does not have the 'Create, update, and delete' content privilege. A group has update capabilities enabled when the 'All items (group membership is limited to the organization)' option is checked during group creation.

In ArcGIS Online, by design, users with custom roles created without the 'Create, update, and delete' privilege cannot be added to a group with update capabilities enabled.

Solution or Workaround

It is not possible to disable update capabilities after a group is created, but an administrator can change the user's role to one with the required privileges to join the group. Refer to Portal for ArcGIS: Manage members or ArcGIS Online: Manage members for more information on changing a user's role.

Alternatively, the administrator can create a new group without the update capabilities enabled for users that do not require the 'Create, update, and delete' privilege. This can be achieved by selecting the 'Only their own items' option under the 'What items in the group can its members update?' setting option during group creation.