Salesforce provides an official REST API that allows developers and admins to manage users programmatically. Using this API, you can query users, create new users, update user details, and deactivate users while following Salesforce security and licensing rules.

This guide explains what the Salesforce User Management REST API is, where to find the official documentation, and how it is used in real projects.

Salesforce User Management REST API refers to using Salesforce’s standard REST API to interact with the User object. The User object stores information such as username, email, profile, role, and active status.

Through REST API, external systems can manage Salesforce users without manual intervention, as long as authentication and permissions are correctly configured.

Salesforce maintains two official documentation pages that cover user management through REST API.

The first page explains how Salesforce REST API works, including authentication, request structure, and API versions.

https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api_rest.meta/api_rest/intro_rest.htm

The second page documents the Salesforce User object. It lists all fields, required attributes, and update permissions.

https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.object_reference.meta/object_reference/sforce_api_objects_user.htm

These two links are sufficient for understanding and implementing user management through REST API.

Using Salesforce REST API, you can perform the following actions on users.

You can retrieve users using SOQL queries.
You can fetch a specific user by ID.
You can create new users programmatically.
You can update user information such as email, profile, or role.
You can deactivate users by setting the IsActive field to false.

Salesforce applies the same validation and security rules as the Salesforce UI.

Yes. Salesforce allows user creation through REST API.

To create a user, you must provide all required fields such as username, email, profile ID, locale, and time zone. Salesforce also checks license availability and permissions automatically.

If any required field is missing or invalid, the API request will fail.

No. Salesforce does not allow permanent deletion of users through REST API.

Users can only be deactivated. This preserves audit history, data ownership, and compliance requirements.

All Salesforce REST API calls require OAuth authentication.

The user making the API request must have the API Enabled permission. In production environments, Salesforce recommends using a dedicated integration user with limited access.

This approach improves security and simplifies monitoring.

Standard REST API is ideal for basic user management tasks such as onboarding automation and user synchronization.

If you need custom business logic, conditional validation, or multi-step workflows during user creation or updates, Apex REST is a better choice. Apex REST allows you to add logic while still exposing a REST endpoint.

Always use a dedicated integration user
Validate required fields before API calls
Respect Salesforce license limits
Deactivate users instead of attempting deletion
Log errors and monitor API usage

These practices help keep your integration stable and compliant.

Salesforce User Management REST API allows you to query, create, update, and deactivate users using Salesforce’s standard REST API. User deletion is not supported. Official documentation includes the REST API overview and the User object reference. Authentication is handled using OAuth, and permissions are enforced the same way as in the Salesforce UI.

Salesforce REST API provides a reliable and supported way to manage users programmatically. By focusing on the User object and following Salesforce’s security model, teams can automate user management without risking compliance or stability.

This makes Salesforce REST API a practical solution for modern user lifecycle automation.