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Okta Certified Administrator · Part II

User Management

26% of Part II — hands-on configuration, not multiple choice.

User Management

Task 3: Create a Custom User Type & Assign Users to It

5 tasks · this deck covers task 3 of 5

↑ User Management Overview

The Task

"Create a custom user type and assign users to it"

Not every user in an org is the same "shape." A contractor might need different attributes than a full-time employee. User types are how Okta lets different populations have genuinely different profile structures.

The Mechanism

A user type is a profile template in Universal Directory. When created, it starts as a copy of the default Okta user profile — the 31 base Okta attributes — which you can then customize further.

Creation is duplication-based: copy the standard profile, rename it (e.g. "Contractor"), then add whatever custom attributes that population actually needs.

The Gotcha — The 10-Type Ceiling

Okta permits up to 10 user types per organization — 1 default profile plus up to 9 custom variants.

This is a hard ceiling. Plan user-type usage deliberately — you can't create an 11th type "just in case."

The Gotcha — Assignment Is Permanent

Each user can hold only one user type, assigned at account creation. Users cannot switch types.

If someone needs a different type later, that's not an edit — it requires a separate profile entirely. Get the type right at creation time, because there's no "move this user to a different type" button.

The Connection

Because each type can independently customize its own attributes, this sets up directly into Task 4 (adding a custom attribute to a user type) — that task is about going deeper into one specific type's attribute configuration, not creating the type itself.

The Angle — What Trips People Up

Watch for these in your own sandbox run:

→ Creating too many experimental types and hitting the 10-type ceiling.

→ Assigning a user to the wrong type, then looking for a way to "switch" it — there isn't one; it needs a new profile.

One Line To Remember

A user type = a copied, renamed, customizable version of the default 31-attribute Okta profile. Max 10 per org (1 default + 9 custom). Each user gets exactly one type at creation — permanently; switching requires a whole new profile, not an edit.

Sources: help.okta.com — usgp-usertypes-about.htm