Organizations (B2B SaaS)

Prerequisite: Enable Organizations in Clerk Dashboard first.

Version: Check package.json for the SDK version — see clerk skill for the version table. Core 2 differences are noted inline with > **Core 2 ONLY (skip if current SDK):** callouts.

Quick Start

1. Create an organization via dashboard or through Clerk API
2. Use OrganizationSwitcher to let users switch between orgs
3. Protect routes using orgSlug from URL and role checks

Documentation Reference

Task	Link
Overview	https://clerk.com/docs/guides/organizations/overview
Org slugs in URLs	https://clerk.com/docs/guides/organizations/org-slugs-in-urls
Roles & permissions	https://clerk.com/docs/guides/organizations/control-access/roles-and-permissions
Check access	https://clerk.com/docs/guides/organizations/control-access/check-access
Invitations	https://clerk.com/docs/guides/organizations/add-members/invitations
OrganizationSwitcher	https://clerk.com/docs/reference/components/organization/organization-switcher
Verified domains	https://clerk.com/docs/guides/organizations/verified-domains
Enterprise SSO	https://clerk.com/docs/guides/organizations/add-members/sso

Key Patterns

1. Get Organization from Auth

Server-side access to organization:

import { auth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'

const { orgId, orgSlug } = await auth()
console.log(`Current org: ${orgSlug}`)

2. Dynamic Routes with Org Slug

Create routes that accept org slug:

app/orgs/[slug]/page.tsx
app/orgs/[slug]/settings/page.tsx

Access the slug:

export default function DashboardPage({ params }: { params: { slug: string } }) {
  return <div>Organization: {params.slug}</div>
}

3. Check Organization Membership

Verify user has access to specific org:

import { auth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'

export default async function ProtectedPage() {
  const { orgId, orgSlug } = await auth()

  if (!orgId) {
    return <div>Not in an organization</div>
  }

  return <div>Welcome to {orgSlug}</div>
}

4. Role-Based Access Control

Check if user has specific role:

const { has } = await auth()

if (!has({ role: 'org:admin' })) {
  return <div>Admin access required</div>
}

Custom Permissions

Create custom roles and permissions in Dashboard → Organizations → Roles. Permission format: org:resource:action.

// Server component — check a custom billing permission
import { auth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
import { redirect } from 'next/navigation'

export default async function BillingPage() {
  const { has } = await auth()

  if (!has({ permission: 'org:billing:manage' })) {
    redirect('/unauthorized')
  }

  return <BillingDashboard />
}

// Middleware — protect an entire route segment
import { clerkMiddleware, createRouteMatcher } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'

const isBillingRoute = createRouteMatcher(['/orgs/:slug/billing(.*)'])

export default clerkMiddleware(async (auth, req) => {
  if (isBillingRoute(req)) {
    await auth.protect({ permission: 'org:billing:manage' })
  }
})

// Client component — conditional rendering
import { Show } from '@clerk/nextjs'

<Show when={{ permission: 'org:billing:manage' }}>
  <BillingSettings />
</Show>

Permission naming convention: org:resource:action (e.g., org:billing:manage, org:reports:view, org:api_keys:create). Always prefix with org: for organization-scoped permissions.

5. OrganizationSwitcher Component

Let users switch between organizations:

import { OrganizationSwitcher } from '@clerk/nextjs'

export default function Nav() {
  return (
    <header>
      <h1>Dashboard</h1>
      <OrganizationSwitcher />
    </header>
  )
}

Default Roles

All new members get assigned a role:

Role	Permissions
org:admin	Full access, manage members, settings
org:member	Limited access, read-only

Custom roles can be created in the dashboard.

Default Permissions

Permission	Role
org:create	Can create new organizations
org:manage_members	Can invite/remove members (default: admin)
org:manage_roles	Can change member roles (default: admin)
org:update_metadata	Can update org metadata (default: admin)

Authorization Pattern

Complete example protecting a route:

import { auth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
import { redirect } from 'next/navigation'

export default async function AdminPage({ params }: { params: { slug: string } }) {
  const { orgSlug, has } = await auth()

  // Verify user is in the org
  if (orgSlug !== params.slug) {
    redirect('/dashboard')
  }

  // Check if admin
  if (!has({ role: 'org:admin' })) {
    redirect(`/orgs/${orgSlug}`)
  }

  return <div>Admin settings for {orgSlug}</div>
}

Conditional Rendering with <Show>

Use <Show> for role-based conditional rendering in client components:

import { Show } from '@clerk/nextjs'

<Show when={{ role: 'org:admin' }}>
  <AdminPanel />
</Show>

<Show when={{ permission: 'org:billing:manage' }}>
  <BillingSettings />
</Show>

Core 2 ONLY (skip if current SDK): Use <Protect role="org:admin"> and <Protect permission="org:billing:manage"> instead of <Show>.

Billing Checks

The has() method supports billing plan and feature checks for gating access:

const { has } = await auth()

has({ plan: 'gold' })        // Check subscription plan
has({ feature: 'widgets' })  // Check feature entitlement

Core 2 ONLY (skip if current SDK): has() only supports role and permission parameters. Billing checks are not available.

Session Tasks

When personal accounts are disabled, users must choose an organization after sign-in. This is handled by the choose-organization session task:

import { TaskChooseOrganization } from '@clerk/nextjs'

// Renders when user must select an org
<TaskChooseOrganization redirectUrlComplete="/dashboard" />

Core 2 ONLY (skip if current SDK): Session tasks are not available. Use <OrganizationSwitcher> for org selection.

Enterprise SSO

Organizations can use Enterprise SSO (SAML/OIDC) for member authentication:

// Strategy name for Enterprise SSO
strategy: 'enterprise_sso'

// Access enterprise accounts on user object
user.enterpriseAccounts

Core 2 ONLY (skip if current SDK): Uses strategy: 'saml' instead of strategy: 'enterprise_sso', and user.samlAccounts instead of user.enterpriseAccounts.

Configuring Enterprise SSO per Organization

Enterprise SSO is configured per organization in the Clerk Dashboard under Organizations > SSO Connections. Steps:

1. Go to Dashboard → Organizations → select the org → SSO Connections
2. Add a SAML or OIDC connection with the customer's IdP metadata
3. Set the verified domain for the org — Clerk verifies ownership via DNS TXT record
4. Once verified, users signing in with that email domain are automatically routed to the SSO flow and joined to the org

// Check if the active user authenticated via enterprise SSO
import { currentUser } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'

const user = await currentUser()
const ssoAccount = user?.enterpriseAccounts?.[0]

if (ssoAccount) {
  console.log(`SSO provider: ${ssoAccount.provider}`)
  console.log(`SSO domain: ${ssoAccount.emailAddress}`)
}

Key facts:

• Strategy name: enterprise_sso (used in signIn.supportedFirstFactors)
• Domain verification required: org claims a domain, Clerk verifies via DNS TXT record
• Users with a verified email domain auto-join the org on first SSO sign-in
• Each org can have multiple SSO connections (e.g., SAML + OIDC)

Gotchas

Capping Org Seats with maxAllowedMemberships

Pass maxAllowedMemberships when creating an org to cap the number of seats. Attempts to add members beyond the cap will return an error.

const clerk = await clerkClient()
const org = await clerk.organizations.createOrganization({
  name: 'Acme Corp',
  createdBy: userId,
  maxAllowedMemberships: 10,
})

You can also update the cap after creation:

await clerk.organizations.updateOrganization(orgId, {
  maxAllowedMemberships: 25,
})

Billing Gates Permissions

When Clerk Billing is enabled, has({ permission: 'org:posts:edit' }) returns false if the Feature associated with that permission is not included in the organization's active Plan — even if the user has the permission assigned via their role. Billing gates permissions at the feature level. Ensure the required Feature is attached to the active Plan in Dashboard → Billing → Plans → Features before debugging role assignments.

Metadata Overwrites (Not Merges)

updateOrganization({ publicMetadata: { tier: 'enterprise' } }) REPLACES all public metadata, not merges it. Read first, spread, then write.

Wrong:

await clerk.organizations.updateOrganization(orgId, {
  publicMetadata: { newField: 'value' },
})

Right:

const org = await clerk.organizations.getOrganization(orgId)
await clerk.organizations.updateOrganization(orgId, {
  publicMetadata: { ...org.publicMetadata, newField: 'value' },
})

The same rule applies to privateMetadata and to user metadata via clerkClient.users.updateUser.

Common Pitfalls

Symptom	Cause	Solution
orgSlug is undefined	Not calling await auth()	Use const { orgSlug } = await auth()
Role check always fails	Not awaiting auth()	Add await before auth()
Users can access other orgs	Not checking orgSlug matches URL	Verify orgSlug === params.slug
Org not appearing in switcher	Organizations not enabled	Enable in Clerk Dashboard → Organizations
Invitations not working	Wrong role configuration	Ensure members have invite role permissions

Invitation API

Send an Invitation (Server Action / Route Handler)

import { clerkClient } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
import { auth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'

export async function inviteMember(organizationId: string, emailAddress: string, role: string) {
  const { has } = await auth()

  if (!has({ permission: 'org:sys_memberships:manage' })) {
    throw new Error('Not authorized to invite members')
  }

  const clerk = await clerkClient()
  const invitation = await clerk.organizations.createOrganizationInvitation({
    organizationId,
    emailAddress,
    role, // e.g. 'org:member' or 'org:admin'
    redirectUrl: 'https://yourapp.com/accept-invite',
  })

  return invitation
}

List Pending Invitations

const clerk = await clerkClient()
const { data: invitations } = await clerk.organizations.getOrganizationInvitationList({
  organizationId,
  status: ['pending'], // 'pending' | 'accepted' | 'revoked'
})

Revoke an Invitation

await clerk.organizations.revokeOrganizationInvitation({
  organizationId,
  invitationId,
  requestingUserId: userId,
})

Built-in Invite UI

<OrganizationSwitcher /> includes a built-in member invitation UI when personal accounts are hidden:

<OrganizationSwitcher
  hidePersonal
  afterCreateOrganizationUrl="/orgs/:slug/dashboard"
  afterSelectOrganizationUrl="/orgs/:slug/dashboard"
/>

The <OrganizationProfile /> component also provides a full members management tab with invitation and role management.

Workflow

1. Setup - Enable Organizations in Clerk Dashboard
2. Create org - Users create org or admin creates via API
3. Add members - Send invitations or add directly
4. Assign roles - Default member role, promote to admin as needed
5. Build protected routes - Use auth() to check orgSlug and roles
6. Use OrganizationSwitcher - Let users switch between orgs

See Also

• clerk-setup - Initial Clerk install
• clerk-webhooks - Sync org events to your database
• clerk-backend-api - Manage members programmatically