To enable the Service Console for a user, first confirm two things: which console you mean, and whether your org uses Salesforce Classic, Lightning Experience, or Salesforce Foundations. In Classic, you create a console app, assign it to the user’s profiles, and give the user the Service Cloud User feature license. In Lightning, many users already have the Lightning Console User permission through their Salesforce licenses. Salesforce Platform users usually need a Lightning Console permission set license, a permission set, and a profile assignment on the console app.
“Standard Service Console” is how many administrators describe the Service Console, but Salesforce’s setup pages name the Service Console and the Sales Console as separate products. The steps below cover the Service Console and flag where the Sales Console instructions differ. The setup information reflects Salesforce Help pages checked in early October 2026.
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Step 1: Confirm which console and which Salesforce experience you use
Setup paths differ by console and by interface, so pick the row that matches your org before you change anything.
| Situation | Console | Setup path to follow | Key requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic user interface, Service agents | Service Console | Classic Service Console setup | Console app, profile assignment, and Service Cloud User feature license |
| Lightning Experience, users with Agentforce Service (formerly Service Cloud) or Agentforce Sales (formerly Sales Cloud) licenses | Lightning console app | Lightning console access | Lightning Console User permission, which these licenses already include, plus app profile assignment |
| Lightning Experience, Salesforce Platform users | Lightning console app | Lightning console access | Lightning Console permission set license, a permission set granting Lightning Console User, and app profile assignment |
| Salesforce Foundations | Service access in a Foundations configuration | Foundations service access | General User or Service User permission set group, or the permission set alternatives |
| Sales agents | Sales Console | Sales Console permission instructions | Sales Console User permission set license before the Salesforce Console User permission set |
Salesforce has renamed Sales Cloud and Service Cloud to Agentforce Sales and Agentforce Service. Some setup screens and Help pages may still use the older names, so match on the product and license names your org actually shows.
Salesforce Classic: enable the Service Console
Salesforce Help lists the Service Console as available in Classic in Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer editions. To create the console, the administrator needs the Customize Application and Service Cloud User permissions.
Classic setup steps
- Customize the highlight panels for the objects agents will work with, and turn the panels on.
- Create the console app for Service and assign it to the user profiles that should open it.
- Optionally configure agent features: branding, pinned list display, allowed domains, notifications, keyboard shortcuts, the Knowledge Sidebar, interaction logs, and Chat.
- Assign each user the Service Cloud User feature license.
Assign the Service Cloud User feature license
The feature license entitles users to additional features, including the Service Console. Assigning it requires the Manage Internal Users permission. To assign it, go to Setup, then Users, click Edit next to the user, select Service Cloud User, and click Save.
Lightning Experience: enable console access
In Lightning, the Lightning Console User permission provides access to Lightning console apps. Salesforce’s permission documentation describes it as “Ability to access and work with Lightning console apps.”
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Users with these licenses already include Lightning Console User, so they should not receive the Lightning Console permission set license. For these users, the remaining step is to make sure the console app is assigned to their profile in App Manager.
Salesforce Platform users
Salesforce Platform users need a Lightning Console permission set license to use Lightning console apps. This flow applies to orgs that have purchased Lightning Console permission set licenses; some license types carry an extra cost in certain editions.
- Confirm in Setup that your org has Lightning Console permission set licenses available to assign.
- Create a permission set that enables Lightning Console User.
- Assign that permission set to the users who need console access.
- Open App Manager and add the user’s profile to the Lightning console app.
Salesforce Foundations
In Foundations, access is granted through the General User or Service User permission set group. If you prefer individual permission sets, the Help page names Service Starter App, Lightning Knowledge Manager, and Macros Manager as the alternatives.
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- Upgraded orgs may keep permission set group assignments from before the upgrade.
- Beginning in Summer ’26, Chatter is turned off by default in new orgs. Turn it on only when a feature in your configuration requires it.
Do not apply Sales Console steps to Service users
The Sales Console permission instructions require the Sales Console User permission set license to be assigned before the Salesforce Console User permission set. If the user needs Service work, these steps do not apply, and assigning them can give access to the wrong console. Confirm the console name before you start.
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- Classic: confirm the user has the Service Cloud User feature license and that their profile is assigned to the console app.
- Lightning, Agentforce licenses: confirm the console app is assigned to the user’s profile in App Manager.
- Lightning, Salesforce Platform: confirm the user has a Lightning Console permission set license, a permission set granting Lightning Console User, and the profile assignment on the app.
- Foundations: confirm the user is in the General User or Service User permission set group, or has one of the alternative permission sets.
- Admin cannot create the console: check for the Customize Application and Service Cloud User permissions.
Sources and currency
This guide draws on Salesforce Help documentation covering Service Console setup in Classic, Lightning console permission sets, Foundations service access, and the Sales Console permission instructions, as checked in early October 2026. Salesforce changes product labels, license names, supported editions, and setup screens over time. Check the Help page for your release and your org’s license inventory before you make changes.
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