---
schema_version: "1"
id: f2e3210fa3860180e109100432bc70576a7a69d556dffac75c2e68b4b2ddae64
title: Create or Clone Profiles
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/platform/264-0-0/users_profiles_cloning.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.users_profiles_cloning.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 491f8334eff46c8fd9610bd8c5cfd024bb67f9098501a141620d34f4b9fa5cc6
description: Create custom profiles using the API, or clone existing profiles and customize them to fit your business’s needs.
products:
  - Security
  - Salesforce Platform
release: "264"
---
# Create or Clone Profiles

Create custom profiles using the API, or clone existing profiles and customize them to fit your business’s needs.

### Required Editions

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small edition"><colgroup><col></colgroup><tbody><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: both Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience</td></tr><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Available in: <strong>Essentials</strong>, <strong>Professional</strong>, <strong>Enterprise</strong>, <strong>Performance</strong>, <strong>Unlimited</strong>, <strong>Developer</strong>, and <strong>Database.com</strong> Editions</td></tr><tr class=""><td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;">Custom Profiles available in: <strong>Essentials</strong>, <strong>Professional</strong>, <strong>Enterprise</strong>, <strong>Performance</strong>, <strong>Unlimited</strong>, and <strong>Developer</strong> Editions</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table class="slds-table slds-table_bordered slds-max-medium-table_stacked slds-m-bottom_small permission">
        <colgroup>
          <col style="width:50%">
          <col style="width:50%">
        </colgroup>
        <thead class="slds-text-title_caps ">
          <tr class="">
            <th scope="colgroup" class="slds-cell-wrap" colspan="2" style="text-align:center;vertical-align:top;" id="d42632e107">User Permissions
              Needed</th>
          </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          <tr class="">
            <td data-label="User Permissions Needed" class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d42632e107 ">To create profiles:</td>

            <td class="slds-cell-wrap" style="vertical-align:top;" headers="d42632e107 ">Manage Profiles and Permission Sets</td>

          </tr>
        </tbody>
      </table>

![Tip](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-platform-access-264-0-0-production-enus/a92be132-3cbc-412a-9262-130636120c14/images/icon_tip.png)

Tip If you clone profiles to enable certain permissions or access settings, consider using permission sets. Because you can reuse smaller permission set building blocks, you can avoid creating dozens or even hundreds of profiles for each user and job function.

To create an empty custom profile without any base permissions included, use the Profile SOAP API object. On the Profile Setup page, you must first clone an existing profile to create a custom profile.

1. To clone a profile, from Setup, in the Quick Find box, enter Profiles, and then select **Profiles**.
2. In the Profiles list page, do one of the following:
    
    - Click **New Profile**, then select an existing profile that’s similar to the one you want to create.
    - If enhanced profile list views are enabled, click **Clone** next to a profile that’s similar to the one you want to create.
    - Click the name of a profile that’s similar to the one you want to create, then in the profile page, click **Clone**.
    
    A new profile uses the same user license as the profile it was cloned from.
3. Enter a profile name.
4. Click **Save**.

#### See Also

- [_SOAP API Developer Guide_: Profile](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.api.meta/api/sforce_api_objects_profile.htm)
- [Profiles](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.admin_userprofiles.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Profiles define default settings for users. When you create users, you assign a profile to each one.")
- [Permission Sets](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.perm_sets_overview.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "A permission set is a collection of settings and permissions that give users access to various tools and functions. Permission sets extend users’ functional access without changing their profiles and are the recommended way to manage your users’ permissions.")