If a participant is unable to join a meeting or webinar because of errors Unable to join this meeting. The host requires authentication on the commercial Zoom platform to join this meeting. Please log in with a commercial Zoom account to join or This meeting is for authorized participants only. Click "Switch Account to Join" to sign into Zoom with an email address authorized for joining this meeting, this means the meeting or webinar is configured to require authentication.

To successfully join the meeting or webinar, participants must sign in to Zoom with an email address authorized to join the session. They must use a commercial Zoom account, which is any type of account (i.e., Basic, Pro, Enterprise, etc.). 

Authentication configured in the meeting or webinar can be:

• Sign in to Zoom: This allows participants to join the meeting or webinar as long as they are signed in to a Zoom account.
• Signed-in users in my account: Only allows any signed-in user within the account to join the meeting or webinar. If they are authenticated with a different account, they will be directed to switch accounts.
• Sign in to Zoom with specified domains: Only allows users whose email addresses contain a certain domain to join the meeting or webinar. If a participant is signed in with a different email domain other than what is specified, they are prompted to switch accounts to join.
• Signed in to account associated with invited email: Only allows users who are signed in to the account that matches the email they registered with to join. If they are authenticated with a different account, they will be directed to switch accounts.
• Sign in to external Single Sign-On (SSO): Only allows users who authenticate through a 3rd-party authentication service to join.

This article covers:

• How to resolve this issue
  
  • Disable authentication settings for joining a meeting/webinar
  • Disable authentication settings in the web portal
  • Sign up for a commercial Zoom account
  • Send Zoom a problem report
  • Contact your IT team
  • Contact Zoom Support

How to resolve this issue

Disable authentication settings for joining a meeting/webinar

The message “Unable to join this meeting The host requires authentication on the commercial Zoom platform to join this meeting. Please log in with a commercial Zoom account to join.” indicates that for a participant to join your Zoom meeting, the participant should use an email that is associated with an active Zoom account before joining your meeting.

This Zoom error message normally shows up when you enable the Require authentication to join setting for your meetings, and the participant is joining the meeting without an active Zoom account. When this setting is enabled, sign-in to Zoom is enabled, and all participants are required to have at least a free (Basic) Zoom account and be signed in when joining the meetings.

You can disable the authentication requirement by editing the meeting.

Notes:

• Disabling this option on your Settings page will only apply to meetings that are scheduled after you disable the option. Meetings or webinars that are already scheduled will not be affected by this change.
• If you disable Require authentication to join, you may have to select a different security option (Passcode or Waiting Room), depending on if your account admin has enabled Requiring meetings to have one security option (or if this is enabled in your user settings). This means that if no security option is enabled, Zoom will automatically secure all meetings with Waiting Room.

Disable Require authentication to join when scheduling a meeting/webinar

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. Schedule a meeting or webinar.
3. Disable the authentication requirement:
   • For a meeting, under Security, deselect the checkbox next to Require authentication to join.
   • For a webinar, under Authentication, deselect the following checkboxes:

     • Require panelists to authenticate to join

     • Require attendees to authenticate to join

4. Click Save.

Disable Require authentication to join for an existing meeting/webinar

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click Meetings or Webinars.
3. Hover your mouse over the meeting or webinar that you want to manage, then click Edit. 
4. Disable the authentication requirement:
   • For a meeting, under Security, deselect the checkbox next to Require authentication to join.
   • For a webinar, under Authentication, deselect the following checkboxes:

     • Require panelists to authenticate to join

     • Require attendees to authenticate to join

5. Click Save.

Disable authentication settings in the web portal

If disabling authentication settings for joining a meeting/webinar didn't work, you may have to disable the Only authenticated meeting participants and webinar attendees can join meetings and webinars setting in the web portal. When this setting is enabled, it requires attendees to be signed in to their Zoom account.

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click Settings.
3. Click the Meeting tab.
4. Under Security, click the Only authenticated meeting participants and webinar attendees can join meetings and webinars toggle to enable or disable it.
5. If a verification dialog displays, click Enable or Disable to verify the change.
   Note: If the option is grayed out, it has been locked at either the group or account level. You need to contact your Zoom admin.

For additional details, visit Requiring authentication to join a meeting/webinar. 

Sign up for a commercial Zoom account

When the host requires authentication on the Zoom platform to join the meeting/webinar, you must sign in—or sign up—with a commercial Zoom account to join. You must use a commercial Zoom account, which is any type of account (i.e., Basic, Pro, Enterprise, etc.).

For more information about creating a Zoom account, visit Getting started guide for new users.

Send Zoom a problem report

If you are encountering an issue while in a Zoom meeting or webinar, or while using the Zoom application to chat or schedule a meeting, you can send a problem report and logs to Zoom Support.

Since this issue is reproducible, you can create a test meeting and attempt to join through the web browser. When the error message appears, wait a few seconds before closing the dialog box. Then, send Zoom a problem report.

Contact your IT team

If the authentication settings are grayed out and you cannot disable them, they have been locked at either the group or account level. You need to contact your Zoom admin or IT team. Contact your internal IT team or IT administrator, as they would be able to provide more insight.

Contact Zoom Support

If you are still receiving this error message, submit a request to Zoom Support for troubleshooting assistance. Please provide the following:

• Meeting ID, if in a meeting or trying to join/start a meeting, where this error message occurred
• Date and time when this error occurred
• Screenshot of the error messages (if applicable)
• Troubleshooting steps done before contacting Zoom Support
• Any other additional information