Active Directory
Connect ADP Workforce Now to Active Directory
Turn ADP Workforce Now hires, changes and departures into account updates in Active Directory. Follow the setup steps, preview changes with a dry run, then go live.
ADP Workforce Now record
08:02:14
Marcus Reid
118204
- Job Title
- Software Engineer
- Home Department
- Engineering
- Location
- Austin
- Reports To
- D. Okafor
- Hire Date
- Nov 10, 2026
- Worker Category
- Full Time
Active Directory
eng-austin
- accountOU=Engineering,OU=Staff
- sAMAccountNamemarcus.reid
- mailmarcus.reid@northwind.com
- titleSoftware Engineer
- managerD. Okafor
- memberOfEng-All
- memberOfVPN-Austin
2.3s
- ADP Workforce Now fields mapped
- 13
- Steps to go live
- 9
- Employee records stored in our cloud
- 0
Joiners, movers and leavers
How ADP Workforce Now updates Active Directory
HR updates ADP Workforce Now. ezOnboard updates accounts based on your rules.
Joiner
An account before day one
A person is hired in ADP Workforce Now with a hire date and Active position status.
- Account created in the role’s OU, disabled until the start date
- Name, email and attributes set from ADP Workforce Now
- Department and site groups added
- Account enabled on the start date; password change required at first sign-in
Mover
Access for the new role
A job title, home department, location or manager changes in ADP Workforce Now’s Employment Profile.
- Title, department, office and manager updated
- Account moved to the OU your rules specify
- Groups added and removed to match the new role
Leaver
Offboarding on schedule
A termination date and Terminated position status are set in ADP Workforce Now.
- Account disabled on the termination date, never deleted
- Groups removed and the account moved to the disabled OU
- Mail forwarded and licenses recovered with connected Exchange and Microsoft 365 services
Before you start
What to have ready
Work with a ADP Workforce Now admin and a directory admin to complete the setup.
- In ADP Workforce Now
- ADP Workforce Now administrator access, with ADP API Central added from ADP Marketplace
- A work email or associate ID for each person in ADP Workforce Now to match them to their account
- In Active Directory
- A domain-joined server running Windows Server 2019 or later
- A group managed service account or service account to run the agent
- Outbound HTTPS to the HR system and ezOnboard; no inbound access required
- OUs for staff accounts, disabled accounts and the groups ezOnboard will manage
Step by step
Set up ADP Workforce Now with Active Directory
Start in ADP Workforce Now and on your server. Then finish in the ezOnboard portal with our implementation team.
01
ADP Workforce Now
Create an API Central project for ezOnboard
ADP Marketplace → API Central → Projects → Create a Project
Add ADP API Central from ADP Marketplace. Each project defines an integration’s access and credentials. In API Central, open Projects and choose Create a Project.
Name the project ezOnboard. Select the use case for worker demographics and employment data. Its name varies by API Central version. Choose read access only and leave pay use cases unselected. Choose Create Project.
- Workers: names, preferred name, work email, associate ID and position
- Work assignment: job title, home department, location, reports to and hire date
- Status: position status, worker category and termination date
New project. Select the worker use case and leave the pay and time ones unselected.
02
ADP Workforce Now
Copy the credentials and download the certificate
API Central → Projects → ezOnboard → Credentials
Open the project’s Credentials tab. Copy the Client ID, then choose Show Secret and copy the Client Secret. Both remain available on this tab.
Open Manage Certificate. Follow the steps to generate a certificate signing request, then download the certificate and private key. Save both securely. The private key is shown only once. You’ll need them and the client ID and secret in step 5.
Credentials tab. Copy both values, then download the certificate and private key.
03
Your server
Install the ezOnboard agent
The agent runs as a Windows service on a domain-joined server with Windows Server 2019 or later. It connects to ADP Workforce Now and ezOnboard over outbound HTTPS. No inbound firewall rules are needed.
Download the signed MSI and enrollment bundle from the portal. Save the install code. The portal shows it only once. Run the MSI, enter the code and choose a service account, preferably a group managed service account. The installer checks the domain connection, LDAP access, outbound access and clock before making changes.
Installer screen with the setup requirements.
04
Active Directory
Delegate the OUs the agent will manage
Run the installer’s delegation script once as a domain administrator. It lets the agent’s service account create, update and disable accounts only in the OUs you choose. The agent doesn’t need Domain Admin rights.
Include the OUs for staff accounts, disabled accounts and managed groups. The agent blocks changes outside these OUs, even if a rule requests them.
PS C:\> & 'C:\ProgramData\ezOnboard\northwind\ou-delegation.ps1' Delegated NORTHWIND\svc-ezonboard$ on OU=Staff,DC=northwind,DC=com Delegated NORTHWIND\svc-ezonboard$ on OU=Disabled,DC=northwind,DC=com Delegated NORTHWIND\svc-ezonboard$ on OU=Groups,DC=northwind,DC=com DoneRun the installer’s delegation script once on a domain controller.
05
ezOnboard portal
Add ADP Workforce Now as an HR source
In the portal, add ADP Workforce Now as an HR source using the client ID, client secret and certificate. Your credentials are encrypted with your organization’s key and sent to your agent. The agent reads ADP Workforce Now from your network. Nobody at ezOnboard can read the credentials.
Choose a field to match people across both systems, usually work email or employee ID. The agent checks ADP Workforce Now every five minutes and catches up on any missed changes.
HR source. Your agent uses these credentials to read ADP Workforce Now.
06
ezOnboard portal
Map ADP Workforce Now fields to Active Directory attributes
Choose which ADP Workforce Now fields update each directory attribute. Start with the defaults below, add custom fields or combine values. For example, build a display name from first and last names, format a job title or look up an office address by site.
Blank ADP Workforce Now fields leave directory values unchanged unless you configure the mapping to clear them.
Field mapping. See the full list of defaults below.
07
ezOnboard portal
Set rules for accounts, OUs and groups
Rules define who gets an account, which OU it belongs in, how it’s named and which groups it joins. They also control offboarding. Use ADP Workforce Now fields, such as department and site, to make those choices.
Our implementation team helps you write the rules. With approvals enabled, your team must approve each rule change before the agent uses it.
Rules page with the placement rule open.
08
ezOnboard portal
Preview changes with a dry run
Run a dry run for your whole workforce. The agent matches ADP Workforce Now records to existing accounts by employee ID, then work email, and previews changes without applying them. If two accounts match one person, that action stops for review.
Review the planned changes and the rules behind them in the portal. Adjust your rules and repeat the dry run until the results match your expectations.
Dry run. No changes are applied while dry run is on.
09
ezOnboard portal
Go live
Turn off dry run to apply changes. If a run would disable or move more accounts than your safety limits allow, it stops and alerts your team before making changes. We review the first runs with you.
HR continues working in ADP Workforce Now. Your rules handle new accounts, updates and offboarding on schedule. Get alerts by email, in the portal or by webhook when a run stops, the HR feed stops updating or the agent stops reporting. An inactive feed never triggers offboarding.
Reports with account activity, tickets avoided and agent uptime.
Field mapping
ADP Workforce Now fields and Active Directory attributes
Start with these defaults and adjust any mapping. Dates and lifecycle status control when accounts are created, enabled or disabled.
| ADP Workforce Now field | Active Directory attribute | How it’s used |
|---|---|---|
| First NamePersonal Profile › Legal Name | givenName | Sets the first name at account creation and keeps it up to date. |
| Last NamePersonal Profile › Legal Name | sn | Keeps the last name up to date. Also updates the logon name if your naming rule uses it. |
| Preferred NamePersonal Profile | displayName | Uses the preferred name for the display name and email. Uses the first name if blank. |
| Work EmailPersonal Profile › Contact | mail, userPrincipalName | Sets the email address and sign-in name. A mail rule can also generate them from the person’s name. |
| Associate IDEmployment Profile | employeeID | Added to new accounts and used first to match existing accounts. |
| Job TitleEmployment Profile › Position | title | Keeps the job title up to date and sets groups based on your rules. |
| Home DepartmentEmployment Profile › Position | department | Keeps the department up to date. Rules can use it to choose account placement and groups. |
| LocationEmployment Profile › Position | physicalDeliveryOfficeName | Keeps the office up to date. A lookup table can also fill in the street, city and country. |
| Reports ToEmployment Profile › Position | manager | Links to the manager’s account to keep approvals and org charts in sync with ADP Workforce Now. |
| Hire DateEmployment Profile › Status | userAccountControl | Sets when the account is created and enabled. You choose how many days before the hire date to create it. |
| Position StatusEmployment Profile › Status | userAccountControl | Active keeps the account enabled. Terminated disables it when no other record keeps the person active. Your rules control access during Leave. |
| Worker CategoryEmployment Profile › Position | userAccountControl | Rules can use Full Time, Part Time or Temporary to choose groups and licenses. |
| Termination DateEmployment Profile › Status | userAccountControl | Sets the date for disabling the account and starting offboarding. Your rules set the time. |
Frequently asked questions
- Does ezOnboard write to ADP Workforce Now?
- No. ezOnboard only reads ADP Workforce Now. Select a read-only worker use case. Make any corrections in ADP Workforce Now.
- Which ADP permissions does the project need?
- A use case that reads worker demographics and employment data, which grants the Workers API. Leave out pay, time and benefits use cases. Your ADP administrator creates the project in API Central, and ADP approves its certificate.
- Do we need ADP’s Entra ID connector or SCIM?
- No. ezOnboard reads ADP Workforce Now’s API and uses your rules to manage accounts in Active Directory or Entra ID. Its agent runs on your network and can also manage Exchange.
- Do we need a server for the agent?
- Yes. Use a domain-joined Windows Server with LDAP access to a domain controller and outbound HTTPS to ADP Workforce Now and ezOnboard. The agent needs no inbound firewall rules or Domain Admin rights. The delegation script grants access only to the OUs it manages.
- How quickly does a ADP Workforce Now change reach Active Directory?
- The agent checks ADP Workforce Now every five minutes and usually applies changes within seconds of finding them. Scheduled changes follow your rules: accounts are created before the start date, enabled on that date and disabled on the termination date at the time you choose.
- How does ADP Workforce Now trigger offboarding in Active Directory?
- On the termination date, the account is disabled, removed from its groups and moved to your disabled-accounts OU. It is never deleted. With Exchange and Microsoft 365 connected, your rules also schedule mail forwarding and license recovery. Every step is recorded for audit.
- Where does our employee data go?
- The agent reads ADP Workforce Now and updates Active Directory from your server. Names, emails and HR records stay on your network, where your team can view them on a local status page. The portal receives events with pseudonymous IDs, the rule used and the result.
- Can ezOnboard also connect ADP Workforce Now to Entra ID?
- Yes. One agent and one set of rules can manage Active Directory, Entra ID and Exchange from ADP Workforce Now. For accounts synced from Active Directory, the agent updates the on-premises account and assigns licenses and mailboxes in the cloud.
Get a demo
See ADP Workforce Now connected to Active Directory
Get a demo for your ADP Workforce Now and Active Directory setup. For questions, email sales@ezonboard.io.