# Person accounts and contacts to multiple accounts

*Platform Administrator II Study Guide · Security and Access · Last updated October 26, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-administrator-ii/security-and-access/person-accounts-and-contacts-to-multiple-accounts*

Decide between business accounts with contacts, person accounts and Contacts to Multiple Accounts: what enabling person accounts commits you to (sharing, field security, storage, lead conversion, sites) and how direct and indirect account-contact relationships behave.

- Certification: Salesforce Platform Administrator II
- Exam section: Security and Access
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/platform-administrator-ii

**Official exam objective:**

> Compare and contrast the capabilities of a complex business model (Person accounts, Account, Contacts, and Contact to multiple Accounts).

## What the exam expects

- Choose between a business account with contacts, a person account and Contacts to Multiple Accounts for a given business model.
- State what enabling person accounts commits the org to: no undo, the required org-wide defaults, inherited field-level security and double storage.
- Predict person account behaviour in lead conversion, campaigns, cases, opportunities, merges, hierarchies and Experience Cloud sites.
- Explain direct and indirect relationships, and what happens on disabling the feature, deleting an account, importing and reporting.
- Know what the Account Contact Relationship object can and can't be customized with.

Key terms: **business account** (a company, with contacts that work for it); **person account** (an individual stored as one account plus one contact); **primary account** (the Account Name on a contact, its direct relationship); **indirect relationship** (any other account related through Contacts to Multiple Accounts); **Account Contact Relationship** (the object that stores each relationship).

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Disable person accounts | Not possible once enabled; preview in a sandbox | [Enable Person Accounts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.account_person_enable.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Person account sharing | Contact Controlled by Parent, or Account and Contact both Private | [Considerations for Using Person Accounts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.account_person_behavior.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Person account field-level security | Inherited from the corresponding Contact field | [Considerations for Using Person Accounts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.account_person_behavior.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Person account storage | One account plus one contact | [Considerations for Using Person Accounts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.account_person_behavior.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Lightning lead conversion | Blank Company makes a person account | [Considerations for Using Person Accounts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.account_person_behavior.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Person accounts and sites | Customer sites only, not partner sites | [Considerations for Using Person Accounts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.account_person_behavior.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Primary account | The Account Name account; a direct relationship | [Considerations for Relating a Contact](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=sales.shared_contacts_considerations.htm&type=5) |
| Disabling Contacts to Multiple Accounts | Indirect relationships deleted; primary kept | [Considerations for Relating a Contact](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=sales.shared_contacts_considerations.htm&type=5) |
| Importing relationships | Data Loader, not the Data Import Wizard | [Considerations for Relating a Contact](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=sales.shared_contacts_considerations.htm&type=5) |
| Enable Contacts to Multiple Accounts | Setup, Account Settings; Customize Application | [Set Up Contacts to Multiple Accounts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=sales.shared_contacts_set_up.htm&type=5) |

## Check yourself

- Why does a person account count twice against storage?
- When does a converted lead become a business account even with person accounts enabled?
- What happens to relationships when Contacts to Multiple Accounts is turned off?
- Why might a report miss contacts that appear in an account's Related Contacts list?

## Sources

- [Considerations for Using Person Accounts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.account_person_behavior.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Enable Person Accounts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.account_person_enable.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Considerations for Relating a Contact to Multiple Accounts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=sales.shared_contacts_considerations.htm&type=5)
- [Set Up Contacts to Multiple Accounts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?language=en_US&id=sales.shared_contacts_set_up.htm&type=5)
- [Establish Contact and Account Relationships](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/accounts_contacts_lightning_experience/understand-account-and-contact-relationships-lightning)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 13 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the Platform Administrator II pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams