Yes, you can modify standard profiles — most permissions on them are editable. You can toggle object CRUD, field-level security, app and tab visibility, system permissions, login hours, login IP ranges, Apex class and Visualforce page access. What you cannot change is the profile’s name, license type, and a small set of core platform-defining permissions Salesforce locks on certain profiles (notably System Administrator).
What’s editable
- Object permissions (Create, Read, Edit, Delete, View All, Modify All)
- Field permissions (Read, Edit per field)
- Tab settings (Default On, Default Off, Tab Hidden)
- App visibility
- Record type assignments and defaults
- System permissions (API Enabled, View Setup, Send Email, etc.)
- Login hours
- Login IP ranges
- Page layout assignments
- Apex class and Visualforce page access
- Custom permissions
- Connected app access
What’s locked
- The profile name. You can’t rename “Standard User” to “Sales Rep Baseline”.
- The license type. A profile tied to the Salesforce Platform license stays on that license forever.
- Platform-mandatory permissions on System Administrator. “Customize Application”, “Modify All Data”, and a handful of others can’t be turned off on the System Administrator profile — those define what a sysadmin is. Salesforce won’t let you save the profile with them disabled.
- Some baseline permissions on Chatter-only and minimal-access profiles that the license requires.
Best practice — clone before customizing heavily
Even though Salesforce permits edits, the recommended pattern is:
- Leave standard profiles as-is.
- Clone a standard profile to create a custom profile.
- Modify the clone freely.
- Assign users to the clone.
Why? Two reasons:
- Change management. Edits to standard profiles affect every user on that profile and are harder to track in release notes.
- Upgrades. When Salesforce releases new permissions, standard profiles get sensible defaults that may not match your custom edits. A custom profile keeps your intent isolated from those release-time changes.
Common interview clarifier
“If I can edit standard profiles, when would I ever clone them?”
You clone them whenever your customization is significant — anything beyond a single permission toggle, anything role-specific, anything you want to name something other than “Standard User.” Cloning gives you control over the profile’s identity, makes deletion possible (in case the role is sunset), and isolates your changes from Salesforce’s release-time updates.
Quick reference
| Standard Profile | Custom Profile | |
|---|---|---|
| Rename | No | Yes |
| Change license type | No | No (inherited from clone source) |
| Toggle object CRUD | Yes (mostly) | Yes |
| Toggle FLS | Yes | Yes |
| Toggle system permissions | Yes (with some locked) | Yes |
| Delete | No | Yes (if unassigned) |
Verified against: Salesforce Help — Edit Profiles and Standard Profiles. Last reviewed 2026-05-17.