# Department object

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🔨 In Development
 — This section is still being developed and may change.


The Department object represents organizational departments used for access management and team organization. Departments provide an additional layer of structure within organizations.

## Properties

### Identity

**`id`** string required

Unique department identifier. Format: `dep_` followed by 12 alphanumeric characters.

**`name`** string required

Department name (e.g., `Engineering`, `Sales`, `Marketing`).

**`description`** string | null optional

Detailed description of the department's purpose and responsibilities.

### Relationships

**`organization_id`** string required

Reference to the [Organization](/docs/api-reference/objects/organization-object) this department belongs to.

**`created_by`** string | null optional

Reference to the [User](/docs/api-reference/objects/user-object) who created this department.

### Department Settings

**`is_active`** boolean required

Whether the department is active and can be assigned to users. Default: `true`.

**`is_default`** boolean required

Whether this is a default department. Default departments are created automatically for new organizations. Default: `false`.

**`color`** string | null optional

Hex color code for UI display (e.g., `#2196F3`). Used for visual identification in dashboards and reports.

### Timestamps

**`created_at`** string required

Timestamp when the department was created. Format: ISO 8601 datetime string.

**`updated_at`** string required

Timestamp when the department was last updated. Format: ISO 8601 datetime string.

**`is_deleted`** boolean required

Whether the department has been soft deleted. Soft deleted departments are not returned in API responses unless explicitly requested. Default: `false`.

## Default Departments

New organizations are automatically created with five default departments:

1. **Engineering** - Software development and technical teams
2. **Sales** - Sales and business development teams
3. **Marketing** - Marketing and communications teams
4. **Support** - Customer support and success teams
5. **Operations** - Operations and administrative teams


## Usage

Departments enable:

- **Team organization**: Group users by function or team
- **Access control**: Restrict resources to specific departments
- **Reporting**: Generate department-specific reports and analytics
- **Resource allocation**: Assign budgets and resources per department


Users can belong to multiple departments via [UserDepartment](/docs/api-reference/objects/user-department-object) relationships.

**Default Department: Engineering**


```json
{
  "id": "dep_eng_abc123456",
  "name": "Engineering",
  "description": "Software development and technical teams",
  "organization_id": "ORG_A1B2C3D4E5F6G7H8",
  "created_by": null,
  "is_active": true,
  "is_default": true,
  "color": "#2196F3",
  "created_at": "2025-01-10T09:00:00Z",
  "updated_at": "2025-01-10T09:00:00Z",
  "is_deleted": false
}
```

**Custom Department: Data Science**


```json
{
  "id": "dep_ds_xyz789012",
  "name": "Data Science",
  "description": "Machine learning and data analytics team",
  "organization_id": "ORG_A1B2C3D4E5F6G7H8",
  "created_by": "uid_admin_user_123",
  "is_active": true,
  "is_default": false,
  "color": "#9C27B0",
  "created_at": "2025-01-12T14:30:00Z",
  "updated_at": "2025-01-15T10:20:00Z",
  "is_deleted": false
}
```

**Inactive Department**


```json
{
  "id": "dep_old_def456789",
  "name": "Legacy Systems",
  "description": "Deprecated legacy systems maintenance (archived)",
  "organization_id": "ORG_A1B2C3D4E5F6G7H8",
  "created_by": "uid_admin_user_456",
  "is_active": false,
  "is_default": false,
  "color": "#9E9E9E",
  "created_at": "2025-01-05T08:00:00Z",
  "updated_at": "2025-01-14T16:45:00Z",
  "is_deleted": false
}
```