How to Create and Share a Zoom Video Call Link

A Zoom meeting link lets other people join your video call without typing a meeting ID. This guide shows how to generate a link for an instant or scheduled meeting, copy the invitation, share it with the right people, and confirm that it works before the call starts.

Before you start

Meeting links are created by Zoom's online service, not locally on your computer or phone. You need an internet connection and a Zoom account to create a link. Guests need only the link, although they may be asked to install the Zoom app or join from a browser, depending on the meeting settings.

• Sign in to the Zoom desktop app, the mobile app or the Zoom web portal.
• Decide whether you need an instant meeting that starts now or a scheduled meeting for a set date and time.
• Check your plan's limits, such as meeting duration and participant count, because these vary by account type.
• If you will use video, allow camera permission and microphone access for Zoom in your operating system or browser.

Step-by-step instructions

Start an instant meeting and copy its link

• Open the Zoom app and sign in.
• On the Home tab, select New meeting. The meeting starts, and you join as the host.
• Open the Participants panel and choose Invite, or open the meeting information icon near the top of the meeting window.
• Select the option to copy the invite link or the full invitation.
• Paste the link into a chat, email or calendar event.

Schedule a meeting with a link you can send in advance

• In the app, select Schedule on the Home tab. In the web portal, open Meetings and choose to schedule a new meeting.
• Enter the topic, date, start time, duration and time zone.
• To reuse the same link for regular calls, turn on the recurring meeting option.
• Choose the meeting ID. A generated ID is better for one-off calls. Your Personal Meeting ID stays the same across meetings, so anyone who has it before can reuse it.
• Set security options such as a passcode and a waiting room.
• Save the meeting. Copy the invitation from the confirmation screen, or later from the meeting's entry in the Meetings tab.

Button names and their placement change between Zoom versions and differ between the desktop, mobile and web interfaces. If a label does not match, look for options named Invite, Copy invitation or Meeting information. If an option is missing, update the app or check your account settings in the web portal. Some features may also be controlled by your organization's administrator.

Share the link

The full invitation usually contains the link, the meeting ID and the passcode, plus dial-in details if they are enabled on your account. The link alone is often enough because it can carry the passcode in encoded form. Treat it like a key to the meeting: send it through private channels rather than posting it publicly. To undo a shared link, edit the meeting's security settings or delete the scheduled meeting. Once the meeting is deleted, the old link should no longer admit anyone.

Check the output

Open the copied link in a different browser or on another device where you are not signed in as the host. Confirm that it opens the correct meeting and that it shows the passcode prompt or waiting room you configured.

• The meeting ID in the invitation matches the one shown in the meeting information.
• The date, time and time zone in the invitation are correct for your guests.
• In Zoom's video settings, the preview shows the selected camera, and the lighting makes your face clearly visible.
• Video resolution and frame rate during a call depend on your camera, your connection and Zoom's adaptive bitrate and encoding. An HD setting does not guarantee HD quality on every call.
• If you plan to record, check whether recording is local or in the cloud, and check the recording format and storage location. Both depend on your plan and settings.

Common problems and next steps

• Guests see a message that the meeting has not started: the host has not joined yet. Start the meeting, or allow participants to join before the host in the meeting options.
• The link reports an invalid meeting ID: the link may have been cut off when it was pasted, or the meeting was deleted or has expired. Copy the invitation again from the Meetings tab.
• Guests are asked for a passcode: send the full invitation, which includes the passcode.
• Guests wait without being admitted: the waiting room is on. Admit them from the Participants panel.
• Your video does not appear: check camera permission in the operating system or browser, close other apps that may be using the camera, and confirm the selected camera or capture source in Zoom's video settings.
• Uninvited people join: lock the meeting while it is running. For future calls, use a generated meeting ID with a passcode and a waiting room instead of your Personal Meeting ID.

For regular team calls, a recurring meeting gives everyone one stable link. For sensitive or one-time calls, schedule a separate meeting with its own generated ID so the link cannot be reused afterward.