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Last updated on May 18, 2026

This article describes how Rublon normalizes usernames in the Rublon Admin Console and how to enable username normalization for applications in your organization.

What is Username Normalization?

Username normalization makes Rublon treat different username forms – such as DOMAIN\username (known as sAMAccountName), username@example.com (known as UserPrincipalName or UPN), and username – as the same user in the Rublon Admin Console. Username normalization gives organizations a set of benefits, including the possibility to have accounts shared across multiple servers within the same domain.

How Does Username Normalization Work?

When a user logs in to an application integrated with Rublon, the user enters their username (which could be in the form of a UPN or sAMAccountName) and password during primary authentication. If the password is correct, secondary authentication starts.

During secondary authentication, Rublon takes the entered username and tries to match it to an existing account in the Rublon Admin Console.

When username normalization is not enabled, Rublon does not alter the username in any way before trying to match it. This means that the following usernames are treated as four separate users:

  • bob.smith@hotmail.com
  • bob.smith@rublon.local
  • rublon\bob.smith
  • bob.smith

When username normalization is enabled, Rublon treats all four of these usernames as the same user bob.smith in the Rublon Admin Console. This means that if you already have a user bob.smith in the Users tab of the Admin Console, no new users will be created when somebody uses bob.smith@hotmail.com, bob.smith@rublon.local, or rublon\bob.smith to log in to an integrated application. Instead, Rublon will match all these username variants to user bob.smith.

In short, thanks to username normalization Rublon strips usernames in the following way:

  • bob.smith@hotmail.com → bob.smith
  • bob.smith@rublon.local → bob.smith
  • rublon\bob.smith → bob.smith

Note

Before enabling Username Normalization in a multi-domain environment, make sure that short usernames are unique across all domains. Username Normalization treats usernames such as user@example.com, DOMAIN\user, and user as the same Rublon MFA user. If different domains contain users with the same short username, these users can be matched to the same Rublon MFA user.

For detailed recommendations, refer to How to Choose the Username Format for Rublon MFA for Windows and Directory Sync.

How to Enable Username Normalization?

To enable username normalization for an application:

When editing an existing application

1. Sign in to the Rublon Admin Console.

2. Select the Applications tab.

3. Find an application for which you want to enable username normalization.

4. Click the name of the application.

5. Check the Normalize Usernames checkbox.

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6. Click Save to save your changes.

When creating a new application

1. Sign in to the Rublon Admin Console.

2. Select the Applications tab.

3. Click Add Application.

4. Check the Normalize Usernames checkbox.

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5. Fill in the rest of the information about your new application according to How to add an application.

6. Click Save.

When synchronizing users from Entra ID

1. Sign in to the Rublon Admin Console.

2. Expand the Users tab and select Directory Sync.

3. Select the Entra ID Configuration you would like to edit.

4. Select Normalize Usernames in the Details tab.
For more information, refer to How to synchronize users from Entra ID using Directory Sync.

Troubleshooting

If your issue is related to duplicate users, multiple Active Directory domains, or choosing between user@example.com, DOMAIN\user, and user, refer to How to Choose the Username Format for Rublon MFA for Windows and Directory Sync.

If you encounter any issues with your Rublon integration, please contact Rublon Support.

Related Posts

Rublon Admin Console – Documentation

How to Choose the Username Format for Rublon MFA for Windows and Directory Sync