First-degree connections are people you are directly connected to; second-degree connections are connected to your first-degree connections; third-degree connections are connected to your second-degree connections. LinkedIn's Your Network and Degrees of Connection (opens in a new tab) page defines these states, and notes that the degree of connection affects how you can interact with someone.
The degree is not a label for its own sake. It shapes whether you can message someone for free, whether a connection invitation makes sense, and which paid route applies when free contact is not available. Degree alone does not determine free contact: Open Profile or an eligible free group/coworker message request may also apply, subject to recipient/request settings.
The relationship states
LinkedIn groups your network into more than just degrees:
- 1st-degree connections — people you are directly connected to, because you accepted their invitation or they accepted yours. They show a 1st-degree icon next to their name in search and on their profile.
- 2nd-degree connections — people connected to your 1st-degree connections. They show a 2nd-degree icon.
- 3rd-degree connections — people connected to your 2nd-degree connections. They show a 3rd-degree icon.
- Followers — people who follow your public updates, subject to your settings.
- Fellow group members — people in a LinkedIn group you belong to, who count as part of your network.
- Out of network — members outside all of the above.
Followers and group members are worth separating from connections. LinkedIn counts them as part of your network, but they are not first-degree connections, and that changes what messaging can do.
A small network diagram
This diagram is illustrative — it shows how the rings nest, not any real account.
You
└─ 1st-degree: A
└─ 2nd-degree: B (A is connected to B; you are not)
└─ 3rd-degree: C (B is connected to C; you are not)
If you and A connect, A's connections become your 2nd-degree connections. Connect with B and B's network shifts one ring closer. The rings move as your network moves; they are not fixed properties of other people.
What you can do at each degree
This table reflects what LinkedIn documents on the pages cited below.
| Relationship | Connection invitation | Free message | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st-degree | Already connected | Yes | You can message each other directly |
| 2nd-degree | Yes — LinkedIn says you can invite a 2nd-degree connection with the Connect button | Not by degree alone; Open Profile or an eligible free group/coworker request may apply, subject to recipient/request settings | Group/coworker eligibility can overlap connection degrees |
| 3rd-degree | See note | Not by degree alone; Open Profile or an eligible free group/coworker request may apply, subject to recipient/request settings | LinkedIn documents the 3rd-degree icon in search and on profiles; plan the outreach route before acting |
| Out of network | Subject to the recipient's connection and invitation settings | Not by degree alone; Open Profile or an eligible free coworker request may apply, subject to recipient/request settings | LinkedIn says you can send an InMail if the option is available |
| Followers | Subject to the recipient's connection and invitation settings | No — following adds no messaging permission | Following is one-way; see follow vs connect |
| Fellow group members | Subject to the recipient's connection and invitation settings | Yes — a free message request to a fellow group member | LinkedIn allows a free message request to coworkers or group members you are not connected to |
Two rows deserve caution. LinkedIn's degrees page documents an invitation route for 2nd-degree connections and describes 3rd-degree connections by the icon that appears in search and on profiles, so do not assume a 3rd-degree profile will offer a Connect button. And "out of network" is where InMail matters: the page says you can send an InMail to introduce yourself if the option is available, which is why InMail is covered separately in what a LinkedIn InMail is.
Messaging rules by degree
The messaging overview describes free messages to 1st-degree connections and, within group pages, fellow group members. This is not an exhaustive rule: LinkedIn's Send messages on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab) page also lists Open Profile and group/current-coworker message requests as routes to non-connections, subject to recipient/request settings. The message-sending help distinguishes those requests from InMail, which requires a Premium subscription.
Check available free routes before a paid one:
- 1st-degree — a direct message, free.
- Current coworker or group member, not connected — an eligible free message request, subject to recipient/request settings; this eligibility can overlap connection degrees.
- No free route available — InMail, if you have a Premium product that includes it.
Open Profile is another exception worth knowing. LinkedIn's Open Profile and messages (opens in a new tab) page says the Premium feature lets anyone contact a Premium member for free even if they are not in the sender's network, and that all members can see the full profiles of Premium members who enabled it. That is a recipient setting, covered in LinkedIn Open Profile.
Filtering a search by degree
You do not have to count rings by hand. LinkedIn's 2nd and 3rd degree connections in search (opens in a new tab) page says you can refine a people search by 1st, 2nd and 3rd+ degree with the Connections filter at the top of the search page, and warns that filtering by 3rd+ degree includes everyone who meets your other criteria. The filter mechanics sit alongside the rest of the panel in LinkedIn advanced search.
One limitation to hold onto: degrees describe the route, not the person's interest. A 2nd-degree connection is one introduction away, but that introduction still has to be worth making. If the only thing connecting you is a shared network, a request can read as transactional — the degrees page itself ties invitations to the members you know and trust.
If you are weighing how a tooling vendor presents network-based prospecting, you can browse Clapa's overview for one example. The degrees themselves and the outreach rules are LinkedIn's, not a vendor's.
FAQ
What is a first-degree connection on LinkedIn? Someone you are directly connected to, because you accepted their invitation or they accepted yours.
What is a 2nd-degree connection? Someone connected to one of your first-degree connections. LinkedIn says you can send them an invitation with the Connect button.
Can I message a 2nd-degree connection for free? Not by degree alone. Free contact may use the recipient's Open Profile setting or an eligible free group/current-coworker message request, subject to recipient/request settings. A 2nd-degree connection can also be a group member or current coworker; a message request is distinct from paid InMail.
What does "out of network" mean? A member outside your 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-degree rings and your followers and groups. LinkedIn says an InMail is the option to introduce yourself if it is available.
Sources
- LinkedIn Help, Your Network and Degrees of Connection (opens in a new tab)
- LinkedIn Help, 2nd and 3rd degree connections in search on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)
- LinkedIn Help, LinkedIn Messaging - Overview (opens in a new tab)
- LinkedIn Help, Send messages to connections on LinkedIn Messaging (opens in a new tab)
- LinkedIn Help, Send messages on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)
- LinkedIn Help, Open Profile and messages (opens in a new tab)
