diff --git a/docs/admin/views.mdx b/docs/admin/views.mdx
index 45f4138a2d..97ffd28bbb 100644
--- a/docs/admin/views.mdx
+++ b/docs/admin/views.mdx
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ For more granular control, pass a configuration object instead. Payload exposes
 | **`path`** \*      | Any valid URL path or array of paths that [`path-to-regexp`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/path-to-regex) understands.                                                                     |
 | **`exact`**        | Boolean. When true, will only match if the path matches the `usePathname()` exactly.                                                                                                     |
 | **`strict`**       | When true, a path that has a trailing slash will only match a `location.pathname` with a trailing slash. This has no effect when there are additional URL segments in the pathname. |
-| **`sensitive`**    | When true, will match if the path is case sensitive.
+| **`sensitive`**    | When true, will match if the path is case sensitive.|
 | **`meta`**         | Page metadata overrides to apply to this view within the Admin Panel. [More details](./metadata).                                                                           |
 
 _\* An asterisk denotes that a property is required._
@@ -133,6 +133,12 @@ The above example shows how to add a new [Root View](#root-views), but the patte
   route.
 </Banner>
 
+<Banner type="warning">
+  <strong>Custom views are public</strong>
+  <br />
+  Custom views are public by default. If your view requires a user to be logged in or to have certain access rights, you should handle that within your view component yourself.
+</Banner>
+
 ## Collection Views
 
 Collection Views are views that are scoped under the `/collections` route, such as the Collection List and Document Edit views.
diff --git a/packages/next/src/utilities/initPage/index.ts b/packages/next/src/utilities/initPage/index.ts
index e744d2d918..520d0ce960 100644
--- a/packages/next/src/utilities/initPage/index.ts
+++ b/packages/next/src/utilities/initPage/index.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { getPayloadHMR } from '../getPayloadHMR.js'
 import { initReq } from '../initReq.js'
 import { getRouteInfo } from './handleAdminPage.js'
 import { handleAuthRedirect } from './handleAuthRedirect.js'
+import { isCustomAdminView } from './isCustomAdminView.js'
 import { isPublicAdminRoute } from './shared.js'
 
 export const initPage = async ({
@@ -133,7 +134,8 @@ export const initPage = async ({
 
   if (
     !permissions.canAccessAdmin &&
-    !isPublicAdminRoute({ adminRoute, config: payload.config, route })
+    !isPublicAdminRoute({ adminRoute, config: payload.config, route }) &&
+    !isCustomAdminView({ adminRoute, config: payload.config, route })
   ) {
     redirectTo = handleAuthRedirect({
       config: payload.config,
diff --git a/packages/next/src/utilities/initPage/isCustomAdminView.ts b/packages/next/src/utilities/initPage/isCustomAdminView.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a76ac95a54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/next/src/utilities/initPage/isCustomAdminView.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+import type { AdminViewConfig, PayloadRequest, SanitizedConfig } from 'payload'
+
+import { getRouteWithoutAdmin } from './shared.js'
+
+/**
+ * Returns an array of views marked with 'public: true' in the config
+ */
+export const isCustomAdminView = ({
+  adminRoute,
+  config,
+  route,
+}: {
+  adminRoute: string
+  config: SanitizedConfig
+  route: string
+}): boolean => {
+  if (config.admin?.components?.views) {
+    const isPublicAdminRoute = Object.entries(config.admin.components.views).some(([_, view]) => {
+      const routeWithoutAdmin = getRouteWithoutAdmin({ adminRoute, route })
+
+      if (view.exact) {
+        if (routeWithoutAdmin === view.path) {
+          return true
+        }
+      } else {
+        if (routeWithoutAdmin.startsWith(view.path)) {
+          return true
+        }
+      }
+      return false
+    })
+    return isPublicAdminRoute
+  }
+  return false
+}
diff --git a/packages/next/src/utilities/initPage/shared.ts b/packages/next/src/utilities/initPage/shared.ts
index 185d7ad7b7..883942b4b2 100644
--- a/packages/next/src/utilities/initPage/shared.ts
+++ b/packages/next/src/utilities/initPage/shared.ts
@@ -35,9 +35,10 @@ export const isPublicAdminRoute = ({
   config: SanitizedConfig
   route: string
 }): boolean => {
-  return publicAdminRoutes.some((routeSegment) => {
+  const isPublicAdminRoute = publicAdminRoutes.some((routeSegment) => {
     const segment = config.admin?.routes?.[routeSegment] || routeSegment
     const routeWithoutAdmin = getRouteWithoutAdmin({ adminRoute, route })
+
     if (routeWithoutAdmin.startsWith(segment)) {
       return true
     } else if (routeWithoutAdmin.includes('/verify/')) {
@@ -46,6 +47,8 @@ export const isPublicAdminRoute = ({
       return false
     }
   })
+
+  return isPublicAdminRoute
 }
 
 export const getRouteWithoutAdmin = ({
diff --git a/packages/next/src/views/NotFound/index.tsx b/packages/next/src/views/NotFound/index.tsx
index 5b8047bbc0..c18e217937 100644
--- a/packages/next/src/views/NotFound/index.tsx
+++ b/packages/next/src/views/NotFound/index.tsx
@@ -67,6 +67,10 @@ export const NotFoundPage = async ({
 
   const params = await paramsPromise
 
+  if (!initPageResult.req.user || !initPageResult.permissions.canAccessAdmin) {
+    return <NotFoundClient />
+  }
+
   return (
     <DefaultTemplate
       i18n={initPageResult.req.i18n}
diff --git a/packages/next/src/views/Root/index.tsx b/packages/next/src/views/Root/index.tsx
index db3cfa53c4..60ed49af82 100644
--- a/packages/next/src/views/Root/index.tsx
+++ b/packages/next/src/views/Root/index.tsx
@@ -66,24 +66,29 @@ export const RootPage = async ({
 
   let dbHasUser = false
 
-  if (!DefaultView?.Component && !DefaultView?.payloadComponent) {
-    notFound()
-  }
-
   const initPageResult = await initPage(initPageOptions)
 
+  dbHasUser = await initPageResult?.req.payload.db
+    .findOne({
+      collection: userSlug,
+      req: initPageResult?.req,
+    })
+    ?.then((doc) => !!doc)
+
+  if (!DefaultView?.Component && !DefaultView?.payloadComponent) {
+    if (initPageResult?.req?.user) {
+      notFound()
+    }
+    if (dbHasUser) {
+      redirect(adminRoute)
+    }
+  }
+
   if (typeof initPageResult?.redirectTo === 'string') {
     redirect(initPageResult.redirectTo)
   }
 
   if (initPageResult) {
-    dbHasUser = await initPageResult?.req.payload.db
-      .findOne({
-        collection: userSlug,
-        req: initPageResult?.req,
-      })
-      ?.then((doc) => !!doc)
-
     const createFirstUserRoute = formatAdminURL({ adminRoute, path: _createFirstUserRoute })
 
     const collectionConfig = config.collections.find(({ slug }) => slug === userSlug)
@@ -102,6 +107,10 @@ export const RootPage = async ({
     }
   }
 
+  if (!DefaultView?.Component && !DefaultView?.payloadComponent && !dbHasUser) {
+    redirect(adminRoute)
+  }
+
   const createMappedView = getCreateMappedComponent({
     importMap,
     serverProps: {
diff --git a/packages/payload/src/config/client.ts b/packages/payload/src/config/client.ts
index 48996e9d4a..f0d3ea9cf1 100644
--- a/packages/payload/src/config/client.ts
+++ b/packages/payload/src/config/client.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ export type ClientConfig = {
         Logo: MappedComponent
       }
       LogoutButton?: MappedComponent
-    }
+    } & Pick<SanitizedConfig['admin']['components'], 'views'>
     dependencies?: Record<string, MappedComponent>
     livePreview?: Omit<LivePreviewConfig, ServerOnlyLivePreviewProperties>
   } & Omit<SanitizedConfig['admin'], 'components' | 'dependencies' | 'livePreview'>
@@ -64,6 +64,6 @@ export const serverOnlyConfigProperties: readonly Partial<ServerOnlyRootProperti
   'email',
   'custom',
   'graphQL',
-  'logger'
+  'logger',
   // `admin`, `onInit`, `localization`, `collections`, and `globals` are all handled separately
 ]
diff --git a/test/admin/components/views/CustomProtectedView/index.tsx b/test/admin/components/views/CustomProtectedView/index.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..afcb5e757d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/admin/components/views/CustomProtectedView/index.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+import type { AdminViewProps } from 'payload'
+
+import { Button } from '@payloadcms/ui'
+import LinkImport from 'next/link.js'
+import { notFound, redirect } from 'next/navigation.js'
+import React from 'react'
+
+import { customNestedViewTitle, customViewPath } from '../../../shared.js'
+import { settingsGlobalSlug } from '../../../slugs.js'
+
+const Link = (LinkImport.default || LinkImport) as unknown as typeof LinkImport.default
+
+export const CustomProtectedView: React.FC<AdminViewProps> = async ({ initPageResult }) => {
+  const {
+    req: {
+      payload: {
+        config: {
+          routes: { admin: adminRoute },
+        },
+      },
+      user,
+    },
+    req,
+  } = initPageResult
+
+  const settings = await req.payload.findGlobal({
+    slug: settingsGlobalSlug,
+  })
+
+  if (!settings?.canAccessProtected) {
+    if (user) {
+      redirect(`${adminRoute}/unauthorized`)
+    } else {
+      notFound()
+    }
+  }
+
+  return (
+    <div
+      style={{
+        marginTop: 'calc(var(--base) * 2)',
+        paddingLeft: 'var(--gutter-h)',
+        paddingRight: 'var(--gutter-h)',
+      }}
+    >
+      <h1 id="custom-view-title">{customNestedViewTitle}</h1>
+      <p>This custom view was added through the Payload config:</p>
+      <ul>
+        <li>
+          <code>components.views[key].Component</code>
+        </li>
+      </ul>
+      <div className="custom-view__controls">
+        <Button buttonStyle="secondary" el="link" Link={Link} to={`${adminRoute}`}>
+          Go to Dashboard
+        </Button>
+        &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
+        <Button
+          buttonStyle="secondary"
+          el="link"
+          Link={Link}
+          to={`${adminRoute}/${customViewPath}`}
+        >
+          Go to Custom View
+        </Button>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  )
+}
diff --git a/test/admin/config.ts b/test/admin/config.ts
index 26d1fdd691..3532c44921 100644
--- a/test/admin/config.ts
+++ b/test/admin/config.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import { GlobalGroup1A } from './globals/Group1A.js'
 import { GlobalGroup1B } from './globals/Group1B.js'
 import { GlobalHidden } from './globals/Hidden.js'
 import { GlobalNoApiView } from './globals/NoApiView.js'
+import { Settings } from './globals/Settings.js'
 import { seed } from './seed.js'
 import {
   customAdminRoutes,
@@ -33,7 +34,11 @@ import {
   customParamViewPath,
   customRootViewMetaTitle,
   customViewPath,
+  protectedCustomNestedViewPath,
+  publicCustomViewPath,
 } from './shared.js'
+import { settingsGlobalSlug } from './slugs.js'
+
 export default buildConfigWithDefaults({
   admin: {
     importMap: {
@@ -80,6 +85,17 @@ export default buildConfigWithDefaults({
           path: customViewPath,
           strict: true,
         },
+        ProtectedCustomNestedView: {
+          Component: '/components/views/CustomProtectedView/index.js#CustomProtectedView',
+          exact: true,
+          path: protectedCustomNestedViewPath,
+        },
+        PublicCustomView: {
+          Component: '/components/views/CustomView/index.js#CustomView',
+          exact: true,
+          path: publicCustomViewPath,
+          strict: true,
+        },
         CustomViewWithParam: {
           Component: '/components/views/CustomViewWithParam/index.js#CustomViewWithParam',
           path: customParamViewPath,
@@ -144,6 +160,7 @@ export default buildConfigWithDefaults({
     CustomGlobalViews2,
     GlobalGroup1A,
     GlobalGroup1B,
+    Settings,
   ],
   i18n: {
     translations: {
diff --git a/test/admin/e2e/1/e2e.spec.ts b/test/admin/e2e/1/e2e.spec.ts
index cbb90522a6..f4c59ae54f 100644
--- a/test/admin/e2e/1/e2e.spec.ts
+++ b/test/admin/e2e/1/e2e.spec.ts
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ import {
   customViewMetaTitle,
   customViewPath,
   customViewTitle,
+  protectedCustomNestedViewPath,
+  publicCustomViewPath,
   slugPluralLabel,
 } from '../../shared.js'
 import {
@@ -50,6 +52,7 @@ import {
   noApiViewCollectionSlug,
   noApiViewGlobalSlug,
   postsCollectionSlug,
+  settingsGlobalSlug,
 } from '../../slugs.js'
 
 const { beforeAll, beforeEach, describe } = test
@@ -494,6 +497,30 @@ describe('admin1', () => {
       await expect(page.locator('h1#custom-view-title')).toContainText(customNestedViewTitle)
     })
 
+    test('root — should render public custom view', async () => {
+      await page.goto(`${serverURL}${adminRoutes.routes.admin}${publicCustomViewPath}`)
+      await page.waitForURL(`**${adminRoutes.routes.admin}${publicCustomViewPath}`)
+      await expect(page.locator('h1#custom-view-title')).toContainText(customViewTitle)
+    })
+
+    test('root — should render protected nested custom view', async () => {
+      await page.goto(`${serverURL}${adminRoutes.routes.admin}${protectedCustomNestedViewPath}`)
+      await page.waitForURL(`**${adminRoutes.routes.admin}/unauthorized`)
+      await expect(page.locator('.unauthorized')).toBeVisible()
+
+      await page.goto(globalURL.global(settingsGlobalSlug))
+
+      const checkbox = page.locator('#field-canAccessProtected')
+
+      await checkbox.check()
+
+      await saveDocAndAssert(page)
+
+      await page.goto(`${serverURL}${adminRoutes.routes.admin}${protectedCustomNestedViewPath}`)
+      await page.waitForURL(`**${adminRoutes.routes.admin}${protectedCustomNestedViewPath}`)
+      await expect(page.locator('h1#custom-view-title')).toContainText(customNestedViewTitle)
+    })
+
     test('collection - should render custom tab view', async () => {
       await page.goto(customViewsURL.create)
       await page.locator('#field-title').fill('Test')
diff --git a/test/admin/globals/Settings.ts b/test/admin/globals/Settings.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..669137091a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/admin/globals/Settings.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+import type { GlobalConfig } from 'payload'
+
+import { settingsGlobalSlug } from '../slugs.js'
+
+export const Settings: GlobalConfig = {
+  slug: settingsGlobalSlug,
+  fields: [
+    {
+      type: 'checkbox',
+      name: 'canAccessProtected',
+    },
+  ],
+}
diff --git a/test/admin/payload-types.ts b/test/admin/payload-types.ts
index 528c56170e..74b684358c 100644
--- a/test/admin/payload-types.ts
+++ b/test/admin/payload-types.ts
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ export interface Config {
     'custom-global-views-two': CustomGlobalViewsTwo;
     'group-globals-one': GroupGlobalsOne;
     'group-globals-two': GroupGlobalsTwo;
+    settings: Setting;
   };
   locale: 'es' | 'en';
   user: User & {
@@ -341,7 +342,6 @@ export interface PayloadLockedDocument {
         relationTo: 'disable-duplicate';
         value: string | DisableDuplicate;
       } | null);
-  editedAt?: string | null;
   globalSlug?: string | null;
   user: {
     relationTo: 'users';
@@ -455,6 +455,16 @@ export interface GroupGlobalsTwo {
   updatedAt?: string | null;
   createdAt?: string | null;
 }
+/**
+ * This interface was referenced by `Config`'s JSON-Schema
+ * via the `definition` "settings".
+ */
+export interface Setting {
+  id: string;
+  canAccessProtected?: boolean | null;
+  updatedAt?: string | null;
+  createdAt?: string | null;
+}
 /**
  * This interface was referenced by `Config`'s JSON-Schema
  * via the `definition` "auth".
diff --git a/test/admin/shared.ts b/test/admin/shared.ts
index 41e687bc73..7c24349c1d 100644
--- a/test/admin/shared.ts
+++ b/test/admin/shared.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,12 @@ export const slugPluralLabel = 'Posts'
 
 export const customViewPath = '/custom-view'
 
+export const customNestedViewPath = `${customViewPath}/nested-view`
+
+export const publicCustomViewPath = '/public-custom-view'
+
+export const protectedCustomNestedViewPath = `${publicCustomViewPath}/protected-nested-view`
+
 export const customParamViewPathBase = '/custom-param'
 
 export const customParamViewPath = `${customParamViewPathBase}/:id`
@@ -14,8 +20,6 @@ export const customViewTitle = 'Custom View'
 
 export const customParamViewTitle = 'Custom Param View'
 
-export const customNestedViewPath = `${customViewPath}/nested-view`
-
 export const customNestedViewTitle = 'Custom Nested View'
 
 export const customEditLabel = 'Custom Edit Label'
diff --git a/test/admin/slugs.ts b/test/admin/slugs.ts
index 38899b97c5..9be4911a2e 100644
--- a/test/admin/slugs.ts
+++ b/test/admin/slugs.ts
@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@ export const globalSlug = 'global'
 export const group1GlobalSlug = 'group-globals-one'
 export const group2GlobalSlug = 'group-globals-two'
 export const hiddenGlobalSlug = 'hidden-global'
+
+export const settingsGlobalSlug = 'settings'
 export const noApiViewGlobalSlug = 'global-no-api-view'
 export const globalSlugs = [
   customGlobalViews1GlobalSlug,