diff --git a/examples/c/ADM_transfer_datasets_user.c b/examples/c/ADM_transfer_datasets_user.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..303567547c944c587a8357faee629ad0eeab7648
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/c/ADM_transfer_datasets_user.c
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+/******************************************************************************
+ * Copyright 2021-2023, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Spain
+ *
+ * This software was partially supported by the EuroHPC-funded project ADMIRE
+ *   (Project ID: 956748, https://www.admire-eurohpc.eu).
+ *
+ * This file is part of scord.
+ *
+ * scord is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * scord is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with scord.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later
+ *****************************************************************************/
+
+#include <scord/scord-user.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include "common.h"
+
+int
+main(int argc, char** argv) {
+
+    enum { N = 5 };
+
+    test_info_t test_info = {
+            .name = TESTNAME,
+            .requires_server = true,
+            .requires_controller = true,
+    };
+
+    cli_args_t cli_args;
+    if(process_args(argc, argv, test_info, &cli_args)) {
+        exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
+    }
+
+    const char* paths[N] = {"input00.dat", "inpu01.dat", "input02.dat",
+                            "input03.dat", "input04.dat"};
+
+    ADM_dataset_t sources[N];
+    ADM_dataset_t targets[N];
+
+    for(size_t i = 0; i < N; ++i) {
+        sources[i] = ADM_dataset_create(/*"lustre", */ paths[i]);
+        targets[i] = ADM_dataset_create(/*"gekkofs",*/ paths[i]);
+
+        if(!sources[i] || !targets[i]) {
+            abort();
+        }
+    }
+
+    ADM_return_t ret = ADM_SUCCESS;
+    ADM_transfer_t tx;
+
+    // the library will automatically route the request to the `scord`
+    // server configured in the cluster
+    if((ret = ADM_transfer_datasets(sources, N, targets, N, &tx)) !=
+       ADM_SUCCESS) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "ADM_transfer_datasets() failed: %s\n",
+                ADM_strerror(ret));
+        abort();
+    }
+
+    ADM_transfer_status_t status;
+    do {
+        struct timespec timeout = {.tv_sec = 1, .tv_nsec = 0};
+        // Wait for the transfer to complete
+        ret = ADM_transfer_wait(tx, &status, &timeout);
+
+        if(ret != ADM_SUCCESS && ret != ADM_ETIMEOUT) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "ADM_transfer_wait() failed: %s\n",
+                    ADM_strerror(ret));
+            abort();
+        }
+
+        if(ADM_TRANSFER_SUCCEEDED(status)) {
+            fprintf(stdout, "Transfer completed successfully\n");
+        } else if(ADM_TRANSFER_FAILED(status)) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "Transfer failed: %s\n",
+                    ADM_strerror(ADM_TRANSFER_ERROR(status)));
+        } else if(ADM_TRANSFER_PENDING(status)) {
+            fprintf(stdout, "Transfer pending\n");
+            continue;
+        } else if(ADM_TRANSFER_IN_PROGRESS(status)) {
+            fprintf(stdout, "Transfer in progress\n");
+            continue;
+        } else {
+            fprintf(stderr, "Transfer status unknown\n");
+            abort();
+        }
+    } while(!ADM_TRANSFER_SUCCEEDED(status));
+
+    free(status);
+
+    return 0;
+}
diff --git a/examples/c/CMakeLists.txt b/examples/c/CMakeLists.txt
index 22004b2f1fe64876db23e3276b38d3ff81c43751..8e793a7b292bdb3a456afeb35249af6ad193d479 100644
--- a/examples/c/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/examples/c/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@ list(APPEND c_examples_with_controller
   # transfers
   ADM_transfer_datasets ADM_get_transfer_priority ADM_set_transfer_priority
   ADM_cancel_transfer ADM_get_pending_transfers
+  # transfers (user)
+  ADM_transfer_datasets_user
   # qos
   ADM_set_qos_constraints ADM_get_qos_constraints
   # data operations
@@ -55,7 +57,15 @@ target_link_libraries(c_examples_common libscord_c_types)
 foreach(example IN LISTS c_examples_with_controller c_examples_without_controller)
   add_executable(${example}_c)
   target_sources(${example}_c PRIVATE ${example}.c)
-  target_link_libraries(${example}_c PUBLIC libscord c_examples_common)
+
+  if (example MATCHES "^.*_user$")
+    target_link_libraries(${example}_c PUBLIC libscord-user)
+  else ()
+    target_link_libraries(${example}_c PUBLIC libscord)
+  endif ()
+
+  target_link_libraries(${example}_c PUBLIC c_examples_common)
+
   set_target_properties(${example}_c PROPERTIES OUTPUT_NAME ${example})
 endforeach()
 
@@ -92,6 +102,12 @@ if(SCORD_BUILD_TESTS)
       )
   endforeach()
 
+  # Disable until we have more than stubs for the user library
+  set_tests_properties(run_ADM_transfer_datasets_user_c_test
+    PROPERTIES DISABLED TRUE)
+  set_tests_properties(validate_ADM_transfer_datasets_user_c_test
+    PROPERTIES DISABLED TRUE)
+
   foreach(example IN LISTS c_examples_without_controller)
 
     # prepare environment for the RPC test itself and its validation test
diff --git a/src/lib/CMakeLists.txt b/src/lib/CMakeLists.txt
index ce01d8644472b5a27cd4bbdc0aee0a79a280409d..086288087cbfd7ce92d5e00ccc71a52450977e9d 100644
--- a/src/lib/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/lib/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ target_link_libraries(
 set_property(TARGET libscord_cxx_types PROPERTY POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE ON)
 
 ################################################################################
-# Create a target for the actual library that will be used by clients
+# Create a target for the actual library that will be used by admin clients
 ################################################################################
 add_library(libscord SHARED)
 
@@ -107,8 +107,41 @@ target_link_libraries(
 
 set_target_properties(libscord PROPERTIES OUTPUT_NAME "scord")
 
+################################################################################
+# Create a target for the actual library that will be used by users
+################################################################################
+add_library(libscord-user SHARED)
+
+target_sources(
+  libscord-user
+  PUBLIC scord/scord-user.h
+  PRIVATE libscord-user.c
+)
+
+set(public_headers, "")
+list(APPEND public_headers "scord/scord-user.h")
+
+set_target_properties(libscord-user PROPERTIES PUBLIC_HEADER
+  "${public_headers}")
+
+target_include_directories(
+  libscord-user PUBLIC $<BUILD_INTERFACE:${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}>
+  $<INSTALL_INTERFACE:include/${PROJECT_NAME}>
+)
+
+target_link_libraries(
+  libscord-user
+  PRIVATE common::network::rpc_client
+  PUBLIC libscord_c_types
+)
+
+set_target_properties(libscord-user PROPERTIES OUTPUT_NAME "scord-user")
+
+################################################################################
+# Install the libraries
+################################################################################
 install(
-  TARGETS libscord libscord_c_types libscord_cxx_types
+  TARGETS libscord libscord-user libscord_c_types libscord_cxx_types
   LIBRARY DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR}
   ARCHIVE DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_LIBDIR}
   PUBLIC_HEADER DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_INCLUDEDIR}/${PROJECT_NAME}
diff --git a/src/lib/errors.c b/src/lib/errors.c
index e4ca5c8759ab962bd81a63f7ae05a7f54cc7db41..f5a99cc74c2a3a784b1647f7d1b1946caadd7767 100644
--- a/src/lib/errors.c
+++ b/src/lib/errors.c
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ const char* const adm_errlist[ADM_ERR_MAX + 1] = {
                 "Cannot create adhoc storage directory",
         [ADM_EADHOC_DIR_EXISTS] = "Adhoc storage directory already exists",
         [ADM_ESUBPROCESS_ERROR] = "Subprocess error",
+        [ADM_ETIMEOUT] = "Timeout",
         [ADM_EOTHER] = "Undetermined error",
 
         /* fallback */
diff --git a/src/lib/libscord-user.c b/src/lib/libscord-user.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c2977cf2e320502e893517aae423a4b1cd84dfd8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/libscord-user.c
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+/******************************************************************************
+ * Copyright 2021-2023, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Spain
+ *
+ * This software was partially supported by the EuroHPC-funded project ADMIRE
+ *   (Project ID: 956748, https://www.admire-eurohpc.eu).
+ *
+ * This file is part of scord.
+ *
+ * scord is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the Lesser GNU General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * scord is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the Lesser GNU General Public License
+ * along with scord.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-3.0-or-later
+ *****************************************************************************/
+
+#include <scord/scord-user.h>
+#include "types_private.h"
+
+ADM_return_t
+ADM_transfer_datasets(ADM_dataset_t sources[], size_t sources_len,
+                      ADM_dataset_t targets[], size_t targets_len,
+                      ADM_transfer_t* transfer) {
+    (void) sources;
+    (void) sources_len;
+    (void) targets;
+    (void) targets_len;
+    (void) transfer;
+
+    return ADM_SUCCESS;
+}
+
+
+ADM_return_t
+ADM_transfer_wait(ADM_transfer_t transfer, ADM_transfer_status_t* status,
+                  struct timespec* timeout) {
+    (void) transfer;
+    (void) status;
+    (void) timeout;
+
+    if(transfer == NULL || status == NULL) {
+        return ADM_EBADARGS;
+    }
+
+    *status = malloc(sizeof(struct adm_transfer_status));
+
+    if(*status == NULL) {
+        return ADM_ENOMEM;
+    }
+
+    (*status)->s_state = ADM_TRANSFER_FINISHED;
+    (*status)->s_error = ADM_SUCCESS;
+
+    return ADM_SUCCESS;
+}
+
+inline bool
+__adm_transfer_succeeded(ADM_transfer_status_t st) {
+    return st->s_state == ADM_TRANSFER_FINISHED && st->s_error == ADM_SUCCESS;
+}
+
+inline bool
+__adm_transfer_failed(ADM_transfer_status_t st) {
+    return st->s_state == ADM_TRANSFER_FINISHED && st->s_error != ADM_SUCCESS;
+}
+
+inline bool
+__adm_transfer_pending(ADM_transfer_status_t st) {
+    return st->s_state == ADM_TRANSFER_QUEUED;
+}
+
+inline bool
+__adm_transfer_in_progress(ADM_transfer_status_t st) {
+    return st->s_state == ADM_TRANSFER_RUNNING;
+}
+
+inline ADM_return_t
+__adm_transfer_error(ADM_transfer_status_t st) {
+    return st->s_error;
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/scord/scord-user.h b/src/lib/scord/scord-user.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2397200343d3a18e5ff55ce3a244f5f38eb00602
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/scord/scord-user.h
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+/******************************************************************************
+ * Copyright 2021-2023, Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), Spain
+ *
+ * This software was partially supported by the EuroHPC-funded project ADMIRE
+ *   (Project ID: 956748, https://www.admire-eurohpc.eu).
+ *
+ * This file is part of scord.
+ *
+ * scord is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the Lesser GNU General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * scord is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the Lesser GNU General Public License
+ * along with scord.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-3.0-or-later
+ *****************************************************************************/
+
+
+#ifndef SCORD_USER_H
+#define SCORD_USER_H
+
+#include <time.h>
+#include <scord/types.h>
+
+typedef struct adm_transfer_status* ADM_transfer_status_t;
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+extern "C" {
+#endif
+
+/**
+ * @brief Transfer datasets between storage tiers asynchronously.
+ *
+ * @param[in] sources The datasets to transfer.
+ * @param[in] sources_len The number of datasets to transfer.
+ * @param[in] targets The destination datasets.
+ * @param[in] targets_len The number of destination datasets.
+ * @param[out] transfer A transfer handle to query the operation status.
+ * @return
+ */
+ADM_return_t
+ADM_transfer_datasets(ADM_dataset_t sources[], size_t sources_len,
+                      ADM_dataset_t targets[], size_t targets_len,
+                      ADM_transfer_t* transfer);
+
+
+/**
+ * @brief Wait for a transfer to complete.
+ *
+ * @param[in] transfer The transfer handle.
+ * @param[out] status A pointer to a dynamically allocated
+ * `ADM_transfer_status_t` structure where status information should be stored.
+ * The caller is responsible for freeing the memory allocated for this
+ * structure.
+ * @param[out] timeout The maximum time to wait for the transfer to complete. If
+ * NULL, query the transfer status and return immediately. If not NULL, wait for
+ * the transfer to complete or the timeout to expire.
+ * @return ADM_SUCCESS if the transfer completed successfully. ADM_ETIMEOUT if
+ * the transfer did not complete before the timeout expired. An
+ * specifc ADM_E* error code otherwise.
+ */
+ADM_return_t
+ADM_transfer_wait(ADM_transfer_t transfer, ADM_transfer_status_t* status,
+                  struct timespec* timeout);
+
+bool
+__adm_transfer_succeeded(ADM_transfer_status_t status);
+
+bool
+__adm_transfer_failed(ADM_transfer_status_t status);
+
+bool
+__adm_transfer_pending(ADM_transfer_status_t status);
+
+bool
+__adm_transfer_in_progress(ADM_transfer_status_t status);
+
+ADM_return_t
+__adm_transfer_error(ADM_transfer_status_t status);
+
+/**
+ * @brief Check if a transfer completed successfully.
+ */
+#define ADM_TRANSFER_SUCCEEDED(st) __adm_transfer_succeeded(st)
+
+/**
+ * @brief Check if a transfer failed.
+ */
+#define ADM_TRANSFER_FAILED(st) __adm_transfer_failed(st)
+
+/**
+ * @brief Check if a transfer is pending.
+ */
+#define ADM_TRANSFER_PENDING(st) __adm_transfer_pending(st)
+
+/**
+ * @brief Check if a transfer is in progress.
+ */
+#define ADM_TRANSFER_IN_PROGRESS(st) __adm_transfer_in_progress(st)
+
+/**
+ * @brief Return the error code of a failed transfer.
+ */
+#define ADM_TRANSFER_ERROR(st) __adm_transfer_error(st)
+
+/**
+ * Return a string describing the error number
+ *
+ * @param[in] errnum The error number for which a description should be
+ * returned.
+ * @return A pointer to a string describing `errnum`.
+ */
+const char*
+ADM_strerror(ADM_return_t errnum);
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+} // extern "C"
+#endif
+
+#endif // SCORD_USER_H
diff --git a/src/lib/scord/types.h b/src/lib/scord/types.h
index 7bfbc11356f349547c86b9e8323d2654bf59c702..d1191a3a3b74e55b93d632ffa1d0bdad824f8644 100644
--- a/src/lib/scord/types.h
+++ b/src/lib/scord/types.h
@@ -25,15 +25,15 @@
 #ifndef SCORD_TYPES_H
 #define SCORD_TYPES_H
 
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+extern "C" {
+#endif
+
 #include <stdbool.h>
 #include <stddef.h>
 #include <stdint.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 
-#ifdef __cplusplus
-extern "C" {
-#endif
-
 /******************************************************************************/
 /* Public type and struct definitions                                         */
 /******************************************************************************/
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ typedef enum {
     ADM_EADHOC_DIR_CREATE_FAILED,
     ADM_EADHOC_DIR_EXISTS,
     ADM_ESUBPROCESS_ERROR,
+    ADM_ETIMEOUT,
     ADM_EOTHER,
     ADM_ERR_MAX = 512
 } ADM_return_t;
@@ -201,9 +202,21 @@ typedef enum {
     ADM_MAPPING_N_TO_N
 } ADM_transfer_mapping_t;
 
+/** A transfer state */
+typedef enum {
+    ADM_TRANSFER_QUEUED,
+    ADM_TRANSFER_RUNNING,
+    ADM_TRANSFER_FINISHED,
+    ADM_TRANSFER_FAILED,
+    ADM_TRANSFER_CANCELLED
+} ADM_transfer_state_t;
+
 /** A handle to a created transfer */
 typedef struct adm_transfer* ADM_transfer_t;
 
+/** A transfer status */
+typedef struct adm_transfer_status* ADM_transfer_status_t;
+
 /** A transfer priority */
 typedef int ADM_transfer_priority_t;
 
diff --git a/src/lib/types_private.h b/src/lib/types_private.h
index 3fda9e61877a998f3aa8e2fa0d72fb78374582f0..2d5a261d1fc1c7cdf8a03e62b79cbf041ec0adb7 100644
--- a/src/lib/types_private.h
+++ b/src/lib/types_private.h
@@ -70,6 +70,13 @@ struct adm_transfer {
     uint64_t t_id;
 };
 
+struct adm_transfer_status {
+    /** The transfer state */
+    ADM_transfer_state_t s_state;
+    /** The transfer error code */
+    ADM_return_t s_error;
+};
+
 struct adm_dataset_info {
     // TODO: undefined for now
     int32_t placeholder;