Permission levels

While SharePoint offers extensive customization options for site permissions, including custom permission levels, use the built-in SharePoint groups for communication site permissions. Manage team site permissions through the associated Microsoft 365 group. This approach simplifies administration. For more information about managing permissions in the SharePoint modern experience, see Sharing and permissions in the SharePoint modern experience.

If you need to create custom permission levels, this article describes how.

Create and edit permission levels

Permissions grant SharePoint users the ability to perform specific actions, such as editing items in a list or creating a site. However, you can't assign individual permissions to individual users in SharePoint. Instead, group related permissions together into a permission level. Then, assign that permission level to a SharePoint group that includes the people you're assigning permissions to.

SharePoint includes default permission levels that you can use, such as Contribute and View Only. If one of those default permission levels doesn't meet your needs, create a new permission level. It's easier to keep track of permission levels if you don't change the default permission levels.

Create a permission level

Create and change permission levels on the Permissions Levels page.

To create or change permission levels, you must belong to a SharePoint group that includes the permission to Manage Permissions. By default, you have this permission if you belong to the Owners group or if you're a Site Collection Administrator.

1. On the top-level site of the site collection, select Settings .

• For a classic site, select Site settings. On the Site Settings page, in the Users and Permissions section, select Site permissions.
• For a modern site, select Site permissions, and then Advanced permissions settings.

1. On the Permissions tab, in the Manage group, choose Permission Levels.

   

2. On the Permission Levels page, choose Add a Permission Level.

3. On the Add a Permission Level page, enter the name and the description.

4. In the Permissions area, select the check boxes next to the list, site, and personal permissions that you want this permission level to include.

5. Select Create.

You can change any of the listed permission levels, except Full Control and Limited Access.

After you create the permission level, assign it to a SharePoint group.

Create a permission level by copying an existing permission level

A quick way to create a new permission level is to copy an existing permission level. You might want to copy an existing permission level when it has permissions similar to what the new permission level needs. After you make the copy, you can add or remove the permissions you need for the new permission level.

Copy a permission level

1. On the Permission Levels page, select the name of the permission level that you want to copy. Be sure to select the link; don't select the checkbox next to the name. For example, Contribute, as shown in the following figure.

   

2. On the Edit Permission Level page, select Copy Permission Level. This option is at the bottom of the page after the Personal Permissions section.

   

3. On the Copy Permission Level page, type a name and description for the new permission level.

4. Choose which permissions you want to add or remove, and then select Create.

After you create the permission level, assign it to a SharePoint group.

Make changes to a permission level

You can make the following changes to a permission level:

• Update the name or description
• Add or remove permissions

Don't change the default permission levels that come with SharePoint. You can't change the Full Control and Limited Access default permission levels.

Change a permission level

1. On the Permission Levels page, select the name of the permission level you want to edit. Be sure to select the link; don't select the checkbox next to the name. For example, Marketing, as shown in the following figure.

   

2. On Edit Permission Level, you can:

• Change the description.
• Add or remove permissions to the level.

1. After you make your changes, select Submit.

You can delete any permission level, except for Full Control and Limited Access. Don't delete a default permission level.

To delete a permission level, on the Permission Levels page, select the check box next to the permission level that you want to delete, and then choose Delete Selected Permission Levels.

Best practices for permission levels

Permission levels apply to a specific site collection. This condition means that any changes you make to a permission level affect the entire site collection. Therefore, follow these recommendations:

• Don't edit default permission levels If you change a default permission level, your changes affect all the built-in SharePoint groups within the site collection. It can also cause confusion if you have two site collections that have permission levels with the same name, but each contains a different set of permissions.

• Don't delete default permission levels If you delete a default permission level, you remove it from all built-in SharePoint groups that contain it within the site collection. This action can cause users assigned to those groups to lose critical permissions.

• Assign permission levels to SharePoint groups You can assign a permission level to a single SharePoint user, but it's easier to keep track of who has permissions to which sites if you assign permission levels to a SharePoint group, and add that individual to the group. This practice can also help site performance.