Move files/folders from one site to another inside the same tenant while preserve the files/folders permisions

Hi @john john Pter

The built-in move to between SharePoint Online sites does not reliably preserve item-level permissions, especially for folders and bulk operations. In many cases, items inherit permissions from the destination.

The SharePoint Migration Tool (SPMT) supports migrating permissions when the “Preserve user permissions” option is enabled, and it can preserve role assignments in supported migration scenarios such as file shares or SharePoint Server to SharePoint Online.

However, SharePoint Online-to-SharePoint Online moves within the same tenant are not the primary design scenario for SPMT and may require additional validation, particularly when unique permissions, external users, Microsoft 365 groups, security groups, or sharing links are involved. In these scenarios:

• Permission preservation depends on successful identity resolution
• External users and sharing links may not be preserved exactly
• Some permissions may require manual reconfiguration

Therefore, while SPMT can preserve permissions in supported migration scenarios, it is not designed to guarantee exact permission preservation for SharePoint Online-to-SharePoint Online moves.

From a scripting perspective, PowerShell (including PnP PowerShell) can be used to copy or move content between sites. However, there is no built-in command that fully preserves permissions during the move.

In practice, when exact preservation of permissions is required, organizations often rely on more advanced migration solutions (third-party migration tools) that provide greater control over permission mapping and validation.

I hope this helps clarify the current situation.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".       

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread. 

The built-in Move to between SharePoint Online sites does not preserve item-level permissions; items inherit permissions from the destination library/site. To preserve existing permissions (including internal/external users and Microsoft 365/security groups), use a migration approach that explicitly supports permission preservation, such as the SharePoint Migration Tool (SPMT) with the appropriate setting.

From the documented behavior of SPMT permissions:

• When migrating from a document library or list and Preserve user permissions = Yes, the target library or folder keeps its existing inheritance/uniqueness, and the source permissions are carried over as new role assignments on the migrated items.
• This applies whether the target library/folder has inherited or unique permissions; in all cases, the source permissions are added on the migrated content.

Relevant cases from the SPMT behavior table:

• Document library | Yes | Sub folder | Inherited | Inherited → target library permissions unchanged; source folder/file permissions carried over as unique permissions on the migrated subfolder/files.
• Document library | Yes | Sub folder | Unique | Unique → same behavior; source permissions carried over as new role assignments.
• List/Document library | Yes | Root folder | Inherited/Unique → same pattern as file share migration; source permissions are preserved on migrated content.

Therefore, for moving content between sites while preserving item-level permissions (including external users and groups), use SPMT with Preserve user permissions enabled, targeting the appropriate library/folder in the destination site. Do not rely on the standard SharePoint Online Move to UI for this requirement.

References:

• Move or copy files in SharePoint
• File and folder permissions when using the SharePoint Migration Tool