Document Labeled using sensitivity Label but while opening the document messages appear that 'e could not apply the label and you don't have permissions'

Question

Urgent *******we are in Live project now ***

We created Sensitivity label with auto apply label option, when we published the label, Few Documents in a OneDrive are labeled.

When user open the document, they gets below message on document image (6).png

could anyone help how to get rid of it---------this is bit urgent ---, appreciate the help

Answer 1

@Vishu03

It sounds like you’re encountering a sensitivity label issue in OneDrive, and I completely understand the urgency, especially during a live project.

The message "We couldn't apply your label. You don't have permissions to apply the selected label to this file." typically occurs when the sensitivity label was auto applied (e.g., in OneDrive), but the user doesn't have the required rights to apply or use that label.

Here are few troubleshooting steps that might help you.

Check label permissions - Go to the Microsoft Purview compliance portal > Information Protection > Labels, open the relevant label, and verify, the user (or their Azure AD group) is assigned permissions like View, Edit, Apply/Remove Label, etc.

Ensure user is in Label Policy - Go to Label policies and confirm that the affected user is included in the policy where this label is published.

Confirm licensing - Make sure the user has a supported license like Microsoft 365 E3 or E5, which is required for sensitivity labeling features.

Re-publish the Label (if needed) - If recent changes were made, re-publish the label to ensure policy refresh.

Check file access - Confirm the user has edit-level access to the document in OneDrive. Limited permissions may also trigger this error.

Have the User Sign Out and Back In - This forces a refresh of their label and token permissions.

For additional information, please refer to the following Microsoft documentations:

• Create and configure sensitivity labels and their policies
• Enable sensitivity labels for files in SharePoint and OneDrive

I hope this information helps. Please do let us know if you have any further queries.

Kindly consider upvoting the comment if the information provided is helpful. This can assist other community members in resolving similar issues.

Thank you.