Can' add Default Sensitivity label to SharePoint Documents Library

Question

I have a Sensitivity Label created and have added it to my SharePoint site but when I try to add it to the Documents library within the site the Default Sensitivity Label setting is not shown so I cannot apply the label.

The Sensitivity label has all options turned e.g. Files, Emails, Meetings, Sites and has been published.

User can see and use the label.

I am using a global admin account with M365 Business Premium and SharePoint Advanced Management licenses

The site previously had SharePoint IRM turned on. I have turned it off in the classic Setting Page and also on the document library.

Can anyone help? What am I missing?

Answer 1

Does the following Powershell Command shows {EncryptOnly}?
Get-Label | select Capabilities, DisplayName

https://powershellscripts.github.io/articles/en/InformationProtection/Audit%20your%20sensitivity%20labels%20with%20Powershell/

Answer 2

Dear Steve,

Thank you for the update! Since there have been recent changes to your licensing and IRM settings, it normally takes some time for these updates to fully reflect across SharePoint and sensitivity label policies. Now that several days have passed, I’d recommend trying the following steps:

1. Create a New Sensitivity Label – Try creating a new sensitivity label and publishing it to all users. This can help rule out any issues with the existing label.
2. Wait 24 Hours & Create a New SharePoint Site – After publishing the new label, wait for 24 hours and then create a new SharePoint site. Check if the option to select the default sensitivity label appears in the new site’s document library settings.

If the option is still not available after these steps, I’d suggest reaching out to Microsoft Support for further investigation, as they can check if there are any backend delays or issues affecting your tenant.

To create a support ticket, you need to have admin privileges. If you are the Microsoft 365 admin of your organization, you can sign in to Microsoft 365 admin center with your Microsoft 365 admin account, and select Support > Help and support, enter your question and select Contact support. Otherwise, please refer to How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin?

Let me know how it goes!

Thank you for your time and patience, we hope you have a great day!

Best Regards,
Community Moderator | Sophia

Answer 3

Thanks Sophia

I have updated my license to E3 + E5 Compliance with SharePoint Avdvanced Management

IRM lwas on last week but has been turned off on the document library and also across the SharePoint tenancy.

(Get-SPOTenant).EnableAIPIntegration from the SharePoint Online Management Shell to confirm the value is set to True.

This has been done with true result

Label has been published and added at site level and can be seen from Word etc

Still the option to select Default Sensitivity label does not appear when I go into Library Settings. Only Name, Description and More Library Settings

Do you have any further ideas?

Steve

Answer 4

Dear Stephen Grant,

Thank you for reaching out! Based on the issue you described, it sounds like you're unable to apply a default sensitivity label to your SharePoint document library despite the label being published.

Here are a few things to check and try:

**1. Licensing Requirements:**As far as I know if you want to automatically apply the sensitivity labels to SharePoint document library, the Microsoft 365 E5 ( or Office 365 E5) is required and must be assigned to your users. Moreover, if you don't have Microsoft 365 E5 subscription, in this case you must have Microsoft 365 E3+ Microsoft 365 E5 Compliance subscription or you have Office 365 E3 + Enterprise Mobility Security E3 (EMS E3) + Microsoft 365 E5 Compliance subscription. Please see more information from Microsoft 365 guidance for security & compliance - Service Descriptions | Microsoft Learn

2. IRM Settings: Ensure that Information Rights Management (IRM) is turned offfor the document library. IRM will interfere with sensitivity labels. See the steps from Apply IRM to a list or library | Microsoft Learn

**3.**You've enabled sensitivity labels for Office files in SharePoint and OneDrive. To check this status, you can run (Get-SPOTenant).EnableAIPIntegration from the SharePoint Online Management Shell to confirm the value is set to True.

4. Site admin permissions are needed to apply and change the sensitivity label in SharePoint. Double-check that your global admin account is also site admin. You can check it by going toSharePoint admin center> Active sites > Find the site > Membership > Site Admins, make sure you are site admin listed here.

5. Label Publishing: Confirm that the sensitivity label is published to the users who need to apply it. Sometimes, labels need to be explicitly published to specific users or groups.

Please let me know if you continue facing this issue or if any of the steps help. I’d be happy to assist further!

Thank you for your time and patience, we hope you have a great day!

Best Regards,

Community Moderator | Sophia