Admin center site permissions reference

On the Membership tab, you can manage permissions for the site and also for any associated Microsoft 365 group or Microsoft Teams team. These roles are specific to the selected site or group and don't give users access to the SharePoint admin center.

Owners

Microsoft 365 group owners can manage group membership, privacy, and classification, as well as the associated SharePoint site. If the Microsoft 365 group is associated with a team, then the group owners are also team owners.

Members

Microsoft 365 group members can participate in the group and have access to the associated SharePoint site. If the Microsoft 365 group is associated with a team, then the group members are also team members and can send messages and participate in channels if allowed by the team owner.

Site admins

Site admins (formerly called site collection administrators) have the highest level of SharePoint permissions. They have the same Full Control permissions of a site owner, plus they can do more things, such as managing search, the recycle bin, and site collection features. They also have access to any items in the site, including in subsites, even if permissions inheritance has been broken.

If there's a Microsoft 365 group or team connected to the site, then group or team owners are automatically included as site admins and group or team members are automatically included as site members. Managing site permissions through group or team membership is recommended over giving people permissions directly to the site. This method allows for easier administration and consistent access for users across group and team resources.

Non-primary admins

Additional admins beyond the Primary admin are site admins only and can only manage the SharePoint site. They have no access to the associated Microsoft 365 group or team unless they have also been directly added to the group or team.

Site owners

Site owners have full control of the SharePoint site. If the site has an associated Microsoft 365 group or team, then group or team owners are automatically included as site owners. However, people added directly to the site owners group don't have access to the Microsoft 365 group or team unless they are added there directly.

Site members

Site members have edit permissions to the SharePoint site and can add and remove files, lists, and libraries. If the site has an associated Microsoft 365 group or team, then group or team members are automatically included as site members. However, people added directly to the site members group don't have access to the Microsoft 365 group or team unless they are added there directly.

Site visitors

Site visitors have view-only permissions to the SharePoint site. This permission level is only used by SharePoint and isn't related to permissions in an associated Microsoft 365 group or team.

Note

For information on how to manage Site owners, Site members and Site visitors permission groups, see Sharing and permissions in the SharePoint modern experience.

Additional permissions

There are additional permission levels in SharePoint beyond those shown on this panel. Users may have access to the site or its contents through those roles. Users may also have access to files or folders in the site through sharing links.

See also

External sharing overview

Overview of Microsoft 365 Groups for administrators