Assign admin roles in the Microsoft 365 admin center

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If you're the person who purchased your Microsoft business subscription, you are the global admin. This means you have unlimited control over the products in your subscriptions and you can access most data.

For more information, see About admin roles.

When you add new users, if you don't assign them an admin role then they are in the user role and don't have admin privileges to any of the Microsoft admin centers. But if you need help getting things done, you can assign an admin role to a user. For example, if you need someone to help reset passwords, you shouldn't assign them the global admin role, you should assign them the password admin role. Having too many global admins, with unlimited access to your data and online business, is a security risk.

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1. When you sign up for Microsoft 365 Business, you automatically become a global admin. To help manage the business, you can make other people admins as well.
2. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, select Users > Active users.
3. Choose the user you want to make an admin, and then select Manage roles.

If you found this video helpful, check out the complete training series for small businesses and those new to Microsoft 365.

Assign admin roles

You can assign users to a role in two different ways:

• You can go to the user's details and Manage roles to assign a role to the user.
• Or you can go to Roles and select the role, and then add multiple users to it.

Assign admin roles to users using Roles

1. In the admin center, go to Role assignments. Choose the Azure AD or Intune tabs to view the admin roles available for your organization.
2. Select the admin role that you want to assign the user to.
3. Select Assigned admins > Add.
4. Type the user's display name or username, and then select the user from the list of suggestions.
5. Add multiple users until you're done.
6. Select Save, and then the user will be added to the list of assigned admins.

Assign a user to an admin role from Active users

1. In the admin center, go to Users > Active users page.

2. On the Active users page, select the user whose admin role you want to change. In the flyout pane, under Roles, select Manage roles.

3. Select the admin role that you want to assign to the user. If you don't see the role you're looking for, select Show all at the bottom of the list.

Assign admin roles to multiple users

If you know PowerShell, see Assign roles to user accounts with PowerShell. It's ideal for assigning roles to hundreds of users.

Use the following instructions to assign roles to tens of users.

Check admin roles in your organization

You might not have the correct permissions to assign admin roles to other users. Check to make sure you have the correct permissions or ask another admin to assign roles for you.

You can check admin role permissions in 2 different ways:

• You can go to the user's details and look under Roles on the Account page.
• Or you can go to Roles and select the admin role, and select assigned admins to see which users are assigned.

Related content

About Microsoft 365 admin roles (article)
Azure AD built-in roles (article)
Assign roles to user accounts with PowerShell (article)
Authorize or remove partner relationships (article)