Default permissions and permission levels

SharePoint Products and Technologies have five permission levels by default. Each of these permission levels has specific permissions associated with it. You can choose which permissions are associated with these permission levels (except for the Limited Access and Full Control permission levels) or you can add new permission levels to combine different sets of permissions.

The following table lists and describes the permission levels that you can assign to users and SharePoint groups.

Permission level	Description
Full Control	Contains all permissions. By default, assigned to the Site name Owners SharePoint group. Cannot be customized or deleted.
Design	Assigned users and SharePoint groups can create lists and document libraries, edit pages, and apply themes, borders, and style sheets on the Web site. By default, not assigned to any SharePoint group. .
Contribute	Assigned users and SharePoint groups can add, edit, and delete items in existing lists and document libraries. By default, assigned to the Site name Members SharePoint group.
Read	Provides read-only access to the Web site. Assigned users and SharePoint groups can view items and pages, open items, and open documents. By default, assigned to the Site name Visitors SharePoint group.
Limited Access	Designed to be combined with fine-grained permissions that give users access to a specific list, document library, item, or document, without giving them access to the entire site. However, to access a list or library, for example, a user must have permission to access the parent Web site and read shared data such as the theme and navigation bars of the Web site. Cannot be customized or deleted. Note: You cannot assign this permission level to users or SharePoint groups. Instead, SharePoint Products and Technologies automatically assign this permission level to users and SharePoint groups when you grant them access to an object on your site that requires that they have access to a higher-level object for which they do not have permissions. For example, if you grant users access to an item in a list and they do not have access to the list itself, SharePoint Products and Technologies automatically grant them limited access on the list, and also the site, if needed.

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