How to Set Folder Permissions in a SharePoint Document Library

To set permissions on a folder in SharePoint, open Manage access on the folder, go to Advanced settings, select Stop Inheriting Permissions, remove the groups that shouldn’t have access, then use Grant Permissions to add the people who should. Until you stop inheriting, a folder gives exactly the same access as the library and site it sits in.

That inheritance runs down a tree: the site, then the document library, then the folder, then the files inside it. In the demo site for the video, Adele was in the Members group with edit access and Deborah was in Visitors with read access, so both could see every folder in the Documents library. Deborah got the crossed-out pencil icon that marks view-only access, and no Upload or New buttons. The video was recorded in 2023 and the Manage access panel has changed since, so the steps below use the current names.

Before you start

• You need to be a site owner, or hold Full Control on the library. Members can share files, but only owners can stop inheritance and change the folder’s permission page.
• Know which groups exist. Every SharePoint site has Owners, Members and Visitors groups. A team site connected to a Microsoft 365 group (every Teams team has one) also gives the group’s members access. How Teams and SharePoint work together covers where those permissions come from.
• Lock the folder down while it’s small. A folder with more than 100,000 items can’t have its inheritance broken, so set unique permissions before the content goes in.

How do you stop a folder inheriting permissions?

1. In the library, hover over the folder, select Show actions (the three dots) and choose Manage access.
2. In the Manage access panel, select More options (the three dots at the top) and then Advanced settings. The folder’s classic Permissions page opens in a new tab.
3. On the ribbon, select Stop Inheriting Permissions and confirm. The page now says the folder has unique permissions, and changes made at the library or site no longer flow down to it.
4. Tick the groups that shouldn’t have access, such as Visitors or Members, and select Remove User Permissions.

In the demo I removed both Visitors and Members from a folder called Folder one, and after a refresh Deborah and Adele couldn’t see it in the library at all. The Owners group stayed, so site owners kept access.

How do you give specific people access to the folder?

1. On the folder’s Permissions page, select Grant Permissions. It only appears after inheritance is broken.
2. Enter a group, or a person’s name or email address.
3. Leave Share everything in this folder, even items with unique permissions ticked unless some files inside need to stay restricted.
4. Select Show options and pick the permission level. The default is Edit; choose Read for view-only access. Untick the email invitation if you don’t want SharePoint to send one.
5. Select Share.

This grants direct access rather than creating a sharing link. In the demo I gave Deborah Edit on Folder one, even though she only had read access to the rest of the site. After a refresh, Upload and New appeared in that folder for her, and every other folder stayed read-only. To change someone’s level later, tick them and select Edit User Permissions; to take access away, select Remove User Permissions.

How do you check who has access to a folder?

For a quick view, select the folder, open the Details pane and look under Has access, then select Manage access to see the people, groups and links. For the full answer, open Advanced settings, select Check Permissions on the ribbon, type a name and select Check Now. It shows the person’s effective permission level and the group it comes from, which is how you find out why someone can still see a folder you thought you’d closed. On my second demo folder, Secure, I removed only Visitors: Deborah lost access, and Adele could still open it through Members.

How do you restore inheritance?

Open Advanced settings from the folder’s Manage access panel and select Delete unique permissions, then OK. The folder goes back to inheriting from the library, and every custom permission on it, including the people you granted directly, is removed.

Keep unique permissions rare, and give different audiences their own library

I’d rather not break inheritance on folders at all. Nothing in the library tells you a folder is locked down until someone can’t find it, and every exception is one more thing the site owner has to remember when people join or leave.

When a set of documents is for a different audience, like HR files, board papers or a client’s private workspace, I’d put them in their own document library with its own permissions, or on their own site. People can see where the boundary is, the library’s permissions are on one page, and you can still use metadata and views inside it. Folders vs metadata covers why I organise inside a library with columns rather than nested folders.

If you do lock down a folder, grant access to a group instead of a list of named people. Microsoft recommends the built-in SharePoint groups or the Microsoft 365 group because you add a new starter to the group once and every place that uses it updates. There’s a hard limit behind this too: a library supports up to 50,000 unique permission scopes, and Microsoft recommends staying under 5,000 for performance. Each folder or file with broken inheritance adds one, while sharing a whole folder costs one scope however many files are in it.

Then there’s Copilot. Microsoft 365 Copilot only surfaces content a person already has at least view access to, so it follows whatever permissions you’ve set. A folder of salary reviews still inheriting from a site everyone can read is a folder Copilot will answer questions from for anyone who asks. Lock down a folder people need and Copilot can’t use it for them either, which is the first cause I check in why Copilot can’t find your SharePoint documents.

What to watch for

• Sharing links create exceptions. Sharing a single file from the Share button breaks inheritance on that file, and later changes to the folder won’t reach it.
• Removing someone is final. Remove User Permissions on a folder also removes the person from every file and subfolder underneath, including items with their own unique permissions, and you can’t undo it.

Frequently asked questions

Can I hide a folder from some people in a SharePoint library? Yes. Stop inheriting permissions on the folder and remove the groups or people who shouldn’t see it. People without access don’t see the folder in the library at all, and it won’t show up for them in search or Copilot.

Does giving someone access to a folder give them access to the whole site? No. They get the level you chose on that folder only. SharePoint also gives them Limited Access on the site and library so it can take them to the folder, and that doesn’t let them browse the site’s other libraries or pages.

Is there a limit on how many folders can have unique permissions? Yes. A library can hold up to 50,000 unique permission scopes and Microsoft recommends keeping it under 5,000. A folder with more than 100,000 items can’t have its inheritance broken or restored.