# Roles

Missive uses roles to manage permissions within an organization. Each member is assigned a role that determines what actions they can perform.

## Overview <a href="#role-overview" id="role-overview"></a>

Different roles in Missive organizations are:

<table><thead><tr><th width="159.93743896484375"></th><th width="239.9400634765625"></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Owner</strong></td><td>The user who creates the organization. Ownership can be transferred. Only one per organization</td><td>Can manage billing and subscriptions, transfer ownership, promote or remove members, and update organization-level settings.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Admin</strong></td><td>A user with elevated privileges who helps manage the organization.</td><td>Can control shared labels, manage email-sharing settings, and promote or remove members. Admins cannot delete the organization, transfer ownership, or manage billing and subscriptions.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Basic Member</strong></td><td>A standard user role.</td><td>Can access shared inboxes, participate in chats, and collaborate on tasks.</td></tr></tbody></table>

​New users added to an organization are assigned the **Basic Member** role by default. Only **Owners** and **Admins** can add or remove members.

## Permissions and responsibilities <a href="#permissions-and-responsibilities" id="permissions-and-responsibilities"></a>

|                                       | Owner | Admin | Basic Member |
| ------------------------------------- | ----- | ----- | ------------ |
| Manage billing and subscriptions      | ✅     | ❌     | ❌            |
| Transfer or delete organization       | ✅     | ❌     | ❌            |
| Promote or remove members             | ✅     | ✅     | ❌            |
| Manage shared labels                  | ✅     | ✅     | ❌            |
| Control email sharing settings        | ✅     | ✅     | ❌            |
| Create organization rules             | ✅     | ✅     | ❌            |
| Access shared inboxes and team spaces | ✅     | ✅     | ✅            |
| Collaborate on chats and tasks        | ✅     | ✅     | ✅            |

## Adding members <a href="#adding-members" id="adding-members"></a>

Owners and Admins can add new members from **Settings** → **Users** → **Add user**.

When adding a new user, you can optionally enable **Copy settings from another user**. This lets you select an existing member as a template, automatically granting the new user access to the same shared resources before they join:

* Teams
* [Auto-shared](https://missiveapp.com/docs/core-features/understanding-label-types/faq#what-does-label-is-visible-to-mean) organization labels
* Shared accounts
* Shared calendars
* Shared integrations
* Shared contact books

This is useful when onboarding multiple users to the same role or team, so you don't have to configure each person's access from scratch.

## Best practices <a href="#access-control-best-practices" id="access-control-best-practices"></a>

* Assign the **Admin** role to department leads or those managing team settings.
* Regularly review member roles to maintain security and prevent unauthorized changes.
* Remove inactive users promptly to reduce potential access risks.


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