---
title: "Assign a system role"
slug: "assign-a-system-role"
tags: ["Site Administrator", "How-to", "Totara Platform"]
updated: 2026-08-13T16:01:10Z
published: 2026-08-13T16:01:10Z
canonical: "totara.help/assign-a-system-role"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://totara.help/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Assign a system role

If you assign a system [role](/totara-20/docs/what-are-roles), then the assigned user will have the access and control associated with that role across the entire Totara site. For that reason, the [default available system roles](/totara-20/docs/default-roles) are only ones which naturally lend themselves to requiring this context.

To assign a system role, follow these steps:

1. Go to *Quick-access menu >* *Permissions > Assign system roles.*
2. Click the name of the role you wish to assign.
3. Find (or search for) the user in the **Potential users** column.
4. Click the user's name, then click **Add**.

Repeat these steps until you have added all the users you want. You can then simply navigate away from the page, as there is no save button. If you need to remove any users from a role you can follow the steps above up to step 2, find their name in the **Existing users** column, then click the **Remove** button.

It is also worth noting that users will appear greyed out in the **Existing users** column if they have been assigned a system role via an audience.

## Next steps

- [Check system permissions](/totara-20/docs/check-system-permissions)
- [Role risks](/totara-20/docs/role-risks)

![Course badge](https://cdn.document360.io/a007399b-031e-436b-999a-528240e16f58/Images/Documentation/course-badge_site-level-user-management(1).svg?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-11-06T06%3A36%3A04Z&se=2026-11-06T07%3A36%3A04Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=rNmSPmPeGfU191HeFiqy%2BZu5uZi0L7BKrCf1kz5fIys%3D)Why not visit the Totara Academy for our latest course on [Site-level user management](https://totara.community/mod/page/view.php?id=22033) in Totara. Here you can learn more about user management, see best practice, and give it a go yourself.

Join the [Totara Community](https://totara.community/) for more resources to help you get the most out of Totara.

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