SharePoint & OneDrive · Site Management
Term Store Administrator
Manages the organizational term store - a directory of common terms used across the organization for metadata and content classification.
Scope: Organization-wide term store management
Permissions
- Term store - Create and manage term groups and term sets
- Terms - Add, modify, and delete terms
- Synonyms - Create term synonyms and translations
- Term set permissions - Delegate management to contributors
- Import/Export - Import and export term sets
Common use cases
- Creating enterprise metadata taxonomy
- Managing content types and classifications
- Supporting information architecture
- Enabling consistent tagging across sites
Best practices
- Plan taxonomy before creating terms
- Use term set owners for departmental terms
- Avoid overly complex hierarchies
- Review and deprecate unused terms regularly
Security considerations
- Term changes affect all sites using that taxonomy
- Deleting terms can break metadata on existing content
- Consider impact before modifying widely-used terms
Common questions
When should I assign the Term Store Administrator role?
Assign Term Store Administrator when you need to: Creating enterprise metadata taxonomy; Managing content types and classifications; Supporting information architecture; and Enabling consistent tagging across sites. It is part of SharePoint & OneDrive and should be granted as a least-privilege alternative to broader roles like Global Administrator.
What can someone with the Term Store Administrator role do?
The Term Store Administrator role grants permissions including: Term store - Create and manage term groups and term sets; Terms - Add, modify, and delete terms; Synonyms - Create term synonyms and translations; Term set permissions - Delegate management to contributors; and Import/Export - Import and export term sets. See the Permissions section above for the full list.
What are the security risks of the Term Store Administrator role?
Key considerations when assigning Term Store Administrator: Term changes affect all sites using that taxonomy; Deleting terms can break metadata on existing content; and Consider impact before modifying widely-used terms. Review the Security considerations section before assignment, and pair with Privileged Identity Management (PIM) for just-in-time access where possible.