SharePoint Site Owner Policy Email Notification
What to do when a SharePoint site needs at least two owners.
Audience: SharePoint site owners, Microsoft Teams owners, Microsoft 365 group owners, and site administrators who received a site ownership notification.
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WHAT THE EMAIL NOTICE MEANS This is a site ownership review—not an error.
The Site Life Cycle Management policy in Central Admin checks SharePoint sites for the required minimum of two owners. The policy runs monthly for three months, sends one email per month for a noncompliant site, and generates a report.
ACTION REQUIRED The notification does not add an owner for you. Your site currently has fewer than the required two owners. Add one or more appropriate owners by following the instructions below until the site has at least two.
Not sure whom to add? Choose someone who understands the site's purpose and can help manage its content and access when you are unavailable. If you do not have an obvious second owner, your supervisor may be a good option.
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STEP 1 Identify the type of site
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TEAM OR MICROSOFT 365 GROUP
Manage the group owner
Use Microsoft Teams for a Teams-connected class, staff, PLC, or other team. Group ownership flows to the connected SharePoint site.
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COMMUNICATION SITE
Manage the SharePoint Owners group
For a communication site that is not connected to Teams or a Microsoft 365 group, add the person through SharePoint site permissions.
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PRIVATE OR SHARED CHANNEL
Manage the channel owner
These channels have separate SharePoint sites. Manage owners and members through the corresponding channel in Microsoft Teams.
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IMPORTANT Adding someone only to the SharePoint Site Owners group does not make that person an owner of a Team or Microsoft 365 group.
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STEP 2 Add an owner for a Teams-connected site
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1
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Open Microsoft Teams
Find the team connected to the SharePoint site.
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2
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Open Manage team
Select More options (…) next to the team, and then select Manage team.
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3
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Open Members
Locate the person. Add the person as a member first when they are not already listed.
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4
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Change the role to Owner
In the Role column, change Member to Owner.
Navigation path: Microsoft Teams > More options (…) > Manage team > Members > Role: Owner
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Permission required You must already be a team owner to promote another member to owner.
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STEP 3 Add an owner for a SharePoint communication site
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1
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Open the SharePoint site
Use the site URL in the notification or open the site from your normal SharePoint location. Sign in with your UARK email address and password.
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2
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Open Site permissions
Select the Settings gear in the upper-right corner, and then select Site permissions.
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3
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Open Advanced permissions
Select the Advanced permissions link at the bottom of the Site permissions panel.
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4
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Add the person to the site's Owners group
Open the site's Owners group and add the person. Membership in this group grants Full Control of the SharePoint site.
Navigation path: Settings > Site permissions > Advanced permissions > Site Owners group
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SPECIAL CASE Private and shared channel sites
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Manage permissions from the corresponding channel in Microsoft Teams.
Private and shared channels have separate SharePoint sites. Their owner and member permissions must be managed through the associated channel in Teams; SharePoint displays those permissions as read-only. Channel owners become owners of the associated channel site.
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ALTERNATIVE ACTION Remove or change an owner
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TEAM OR GROUP-CONNECTED SITE
Keep the person's access:
Go to Manage team > Members and change the role from Owner to Member.
Remove all Team and connected-site access:
First change the person from Owner to Member, and then select Remove next to the person's name.
Microsoft Teams requires another team owner before an owner can be demoted and removed.
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COMMUNICATION SITE
Open Settings > Site permissions > Advanced permissions.
To remove ownership, remove the person from the site's Owners group or move the person to Members or Visitors, depending on the access they still require.
Removing a person from Owners does not necessarily remove all site access.
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CHECK MEMBERSHIP Removing ownership does not necessarily remove membership or access. Also check Membership > Members and remove the person there when they should no longer access the Team, group, or SharePoint site.
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KNOW THE DIFFERENCE Owner and administrator roles
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GROUP OWNER
Owns the Team, Microsoft 365 group, and connected SharePoint site. Group owners receive owner and site-collection-administrator permissions on the connected site.
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SITE ADMIN
Has administrative control of the SharePoint site only.
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DIRECT SHAREPOINT SITE OWNER
Has SharePoint permissions only and does not become an owner of the Team or Microsoft 365 group.
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POLICY TIMELINE What happens when a site remains noncompliant
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NOTIFY
Three months
The policy checks monthly and sends one email per month while the site has fewer than two owners.
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READ-ONLY
Three months
After the notification period, a site that still has fewer than two owners is set to read-only for three months.
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ARCHIVE
Final stage
After three months in read-only, a site that is still noncompliant is archived.
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The complete Site Life Cycle process is nine months: Notify, Read-only, and then Archive.
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QUICK ANSWERS Frequently asked questions
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Q
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Why did I receive this notification?
The site had fewer than the required two owners when the Site Owner policy checked it. The notification identifies the affected site and asks you to add one or more appropriate owners. It does not add an owner automatically.
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Who should I add as another owner?
Add someone who understands the site's purpose and can help manage its content, permissions, and membership when you are unavailable. A co-owner, project lead, department colleague, or another responsible team member may be appropriate. If you do not have an obvious choice, your supervisor may be a good option.
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Q
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Why should I use Teams for a Teams-connected site?
The Team and Microsoft 365 group control ownership of the connected SharePoint site. Adding a person only to the SharePoint Site Owners group does not make that person a Team or group owner.
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Q
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Which sites are excluded from this policy?
OneDrive, System, App catalog, Root, Home, and Admin sites are excluded.
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What if I cannot add or change an owner?
You may not have the required owner or administrator permission. Contact the SharePoint support team and include the site name, site URL, and a screenshot of the notification.
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Need help?
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Contact the IT Service Desk or SharePoint support team.
Include the site name, site URL, current owner names, the owner you want to add or remove, and a screenshot of the notification.
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SUPPORT CONTACT
TDX Request - SharePoint Support
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Last reviewed: August 2026. Screen labels may vary slightly as Microsoft 365 is updated.