---
title: "Roles"
description: "How roles bundle permissions, and the roles Governance provides out of the box."
canonical: "https://docs.cm.com/governance/guides/core-concepts/roles"
---

# Roles

> How roles bundle permissions, and the roles Governance provides out of the box.

Source: https://docs.cm.com/governance/guides/core-concepts/roles

A **role** is a named bundle of [permissions](https://docs.cm.com/governance/guides/core-concepts/permissions), for example "Support" or "Administrator". Instead of giving someone many permissions one by one, you give them a role.

## Kinds of role

| Kind | Defined by | Used for |
| - | - | - |
| **App role** | The application's team | Responsibilities specific to one application. |
| **Global role** | CM.com | Broad roles not tied to one application, such as Administrator, User and Platform Owner. |
| **Custom role** | Your organization | Your own mix of permissions. See [Custom roles](https://docs.cm.com/governance/guides/core-concepts/custom-roles). |

Roles are not the same in every application. An application decides which roles it offers.

## How roles are used

A role does nothing until it is given to a [principal](https://docs.cm.com/governance/guides/core-concepts/principals) or a [team](https://docs.cm.com/governance/guides/core-concepts/teams) in a [scope](https://docs.cm.com/governance/guides/core-concepts/accounts-and-organizations). That is a [role assignment](https://docs.cm.com/governance/guides/core-concepts/role-assignments).

## Related

- [Permissions](https://docs.cm.com/governance/guides/core-concepts/permissions)
- [Role assignments](https://docs.cm.com/governance/guides/core-concepts/role-assignments)
- [Custom roles](https://docs.cm.com/governance/guides/core-concepts/custom-roles)