Discord has no single Moderator switch: you make someone a moderator by giving them a role that carries moderation permissions, such as Kick Members, Ban Members and Time Out Members. Discord warns you to be careful with Administrator, because it grants every permission and bypasses all channel restrictions.
That catches a lot of new server owners out. They go looking for a mod toggle on a member's profile and can't find one, because on Discord a moderator is simply whoever holds a role with the right permissions. Get the role right once and you can hand it to as many trusted people as you like.
The permissions that make someone a moderator
Here's what each moderation permission or tool does, based on Discord's help pages as of Nov 2026:
| Permission or tool | What it lets a moderator do | Note from Discord |
|---|---|---|
| Kick Members | Remove someone from the server | Only works on members whose highest role is lower |
| Ban Members | Ban people so they can't rejoin | Bulk bans also need Manage Server |
| Time Out Members | Temporarily stop someone posting, reacting or joining voice | Six preset lengths, from 60 seconds to 1 week |
| Manage Roles | Create and change roles below their own | Can only grant permissions they already have |
| Manage Server | Server-level settings, invite information, pausing invites | Needed for invite details on the Members page |
| Administrator | Everything | Grants all permissions and bypasses channel restrictions, so use it with great caution |
| Members page | A dashboard of members, signals and join methods | Desktop or browser only |
For most moderators, Kick Members, Ban Members and Time Out Members are the core. Add Manage Server only if you want them to see how people joined and to pause invites during trouble. Leave Administrator to the owner and anyone you'd trust with the whole server.
How to set up a Moderator role
Creating roles has its own walkthrough in my guide on making roles on Discord, so this is the moderator-specific version, as of Nov 2026:
- Open Server Settings and go to the Roles tab.
- Create a new role and name it something obvious, such as Moderator.
- Open the Permissions tab for that role.
- Turn on only the moderation permissions you want: Kick Members, Ban Members and Time Out Members, plus Manage Server if needed. Leave Administrator off.
- Press Save Changes.
- Drag the role up the list so it sits above the roles your regular members hold.
- Give it to the person. On the Members page, with the Manage Roles permission, hover over the Roles category for that member, press the plus button and tick the Moderator role.
Step 6 is the one people forget. Discord says new roles start at the bottom of the hierarchy, just above @everyone, and that @everyone acts as the template for every new role. A fresh Moderator role at the bottom can't act on anyone with a higher role, so it may look broken when it isn't.
The hierarchy rule decides who a mod can act on
Discord's roles work top-down. Members can only affect users whose roles sit lower than their own highest role. Discord spells it out: members can't ban, kick or change the nicknames of users with equal or higher roles, even if they hold those permissions.
In practice that means two things. Your moderators should sit above ordinary members and below admins. And two moderators on the same role can't remove each other, which is a useful safety net if one of them goes rogue.
The same rule limits what a moderator can give away. Discord says someone with Manage Roles can only create and change roles below their own, and can only hand out permissions they have themselves. If your role lacks Ban Members, you can't grant it to anyone else.
There's a cosmetic side effect too: a member shows the colour of their highest-positioned role, so a Moderator role with its own colour makes your mods easy to spot in chat.
Time Out: the gentle tool
Time Out is the tool your moderators will use most, and it's milder than a kick. Discord says a timed-out member can't send messages, react, or join voice channels or video calls while it lasts. They stay in the server and can still read channels, and they can only react to messages that already have reactions.
The lengths are fixed: 60 seconds, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day or 1 week. Discord says a time out applies to all channels, not specific ones.
On desktop or in a browser, right-click the member's name, choose Time Out, pick the length and add a reason; Discord says the reason goes in the audit log. On mobile, press and hold their avatar, press Timeout and confirm the duration. To lift it early, use the same menu and choose Remove Time Out. Timed-out members also show up on the Members page.
If you'd like a structured record of warnings before anyone gets timed out, my page on setting up a warning system covers that side.
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The Members page: your moderators' dashboard
Discord's Members page gives moderators and admins a view of new and existing members: when they joined, how old their account is, how they joined, their roles, how many messages they've sent, whether they agreed to the server rules, safety signals and whether they verified their account.
Anyone with administrator, manage server, manage roles, manage nicknames, ban members, timeout members or kick members can use it, as can the owner. It's on desktop and browser only. In Community servers, select Members near the top of the channel list; in friend servers, go to Server Settings and then Members.
Moderators can filter by signals such as Unusual DM Activity, Unusual Account Activity, Timed Out and Quarantined by AutoMod. They can sort by Member Since or Joined Discord, and filter by join method: invite code, Server Discovery, Vanity URL, bot invite or Student Hubs. Seeing invite information needs Manage Server.
Discord documents bulk banning here too. With both Manage Server and Ban Members, a moderator can tick several members, press Ban Members, and confirm with a 2FA code or password. Banned users disappear from the list and can't rejoin.
Alerts and emergency switches
Discord sends Activity Alerts to people holding Administrator, Kick Members, Timeout Members, Ban Members or Manage Server, so your moderators will hear about unusual activity once they have the role. Security Actions let moderators pause invites and pause DMs between members who aren't friends, for a set time, which is handy during a raid.
If you're handing a server over entirely rather than adding help, that's a different process; see my guide to transferring server ownership.
My verdict
I'd start with one Moderator role that has Kick Members, Ban Members and Time Out Members, placed above your member roles, and give it only to people you already know and trust. Skip Administrator for moderators altogether; it's the owner's key, not a badge. And I'd tell new mods to reach for Time Out before a ban, because it cools things down without throwing anyone out.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a moderator role built into Discord?
No. Discord has no single Moderator switch. You create a role, give it moderation permissions such as Kick Members, Ban Members and Time Out Members, and assign it to the person.
Should I give a moderator Administrator permission?
Usually not. Discord says Administrator grants every permission and bypasses all channel restrictions, so it should be assigned with great caution.
Why can't my moderator kick or ban someone?
Discord's hierarchy rule: members can't ban, kick or change the nicknames of users with equal or higher roles, even with the permission. Move the Moderator role higher in the list.
How long can a Discord time out last?
Discord offers 60 seconds, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day or 1 week, and the time out applies to all channels.
Can moderators use the Members page on mobile?
No. Discord says the Members page is available on desktop or in a browser only, as of Nov 2026.
