Last updated: October 1, 2026 · Category: Guide · Editorial review · About the authors
Key Takeaways
- Good server rules are short, specific, and checkable. A moderator should be able to tell whether a message breaks one.
- Community servers can use Rules Screening, which asks new members to accept your rules before they can talk, react, or send DMs to members.
- Rules only work with a clear enforcement ladder. Decide in advance what a first, second, and serious violation leads to.
Discord server rules tell members what is allowed and what happens when someone crosses the line. The practical version is a short list posted in a rules channel and, on Community servers, shown to every new member through Rules Screening. This guide gives a copy-ready template, shows how to set up Rules Screening, and covers how to enforce rules consistently.
What Makes a Rule Enforceable
A rule is useful when two moderators would reach the same decision about the same message. That means:
- Describe behavior, not attitude. "No slurs or personal attacks" can be checked. "Be nice" cannot.
- One idea per rule. Combined rules are hard to cite when you act on them.
- Name the channel when it matters. "Self-promotion only in the promotion channel" is clearer than "no advertising."
- Keep the list short. Every extra rule is one more thing a new member skims past.
Discord's Community Guidelines (retrieved 2026-09-28) still apply on top of anything you write. Discord says they "are incorporated into our Terms of Service" and apply to everyone on the platform. Your rules can be stricter, but they cannot permit what the Guidelines prohibit.
A Discord Server Rules Template
This template covers the risks most servers share. Edit the channel names and delete what does not fit.
1. Respect everyone. No harassment, slurs, threats, or personal attacks.
2. Keep content safe for work outside channels marked age-restricted.
3. No spam: no message flooding, mass mentions, or repeated @everyone pings.
4. Keep channels on topic. Check the channel description before posting.
5. No advertising or server invites outside the promotion channel.
6. No scams, phishing links, or requests for account details.
7. Use one account. Alt accounts are removed.
8. Follow Discord's Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.
9. Staff decisions are final in the moment. Raise disagreements in a ticket or DM to an admin.
Rules for Servers With Invite Rewards
If your server runs invite competitions, milestone roles, or invite-gated giveaways, add rules for the ways people try to game them:
10. Invites must bring real people. Joins from alt or throwaway accounts do not count.
11. Invite farming, trading, or paying for joins leads to a reset of your invite count.
12. Staff can remove invite credit after review. Decisions are posted in the giveaway channel.
These rules work best when your tools back them up. With Anti-Fake enabled, an invite tracker such as InviteForge marks joins from accounts newer than a set age as fake and leaves them out of invite counts. The InviteForge docs note that Anti-Fake is off by default and suggest 7 days as a starting point. That covers the new-account case of rule 10 automatically. Older alt accounts still need staff review, as described in fake Discord invites and how to stop them.
Optional Rules by Server Type
Add one or two of these when they fit your community:
Gaming: No cheating tools, exploits, or account selling.
Study: No sharing graded answers during active assignments.
Creator: Do not repost the creator's paid or members-only content.
Voice: No soundboards or loud audio in voice channels without consent.
Profiles: Names and avatars follow the same rules as messages.
The Rules Screening list holds up to 16 rules, so keep those entries to one short line each. Put examples and exceptions in the rules channel instead.
How to Set Up Rules Screening
Rules Screening makes new members accept your rules before they can participate. According to Discord's Rules Screening FAQ (retrieved 2026-09-28), you need Community enabled on the server to see the feature. Then:
- Open Server Settings from the dropdown next to the server name.
- Go to Safety Setup under the Moderation category.
- Select Edit in DM and Spam Protection.
- Choose Members must accept rules before they can talk or DM, then Get Started.
- Pick example rules or write your own. Discord allows a maximum of 16 rules.
- Save, and make sure the option to require acceptance is on.
Three details from the same FAQ are worth knowing:
- Pending members "are not able to talk, DM server members, or react" until they accept.
- Manually verifying a member under Server Settings > Members bypasses the requirement.
- If you already use a bot role gate, Discord says to "re-enable perms on @everyone" so Rules Screening works properly.
Discord also notes a tradeoff: Rules Screening "will add another step to joining your server which can sometimes lead to a drop off in joiners." Whether that is worth it depends on how much unmoderated spam and rule-breaking your server receives from new members.
Where to Post Your Rules
Post the full list in a read-only rules channel near the top of your channel list. Community servers need one anyway: Discord's Enabling Your Community Server article lists "a clearly posted server rules channel" as a requirement. Keep the Rules Screening version and the channel version identical, so members never see two different rule sets.
Enforce Rules Consistently
Rules lose credibility fast when enforcement looks random. A written ladder fixes that. This is a common structure, not a Discord requirement:
| Violation | Suggested response |
|---|---|
| First minor violation | A warning that cites the rule number |
| Repeat minor violation | A timeout |
| Serious violation (harassment, scams, raids) | Removal or a ban, without a warning |
Cite the rule number every time. A warning can be as short as this:
Hi @member, your last message broke rule 5 (no advertising outside #promotion). It was removed. Next time is a timeout.
Log each action in a staff channel with the rule number:
2026-10-01 | @member | Rule 5 | Warning | removed invite link in #general | by @moderator
When a member disputes a decision, the log shows what happened and which rule applied.
Two built-in tools reduce the manual load, and both sit on the same Safety Setup page as Rules Screening. The Verification Level can require a verified email before a member can send messages, and AutoMod filters messages before they post, according to Discord's AutoMod FAQ. A verification gate adds a further check, as covered in how Discord verification bots work.
Keep Rules Up to Date
Review your rules when something new keeps coming up in moderation, and at least when you add a new feature such as giveaways or an invite leaderboard. Announce changes in your announcement channel, and update the Rules Screening list at the same time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are server rules in Discord?
Most servers post rules in a dedicated rules channel. Community servers can also use Rules Screening, set under Server Settings, then Safety Setup, which shows the rules to new members and asks them to agree before they can talk, react, or send DMs to members.
What are good rules for a Discord server?
Short, specific rules that describe behavior a moderator can check: respect other members, no spam or mass mentions, keep channels on topic, no unapproved advertising, and follow Discord's Community Guidelines. Add rules for your server's own risks, such as invite farming on a server with invite rewards.
How many rules can Rules Screening hold?
Discord's Rules Screening FAQ says you can create a maximum of 16 server rules.
What are the official Discord rules?
Discord's platform-wide rules are its Community Guidelines and Terms of Service. They apply to everyone on Discord, in every server. Your server rules sit on top of them.
Do Discord server rules replace the Community Guidelines?
No. Discord says its Community Guidelines apply to everyone on the platform and are incorporated into its Terms of Service. Server rules add your own standards on top; they cannot allow something the Guidelines prohibit.
Does Rules Screening stop new members from joining?
No. Members can still join. Until they accept the rules, Discord says pending members are not able to talk, send DMs to server members, or react.