Attempting a cross vCenter migration with a user assigned a custom role fails with error : “You do not have the privilege ‘Register virtual machine’ on the selected folder.”

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• Cross vCenter migration failed with the following error message: “You do not have the privilege ‘Register virtual machine’ on the selected folder.”
• The issue was observed only when performing the migration using the custom role.
• Further verification confirmed that the migration completed successfully when using the Administrator account, indicating that the problem is related to missing privileges in the custom role configuration.

 

Environment

vCenter 8.x

Cause

This indicates a role-based permission issue.

The problem was caused by missing privileges in the custom role used for the migration. These privileges are essential for registering and managing virtual machines on the target vCenter during cross vCenter operations.

• • Virtual machine → Inventory → Register  

  • Virtual machine → Inventory → Create new 

  • Virtual machine → Inventory → Move

  • Virtual machine → Configuration → Modify

Resolution

1. Ensure it has the following privileges in the customer role you  have created  :

   • Virtual machine → Inventory → Register  

   • Virtual machine → Inventory → Create new 

   • Virtual machine → Inventory → Move

   • Virtual machine → Configuration → Modify

2. Click OK to apply.

3. Retry the cross vCenter migration — it should now complete successfully.

Additional Information

NA