Restrict WordPress Users to Posting in One Category

With the PublishPress Permissions plugin, you can stop users from posting in certain categories.

In this example, I'm going to allow users in the “Author” role to post only in a category called “Author Category”.

Video guide

Text and screenshot guide

• Go to “Users” in your WordPress admin area and create an account in the Author user role:

• Go to “Posts” and “Categories” and choose the category you want to use:

• Go to Permissions > Groups.
• Click to edit the “WP Author” role.

This next step is going to be the key step. We're going to use PublishPress Permissions to set specific permissions so that Authors can only assign the “Author Category” to their Posts.

• Click the “Set Specific Permissions” tab.
• Post Type: choose “Post”.
• Post Operation: choose “Assign Term”.
• Adjustment: choose “Limit to”.
• Qualification: choose “Categories”.
• Select Categories: choose your category, which in this example is “Author Category”.
• Click the “Add Selected” button.

PublishPress Permissions will now show you the details so you can double-check them. Click “Save Permissions” if it looks like the image below.

That's all there is to it. You're ready to go! Log into your WordPress site as an Author, and when you create a Post, only one Category will be available:

If this guide was helpful, you might be interested in the opposite process: how to prevent WordPress users from posting in a specific category.