# Troubleshooting Document Access

Vault determines your ability to access a document from the permissions defined on your document lifecycle role. This is often the cause of issues you may encounter when trying to access a document. Learn more about <a href="/en/gr/6591/">how Vault determines document access</a>.

This guide will help you identify and solve the issues you encounter while accessing documents.

## Common Issues

### I Can't See a Document's Viewable Rendition {#i-cant-see}

<a href="/en/gr/895/">Ensure you have View Document and View Content permissions</a> for the document.

Additionally, you can often trace rendition viewing issues back to the source file. Refer to the <a href="/en/gr/48314/">Renditions Troubleshooting Guide</a> for troubleshooting rendition issues.

### I Can't Access Documents in the _Draft_, _Approved_, _Obsolete_, _Superseded_, etc. State {#i-cant-access}

If you can't access documents in a certain state, you likely have a document role that does not include the _View Document_ permission for the document's current lifecycle state. A user with proper sharing settings or your Vault's Admin will need to update your security profile before you can have access. Learn more about <a href="/en/gr/895/">document lifecycle roles and security settings</a>.

### Documents Do Not Appear in My Library {#documents-do-not-appear}

If you were able to see the document previously:

  * You do not have a document role that includes _View Document_ permission for the document's current lifecycle state
  * A user in your Vault deleted the document.

If you were never able to see the document:

  * You do not have a role on the document
  * You have a role that does not include View Document permission for the document's current lifecycle state.

Check with your Vault's Admin or the document owner to ensure you have proper permissions to view the document. Learn more about <a href="/en/gr/895/">Using Document Sharing Settings</a> and <a href="/en/gr/2572/">Defining Document Role Permissions</a>.

### Documents Do Not Appear in My Searches {#documents-do-not-appear-searches}

If a document does not appear when you initiate a search:

  1. Ensure that you are searching across _All Documents_. Documents may not appear if you are searching within a saved view or with filters already applied.
  2. Check that your search terms are valid.
  3. You may not have access to the document or its current lifecycle state. Check with your Vault Admin to ensure you have proper permission to access the document.

Learn more about <a href="/en/gr/442/">Searching Vault</a>.

## Other

If your issue is not present on this list or you are still experiencing problems accessing your documents, please contact <a class="external-link " href="https://support.veeva.com/hc/en-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Veeva Support<i class="fa fa-external-link" aria-hidden="true"></i></a>.