Partial blocks may be applied byadministrators to prevent a user from editing some part(s) of Wikipedia, in contrast with asitewide block. Partial blocks may be applied touser accounts,IP addresses, as well as IP address ranges.
Partial blocks can prevent a user from:
Editing specific pages
Editing all pages within a namespace
Emailing other users
Creating other accounts
Uploading files (including overwriting files)
Creating new pages (including uploading new files)
Partial blocking is separate frombanning, which is a formal retraction ofediting privileges on all or part of Wikipedia. Like sitewide blocks, partial blocks may be used to enforce a ban.
Partial blocks were enabled on the English Wikipedia as a result of aDecember 2019 RfC.
Purposes
Partial blocks may be used at the discretion of any administrator in accord with theblocking policy, or community consensus.[1]
Partial blocks may be used to enforce editing restrictions.[1][a]
Consider placing a template such as{{Uw-pblock}} on the talk pages of the users you block. You can use an automated tool such asTwinkle to automate the process of partially-blocking users as well as templating them.
Technical considerations
Parts of this Wikipedia page (those related to this section) need to beupdated. The reason given is:Wikipedia:Multiblocks. Please help update this Wikipedia page to reflect recent events or newly available information. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page.(August 2025)
When blocking a user from editing specific pages, there is a limit of 10 pages that may be specified.[2] If conditions require additional blocking, a conversion to a standard sitewide block should be considered. Any number of namespaces may be blocked.
Blocks of a page or a talk page do not automatically apply to the corresponding page in its companion namespace, though someone may be blocked from both a page and its talk page as separate entries.
Multiple blocks with different durations cannot be placed at the same time; it is only possible to adjust settings of the current block or to set a new partial block.
When applying a partial block with theautoblock option enabled, the IP address that the account was last using will be autoblocked with the same partial blocking restrictions as the account; any subsequent IP addresses the account tries to edit from that are within the partial block's restrictions will also be autoblocked, and with the same partial block. If a differentnon-exempt user account logs in from an autoblocked IP address and tries to edit within the partial block's restrictions, that account will also be autoblocked and with the same partial block. It does not affect their ability to edit pages outside of the partial block's restrictions.
Applying a partial block to an IP address or range with the"prevent logged-in users from editing from this IP address" option set will disallow all non-exempt user accounts from editing pages while logged in from the blocked IP address or range during the duration of the block, but only those pages that are within the original partial block's restrictions. They can edit pages that are not within the original partial block's restrictions as they would normally.
If the target page of a partial block is deleted, the block remains visibly in place, but completely loses its effect (unless the page is undeleted by an admin). The user can re-create the deleted page and edit it through the block.
If the target page of a partial block is moved, the block will apply to the new title, but not to any redirects created by the move.
You cannot block someone from creating pages in one namespace while allowing them to edit in that namespace. The "Creating new pages and uploading new files" option applies to all namespaces. Combining a namespace partial block with "Creating new pages and uploading new files" would prevent all edits in the blocked namespace plus creating new pages and uploading new files to any namespace at all.
Blocking account creation from an IP range
In most cases 'account creation blocked' should be left unchecked, as enabling it will prevent all new account creation on the whole range. Conversely, partial blocks can be leveraged to only block account creation from an IP or IP range, but permit all unregistered editing. To do this, simply impose a partial block but leave the "Pages" and "Namespaces" fields blank (this is mostly useful for checkusers).
If editors believe a block has been improperly issued that affects them, they can request a review of that block by following the instructions at theWikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard. Alternatively, the affected editor may request an unblock following the procedures atWikipedia:Blocking policy § Unblocking, using the{{unblock}} template. Either way, the editor should readWikipedia:Guide to appealing blocks to see how to formulate the request. Administrators can unblock a user when they feel the block is unwarranted or no longer appropriate, in accordance with the blocking policy.
