---
description: "Accessibility Levels - C# Reference"
title: "Accessibility Levels"
ms.date: 01/21/2026
helpviewer_keywords: 
  - "access modifiers [C#], accessibility levels"
  - "accessibility levels"
---
# Accessibility levels (C# reference)

Use the access modifiers `public`, `protected`, `internal`, or `private` to specify one of the following declared accessibility levels for members.

- [`public`](public.md): Access isn't restricted.
- [`protected`](protected.md): Access is limited to the containing class or types derived from the containing class.
- [`internal`](internal.md): Access is limited to the current assembly.
- [`protected internal`](protected-internal.md): Access is limited to the current assembly or types derived from the containing class.
- [`private`](private.md): Access is limited to the containing type.
- [`private protected`](private-protected.md): Access is limited to the containing class or types derived from the containing class within the current assembly.

[!INCLUDE[csharp-version-note](../includes/initial-version.md)]

Top-level (non-nested) types can use the [file](../../language-reference/keywords/file.md) modifier. The `file` modifier restricts access to code in the same source file. You can't combine the `file` modifier with any access modifier.

Use only one access modifier for a member or type, except when you use the `protected internal` or `private protected` combinations.
  
Don't use access modifiers on namespaces. Namespaces have no access restrictions.

Depending on the context in which a member declaration occurs, only certain declared accessibilities are permitted. If you don't specify an access modifier in a member declaration, a default accessibility is used.

Top-level types, which aren't nested in other types, can only have `internal` or `public` accessibility. The default accessibility for these types is `internal`.

Nested types, which are members of other types, can have declared accessibilities as indicated in the following table.

| Members of  | Default member accessibility | Allowed declared accessibility of the member                                                                     |
|-------------|------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `enum`      | `public`                     | None |
| `class`     | `private`                    | `public`<br /><br /> `protected`<br /><br /> `internal`<br /><br /> `private`<br /><br /> `protected internal` <br /><br />`private protected` |
| `interface` | `public`                     | `public`<br /><br /> `protected`<br /><br /> `internal`<br /><br /> `private`\*<br /><br /> `protected internal` <br /><br />`private protected` |
| `struct`    | `private`                    | `public`<br /><br /> `internal`<br /><br /> `private` |

\* An `interface` member with `private` accessibility must have a default implementation.

> [!NOTE]
> If you modify a class or struct with the [`record`](../builtin-types/record.md) keyword modifier, use the same access modifiers.
> Also, with the [`record`](../builtin-types/record.md) modifier, the default member accessibility is still `private` for both class and struct.

The accessibility of a nested type depends on its [accessibility domain](./accessibility-domain.md), which the declared accessibility of the member and the accessibility domain of the immediately containing type determine. However, the accessibility domain of a nested type can't exceed that of the containing type.

## C# Language Specification

[!INCLUDE[CSharplangspec](~/includes/csharplangspec-md.md)]

## See also

- [C# Keywords](./index.md)
- [Access Modifiers](./access-modifiers.md)
- [Accessibility Domain](./accessibility-domain.md)
- [Restrictions on Using Accessibility Levels](./restrictions-on-using-accessibility-levels.md)
- [Access Modifiers](../../programming-guide/classes-and-structs/access-modifiers.md)
- [public](./public.md)
- [private](./private.md)
- [protected](./protected.md)
- [internal](./internal.md)