# IAM role and ARN


This section describes how to complete the **IAM role** section in the **General info** section of the **Channel and input details** pane.

You must choose a role for MediaLive to assume when it works with this channel. If you don't choose a role, you can't create the channel. There are two general scenarios, depending on whether your organization has a designated administrator.

**Note**  
This section on the MediaLive console is identical to the **IAM role** section on the **Create input** page for a MediaConnect push input (also on the MediaLive console). The difference in the two usages is that on the **Create channel** page, you attach the role to the channel. On the **Create input** page, you attach the role to the MediaConnect input. You can use the same role (for example, the **MediaLiveAccessRole**) in both usages.

There are two general scenarios for choosing a role, depending on whether your organization has a designated administrator.

## Your organization has a designated administrator


Your organization might have an administrator who manages this service. That administrator has likely set up one or more roles: 
+ Ask the administrator or your manager which role to use. Or if only one rule is listed in **Use existing role**, choose that role. 
+ If the only rule that is listed is **MediaLiveAccessRole**, choose that role. In addition, if the **Update** button is displayed beside this role name, choose the button. (The button does not always appear, but whenever it does appear, choose it to refresh the role.)
+ If you want the selected ARN to appear first in the list next time, select **Remember ARN**. 

## Your organization has no administrator


Your organization might not have a designated service administrator. In this case, if none of your colleagues have set up a suitable role, you might have to create one yourself and then choose it. 
+ You can create the default role, called **MediaLiveAccessRole**. To first check if someone else has already created this role (only one person needs to create it for all users in your AWS account), look at **Create role from template**:
  + If this option is grayed out, this task has been done. In that case, choose **Use existing role**, and then choose **MediaLiveAccessRole** from the list. 
  + If this option is not grayed out, choose **Create role from template**, and then choose **Create IAM role**. Next, choose that role from the list. If MediaLive does not let you create the role, speak to an administrator about your IAM permissions. 
+ If the **MediaLiveAccessRole** has already been created and the **Update** button is displayed beside it, choose the button. (The button does not always appear, but whenever it does appear, choose it to refresh the role.)
+ If you want the selected ARN to appear first in the list next time, select **Remember ARN**.