FiveM bans explained: global bans, server bans and appeals

Global bans and server bans

FiveM is run by Cfx.re, which has been part of Rockstar Games since August 2023. The servers you play on are run by their own communities. That split is why there are two kinds of ban, decided by different people.

Global bans (Cfx.re)

Cfx.re's support FAQ says its automated anti-cheat detects "violative external programs" that try to inject into the FiveM or RedM client. Once it detects one, the linked account is banned from both FiveM and RedM. Each time that account tries to join a server, it's refused with a message saying the account is globally banned and for how long.

We found no published list of ban lengths from Cfx.re. The message you get is the only official source for yours.

Server bans

A server ban is issued by one server's staff, or automatically by the anti-cheat that server runs. It's stored in that server's own ban list and only stops you joining that server, or that community's servers. txAdmin, the open-source server panel maintained under Cfx.re's GitHub organisation, keeps its own player database with a warning and ban system. Server anti-cheats such as FiveGuard and WaveShield keep their own ban lists, with an ID for each ban.

Rockstar's Creator Platform License Agreement, which FiveM's terms link points to, says Rockstar has no obligation to resolve disputes between a server's players and its admins. In practice, a server ban is between you and that server.

Anti-cheat network bans

Some anti-cheat vendors share bans between the servers that use them. FiniAC's documentation describes local bans, which apply to one server, and global bans, which apply on every FiniAC-protected server. FiniAC says its global bans are issued for confirmed cheaters and exploiters, applied automatically for some detections, and added after its staff review evidence a server sends in. Servers on its top plan can choose to ignore global bans older than 90 or 180 days, but accounts with more than one global ban stay blocked.

So a server you've never played on can refuse you without you having a Cfx.re global ban.

How to tell which ban you have

Read the message FiveM shows when you're refused, and write it down word for word. It usually shows which kind of ban you have.

• Global ban. The message says the account is globally banned and gives the duration.
• txAdmin ban. The message says you've been temporarily or permanently banned from this server. It lists the ban date, the reason and a ban ID, can show when the ban expires and which admin issued it, and adds any message the server wrote, such as where to appeal.
• Anti-cheat ban. The wording depends on the product. FiveGuard and WaveShield both identify each ban by a ban ID, which staff use to look it up or lift it.
• Not a ban. "Game integrity check failed" means Cfx.re's anti-cheat found an anomaly in the game process and closed the game. Cfx.re says this does not mean you've been banned. Its server security guide also says a kick from its connection checks isn't automatically a global ban.

What servers can see and ban by

When you connect, the server gets a list of identifiers for you. FiveM's documentation for GetPlayerIdentifiers lists most of them, and txAdmin's code adds the Xbox Live and Microsoft account IDs.

You only have identifiers for the accounts you use: someone who doesn't use Steam has no Steam identifier, for example. Server owners can also set how far to trust each identity provider. FiveM's sv_authMinTrust setting is about how hard an identity is to fake, and sv_authMaxVariance about how likely it is to change.

How a server ban uses them

txAdmin is a useful example because its code is public. When an admin bans someone, txAdmin stores that player's identifiers and hardware ID tokens with the ban. When anyone joins, it checks their identifiers and tokens against every active ban. By default, one matching hardware token is enough to block the join. Owners can require two, three or four matches instead, or turn hardware bans off. txAdmin's settings page notes that most players have three to six hardware tokens, and that tokens aren't guaranteed to be unique, so two unrelated players can share one.

If the matching ban was placed on a different Rockstar licence, txAdmin's message says so: it tells you the ban belongs to another licence and that some of your IDs or hardware IDs match it.

Some anti-cheats go further. FiniAC links accounts that share identifiers, IP addresses, names or hardware IDs. When one account is banned, linked accounts are banned automatically, including ones created later.

Why people get banned

• Anti-cheat detections. Cfx.re's anti-cheat issues global bans. A server's anti-cheat can ban on its own when a detection fires; FiniAC lists automatic detection bans as one of its four ban types.
• Staff reviewing reports, clips and logs. Players report each other, usually through the server's Discord. Admins can spectate players from txAdmin's in-game menu and read its activity log of joins, kills, chat and explosions. Anti-cheats add their own evidence: Reaper says it records a video of every detection, and Electron offers session replays.
• Rule breaks that have nothing to do with cheating. Every roleplay server writes its own rules. txAdmin's ban templates exist for reasons that come up again and again, which its settings page gives as breaking server rules.

In our experience, most bans on roleplay servers start with another player's report rather than an automatic detection. There's no public data on this, so treat it as an observation, not a statistic.

False bans happen too. Cfx.re says its anti-cheat is tested to keep false positives low, and that other software running alongside the game can interfere and cause one. Anti-cheat vendors document false bans caused by server configuration as well: FiveGuard's and WaveShield's docs both have pages on fixing them.

How appeals work

Appealing a Cfx.re global ban

Cfx.re's Community Server Ban FAQ links an appeal form on support.cfx.re for anyone who believes they were banned by mistake. Before you file, it suggests checking the programs you've been running alongside FiveM.

• Use the form linked from that FAQ. Server staff don't run this ban list, so a server's Discord can't help.
• Include your account details and the exact ban message.
• Cfx.re doesn't publish how long a review takes or how often appeals succeed.

Appealing a server ban

Use the route the server gives you. txAdmin lets owners add a line about appeals to the message you see when you're refused, and its default example points to a Discord server. Most communities handle appeals with a ticket or a form in their Discord.

• Quote the ban ID. txAdmin shows it on the rejection screen, and FiveGuard and WaveShield staff lift bans by ban ID.
• Say what happened, briefly and honestly. If you broke a rule, say so. If you think it was a false positive, say what you were running.
• It's the server's decision. Rockstar's terms don't oblige it to step in.

Appealing an anti-cheat network ban

If the ban came from a vendor's shared list rather than the server's own, the vendor decides whether it stays. FiniAC's docs say its staff review evidence before a ban goes on its global list, and list Discord support tickets as the main way to reach the team. Reaper says it keeps a video of each detection as evidence for ban appeals. FiniAC's ban panel shows server staff whether a ban is local or global, so ask the server's staff which route applies to yours.

HWID bans and spoofers

A HWID ban targets your machine rather than an account, so a new account doesn't get you back in. On FiveM, the hardware side of a ban is the set of hardware ID tokens a server reads, which FiveM's docs describe as specific to each server.

A spoofer changes the hardware identifiers a game or anti-cheat reads. It doesn't change your Rockstar licence, your Cfx.re, Steam, Discord or Xbox accounts, or your IP address. Ban systems like txAdmin's match on any identifier they stored, and some anti-cheats link accounts across all of them, so changing the hardware part alone isn't a guaranteed unban. It doesn't prevent a new ban either.

Servers and anti-cheat vendors generally treat rejoining after a ban as ban evasion; FiniAC's alias-account system, for example, exists to stop it. If you believe a ban was wrong, the appeal is the route that can clear it. SERYX includes a spoofer with every FiveM licence, and the spoofer page explains what it changes and what it doesn't.

What no menu can promise

No menu can promise you won't be banned, SERYX included. Anti-cheats update their detections, and staff judge what they see you do.

Stream proof is narrower than it sounds. It keeps a menu's overlay out of screen captures such as OBS and Discord screen share. It doesn't change what you do in the game, what staff see when they spectate you, or what the server logs. The stream-proof page explains what it covers and where it stops. Bans aren't refundable; the refund page has the full terms.

Does a FiveM ban affect GTA Online?

This isn't publicly documented. Cfx.re's ban FAQ says a global ban applies to FiveM and RedM. It says nothing about GTA Online, and we found no official statement either way. FiveM's terms are an agreement with Rockstar Games that includes Rockstar's general terms of service, and they let Rockstar take action against accounts that break them. They don't say a FiveM ban carries over to GTA Online.

We checked every source below on 8 October 2026. Where a vendor is quoted on what its product does, that's the vendor's own description; we haven't tested it.

Sources

1. Cfx.re Support: FiveM/RedM Community Server Ban FAQ
2. Cfx.re Support: ban appeal form (linked from the FAQ)
3. Cfx.re Support: Game integrity check failed error in FiveM
4. FiveM docs: Secure Your Events (server security guide)
5. FiveM docs: GetPlayerIdentifiers (identifier types)
6. FiveM natives: GET_PLAYER_TOKEN
7. FiveM docs: server commands (sv_authMinTrust, sv_authMaxVariance)
8. Rockstar Games: Creator Platform License Agreement (fivem.net/terms), updated 10 September 2026
9. Cfx.re forum: Cfx.re Officially Joins Rockstar Games (11 August 2023)
10. txAdmin: README (player manager, ban system, activity log)
11. txAdmin source: ban settings (HWID matches, rejection message)
12. txAdmin source: ban check on join
13. txAdmin source: ban messages (English)
14. txAdmin source: identifier types
15. txAdmin docs: events (playerBanned identifiers and HWIDs)
16. FiniAC docs: Bans (local, global and alias bans)
17. FiniAC docs: Identities (account linking)
18. FiniAC docs: Contact
19. FiveGuard docs: FAQ (ban IDs, unbanning)
20. FiveGuard docs: Fix false bans/detections
21. WaveShield docs: Unban
22. WaveShield docs: Common false bans
23. Reaper AntiCheat: homepage (detection video evidence)
24. Electron Anticheat: homepage (session replay)