How to make an overhead name tag in Roblox

How an overhead tag works

A BillboardGui is drawn at its Adornee (a part) and turns to face every camera. Anything inside it, labels, images, frames, is ordinary GUI. Because the character is rebuilt every time a player respawns, the tag has to be added again for every new character, which is why the script listens to CharacterAdded.

Roblox already shows a name above each character. Humanoid.DisplayDistanceType set to None turns that off for one character, so only your tag is left. The health bar guide covers the default name and health display if you would rather keep and tune it.

Step 1: The name tag script

Hover over ServerScriptService, click +, insert a Script named NameTags and paste this. Put your own UserId in TITLES.

-- Script in ServerScriptService named NameTags.
-- A name and an optional title above every player's head.
local Players = game:GetService("Players")

local MAX_DISTANCE = 60 -- studs; tags further away are hidden

type Title = { text: string, color: Color3 }

-- UserId -> title. Decided here on the server, where players cannot change it.
local TITLES: { [number]: Title } = {
	[156] = { text = "Owner", color = Color3.fromRGB(255, 200, 60) },
}

local function makeLabel(name: string, text: string, color: Color3, height: number, y: number): TextLabel
	local label = Instance.new("TextLabel")
	label.Name = name
	label.BackgroundTransparency = 1
	label.Size = UDim2.fromScale(1, height)
	label.Position = UDim2.fromScale(0, y)
	label.Font = Enum.Font.GothamBold
	label.Text = text
	label.TextColor3 = color
	label.TextScaled = true

	local stroke = Instance.new("UIStroke")
	stroke.Thickness = 1.5
	stroke.Color = Color3.new(0, 0, 0)
	stroke.Parent = label
	return label
end

local function addTag(player: Player, character: Model)
	local head = character:WaitForChild("Head", 10)
	local humanoid = character:WaitForChild("Humanoid", 10)
	if not (head and head:IsA("BasePart") and humanoid and humanoid:IsA("Humanoid")) then
		return
	end
	humanoid.DisplayDistanceType = Enum.HumanoidDisplayDistanceType.None

	local tag = Instance.new("BillboardGui")
	tag.Name = "NameTag"
	tag.Adornee = head
	tag.Size = UDim2.fromScale(5, 1.4)
	tag.StudsOffset = Vector3.new(0, 2.2, 0)
	tag.MaxDistance = MAX_DISTANCE
	tag.LightInfluence = 0

	local title = TITLES[player.UserId]
	if title then
		makeLabel("Title", title.text, title.color, 0.4, 0).Parent = tag
		makeLabel("PlayerName", player.DisplayName, Color3.new(1, 1, 1), 0.6, 0.4).Parent = tag
	else
		makeLabel("PlayerName", player.DisplayName, Color3.new(1, 1, 1), 0.6, 0.4).Parent = tag
	end
	tag.Parent = head
end

local function onPlayerAdded(player: Player)
	player.CharacterAdded:Connect(function(character: Model)
		addTag(player, character)
	end)
	if player.Character then
		task.spawn(addTag, player, player.Character)
	end
end

Players.PlayerAdded:Connect(onPlayerAdded)
for _, player in Players:GetPlayers() do
	onPlayerAdded(player)
end

Each label fills part of the tag's height: the title the top 40 percent and the name the bottom 60 percent, with TextScaled making the text fit. UIStroke draws a dark outline so the text reads against bright skies. DisplayName is the name players chose to show; use player.Name instead for the unique username.

Step 2: Get the size right

The size of a BillboardGui works differently from screen GUIs, and it decides whether the tag looks right close up and far away.

With scale, the text becomes tiny at a distance, which is why MaxDistance hides it at 60 studs. With offset, tags of far-away players look huge compared to their bodies; keep MaxDistance low if you choose offset. To stop scaled text getting too big close up, add a UITextSizeConstraint to each label with a MaxTextSize such as 28.

Step 3: Titles from a group rank or a game pass

Instead of a hand-made list, the title can come from the player's role in your Roblox group or from a game pass they own. Both are read on the server. Put the check in a ModuleScript named Titles in ServerScriptService:

-- ModuleScript in ServerScriptService named Titles.
-- A title from the player's group role or a VIP pass, or nil.
local GroupService = game:GetService("GroupService")
local MarketplaceService = game:GetService("MarketplaceService")

local GROUP_ID = 0 -- your group's ID
local VIP_PASS_ID = 0 -- your VIP game pass ID

local function titleFor(player: Player): { text: string, color: Color3 }?
	if GROUP_ID ~= 0 then
		local ok, result = pcall(function()
			return GroupService:GetRolesInGroupAsync(player.UserId, GROUP_ID)
		end)
		local topRole = ok and result.IsMember and result.Roles[1]
		if topRole and topRole.Rank >= 200 then
			return { text = topRole.Name, color = Color3.fromRGB(120, 200, 255) }
		end
	end
	if VIP_PASS_ID ~= 0 then
		local ok, owns = pcall(function()
			return MarketplaceService:UserOwnsGamePassAsync(player.UserId, VIP_PASS_ID)
		end)
		if ok and owns then
			return { text = "VIP", color = Color3.fromRGB(255, 120, 220) }
		end
	end
	return nil
end

return titleFor

GetRolesInGroupAsync returns IsMember and a Roles list ordered from the highest role down, because a member can now hold more than one role. Rank 200 and above is a common choice for staff; use your own group's numbers. Both calls go to Roblox's servers, so they are wrapped in pcall: if one fails, the player simply gets no title. The game pass guide shows how to sell the VIP pass and react when it is bought mid-game.

Then use it in NameTags, with two changes. At the top, under local Players = ..., add local titleFor = require(game:GetService("ServerScriptService"):WaitForChild("Titles")) :: (Player) -> Title?. In addTag, change the title line to local title = TITLES[player.UserId] or titleFor(player), so your hand-made list still wins and everyone else gets a group or VIP title when they have one.

Common overhead tag mistakes

Common errors and fixes

Open the Output window (Window menu, then Output) before you press Play. In Play mode you can see the tag under your character's Head in the Explorer.

Build it with RoCode

If you would rather not set this up by hand, RoCode can build it in the place you have open. RoCode is an independent AI agent for Roblox Studio, not made by Roblox: you describe the change in a web chat, and its Studio plugin creates the scripts and instances in your Explorer, so there is no code to paste.

With plugin 3.9 or newer RoCode can run a short playtest and read the errors. A tag is easiest to judge by eye, so press Play and look at it from close up and far away. How RoCode connects to Studio.

Questions

Sources and further reading

• Roblox Creator Docs: BillboardGui. Adornee, Size in studs, StudsOffset, MaxDistance and AlwaysOnTop
• Roblox Creator Docs: Name and health display. DisplayDistanceType and the default name
• Roblox Creator Docs: GroupService:GetRolesInGroupAsync
• Roblox Creator Docs: UIStroke

How the code was checked: every script on this page passes Luau's strict type checker against Roblox's API definitions (luau-lsp, 5 November 2026). A type check catches misspelt APIs and wrong types, not game logic, so playtest in Studio before you publish.