Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. The described techniques provide for the configuration and operation of a multi-hop relay at different layers to enable a remote user equipment (UE) to act as a relay for a client UE that may be out of coverage of a network. For example, a network relay UE may establish a communication link with the network, and the network relay UE may transmit, to a remote UE, a relay configuration that authorizes the remote UE as a multi-hop relay to provide a connection to the network for one or more other UEs. The remote UE may transmit an acknowledgement to the network relay UE in response to receiving the relay configuration, and the remote UE may then transmit a relay discovery message including multi-hop relay information based on receiving the relay configuration.