How To

How to Enable or Disable Password Expiration in Windows 11

by Ayushi Chauhan
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This guide will show you how to Enable or Disable Password Expiration in Windows 11. When password expiration is turned on, the user will have to change their password the next time they log in after the expiration date. The expiration of passwords in Windows 11 is an important tool that lets you protect your data better. It lets you decide who can use your computer and who can’t.

This option is only available in the Pro, Education, and Enterprise versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11. It is turned off by default. Setting a password on your device helps keep your data safe, but turning on the feature that makes the password expire makes it even stronger.

This is because it lets you put a timestamp on the passwords you use for your user accounts.This keeps attackers or other unwanted users from getting into your accounts. When the time you set for the feature is up, you’ll have to change your password or, if you want, your username. We mentioned below are the ways to Enable or Disable Password Expiration in Windows 11.

Set or Remove Password Expiration for a Microsoft Account

Online, you can change how long your Microsoft account password will last. To do this, go to the Security section of your Microsoft account and turn on the choice that says “Make me change my password every 72 days.”

Once turned on, your current Microsoft account password will end in 72 days, at which point you will need to change it to use any Microsoft service tied to the account. Note that you have to change your password and set a new one if you want password expiration to work. You won’t be able to use this tool if you don’t have it. To set a Microsoft account password to expire:

  1. Go to the Microsoft Security page, and log in with your account username and password to access the page.
  2. Next, click on Password security to open the password change page.
  3. Next, enter your current password.
  4. Next, enter your new password and confirm the same in the Reenter password field.
  5. Lastly, check the Make me change my password every 72 days option.
  6. Click Save to save the changes and enable password expiration for your Microsoft account.

If you want to stop the password for your Microsoft account from expiring:

  1. Go to Microsoft account online > Security > Change password.
  2. Here, fill in the details for your new password and uncheck the Make me change my password every 72 days option.
  3. Click Save to apply the changes.

Enable Password Expiration for Local User Accounts via Local Users and Groups

Local Users and Groups is a tool for Windows administrators that lets you handle both a single computer and a network of computers. Users of Windows 11 Pro, Education, or Enterprise can use this tool to set local user accounts to have passwords that expire after a certain amount of time. Here’s how to Enable Password Expiration in Windows 11.

  1. Press Win + R to open Run.
  2. Type lusrmgr.msc and click OK to open Local Users and Groups snap-in.
  3. Click on the User folder in the left pane.
  4. Next, double-click on your user local user account to set password expiration.
  5. In the Properties dialog, uncheck the Password never expire option to enable password expiration.
  6. Click OK to save the changes.

If you’re using Windows 11 Home, you’ll need to turn on Local Users and Groups Management before you can use this method. Follow the steps below to turn on password expiration after you’ve turned on Local Users and Groups Management.

  1. Run the lusrmgr.exe app.
  2. Select the Users option in the left pane.
  3. Next, double-click on the user account name to open its properties.
  4. Open the Password tab.
  5. Uncheck the Password never expires option.
  6. Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

How to Set Maximum Password Age Using Group Policy Editor

You can set the maximum age of a password in the Password Policy using the Group Policy Editor. The usual time for a password to expire is 42 days, but you can change it to fit your needs. Group Policy Editor comes with Windows 11 and Windows 10 Pro, Education, and Enterprise Editions.

If you use the Windows Home Edition, you need to read our guide to find out how to get to the Group Policy Editor. Once you’ve started the Group Policy Editor, do the following to set a time for your local user account’s password to expire:

  1. Press Win + R to open Run.
  2. Type gpedit.msc and click OK to open Group Policy Editor.
  3. In Group Policy Editor, navigate to the following location:
  4. Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Account Policies > Password Policy
  1. In the right pane, right-click on the Maximum password age policy and select Properties.
  2. In the Properties dialog, you’ll see 42 days as the expiry time. Change the expiry days to your preferred length—you can set it up to 999 days.
  3. Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

Enable and Disable Password Expiration for Local User Accounts Using Command Prompt

If you need to change the password expiration date often by hand, you can use the WMI command-line (WMIC) tool in Command Prompt to Disable Password Expiration in Windows 11 for the local user account. Here’s what you need to do. If you want to know more information about this Visit Official Microsoft Support site.

  1. Press the Win key and type cmd.
  2. From the search result, right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
  3. In the Command Prompt window, type the following command to enable password expiration for the specified local user account:
    1. wmic UserAccount where Name=”user account name” set PasswordExpires=True
  4. In the above command, replace user account name with the user account name you want to set password expiration for.
  5. Next, to set the maximum password expiration age, use the following command:
    1. net accounts /maxpwage:##
  6. In the above command, replace ## with the length of days you want to set before the password expires.
  7. To disable the password, use the following command:
    1. wmic UserAccount where Name=”user account name” set PasswordExpires=false
  8. If you need to disable password expiration for all the local user accounts, use the following command instead:
    1. wmic UserAccount set PasswordExpires=False
  9. Once done, type exit and press Enter to close Command Prompt.

Why should I set up password expiration in Windows 11?

You already know that having a password on your account is a way to keep your files safe from people who shouldn’t have access to them. But if you use the same password for too long, someone might figure it out and be able to get into your computer. Setting up your Windows 11 password to expire can help make your computer safer. By putting a time limit on your password, you can keep people who shouldn’t be on your computer from getting in. 

The following are some other reasons: 

  1. Prevent unauthorized changes – Password expiration helps prevent unwanted changes in your system settings or personal data by unauthorized users who have accessed the computer.
  2. Protects your PC from hackers – If you are using a complex password for your PC and don’t change it regularly, then there is a possibility that your password will be compromised by hackers, especially when your user account expires.
  3. Safeguard your privacy – Setting up password expiration will force users to change their passwords more often and make them harder to crack. This is especially helpful for anyone who uses the same password on multiple accounts.
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