How to force a local user to change password on next login
Before continuing, please visit the following links to learn what are local users and how to create a local user in Windows Server 2025.
We can force a local user to change his password during his next login (first login, in case of a new local user account) while creating the user. But in some other cases, you may want an existing user to change his password during his next login. Follow below steps to force a user to change his password during his next login.
Step 01 – Open Computer Management MMC snap–in by right–clicking the Windows start button and then selecting Computer Management from the menu. You can also open Computer Management MMC snap–in, by typing compmgmt.msc in Windows Run dialog box and then by click the "OK" button. Another way to open the Computer Management MMC snap–in is, search for compmgmt.msc in Windows Search box and then by clicking the search result.
Step 02 – Open "Local Users and Groups" and then "Users" folder inside Computer Management MMC snap–in. Right–click the user you want to change his password on his next login and then select the "Properties" from the context menu, as shown in below image.
Step 03 – Click and open the "General" tab of the local user Properties Window. Check the checkbox "User must change password at next logon" to force a local user to change the user account password on next login. Click the "Apply" button and then the "OK" button, as shown in below screenshot.
Step 04 – When the new user tries to login next time, he/she will be required to change the password at Windows login screen as shown in below screenshots.
Step 04 – Make sure that the Windows Server Operating System has automatically unchecked the "User must change password at next logon" checkbox, after the user had changed his password, as shown in below screenshot.
Written by Jajish Thomas.
Last updated on 1st August, 2024.