How to Change Maximum and Minimum Password Age for Local Accounts in Windows 10

Information
Password expiration is a feature in Windows that forces a
local account on the PC to change their passwords when a specified maximum (42 days by default) and minimum ( 0 days by default) password age has been reached.
The
Maximum password age policy setting determines the period of time (in days) that a password can be used before the system requires the user to change it. You can set passwords to expire after a number of days between 1 and 999, or you can specify that passwords never expire by setting the number of days to 0. If Maximum password age is between 1 and 999 days, the minimum password age must be less than the maximum password age. If Maximum password age is set to 0, Minimum password age can be any value between 0 and 998 days.
The
Minimum password age policy setting determines the period of time (in days) that a password can be used before the system requires the user to change it. You can set passwords to expire after a number of days between 1 and 999, or you can specify that passwords never expire by setting the number of days to 0. If Maximum password age is between 1 and 999 days, the minimum password age must be less than the maximum password age. If Maximum password age is set to 0, Minimum password age can be any value between 0 and 998 days.
This tutorial will show you how to change the
maximum and minimum password age for local accounts in
Windows 10.
You must be signed in as an
administrator to change the maximum and minimum password age.

Warning
You must have
password expiration enabled for a local account to have the set maximum and minimum password age enforced.
CONTENTS:
- Option One: To Change Maximum Password Age for Local Accounts using Local Security Policy
- Option Two: To Change Minimum Password Age for Local Accounts using Local Security Policy
- Option Three: To Change Maximum Password Age for Local Accounts using Command Prompt
- Option Four: To Change Minimum Password Age for Local Accounts using Command Prompt
EXAMPLE: "Your password has expired and must be changed" at sign-in


OPTION ONE
To Change Maximum Password Age for Local Accounts using Local Security Policy

Note
Local Security Policy is only available in the
Windows 10 Pro,
Enterprise, and
Education editions.
All editions can use
Option Three below.
1. Press the
Win+R keys to open Run, type
secpol.msc into Run, and click/tap on
OK to open Local Security Policy.
2. Navigate to
Account Policies and
Password Policy in the left pane of Local Security Policy. (see screenshot below)
3. In the right pane of
Password Policy, double click/tap on the
Maximum password age policy. (see screenshot above)
4. Type in a number between
0 and
999 for how many days you want a password can be used before it expires, and click/tap on
OK. (see screenshot below)

Note
The default setting is 42 days.
You can specify that passwords never expire by setting the number of days to 0.
The minimum password age must be less than the maximum password age.
5. When finished, you can close the Local Security Policy window if you like.
6. If you like, you can
force local accounts to change their password at next sign-in to enforce your changes to minimum and maximum password age.
OPTION TWO
To Change Minimum Password Age for Local Accounts using Local Security Policy

Note
Local Security Policy is only available in the
Windows 10 Pro,
Enterprise, and
Education editions.
All editions can use
Option Four below.
1. Press the
Win+R keys to open Run, type
secpol.msc into Run, and click/tap on
OK to open Local Security Policy.
2. Navigate to
Account Policies and
Password Policy in the left pane of Local Security Policy. (see screenshot below)
3. In the right pane of
Password Policy, double click/tap on the
Minimum password age policy. (see screenshot above)
4. Type in a number between
0 and
998 for how many days you want a password can be changed after, and click/tap on
OK. (see screenshot below)

Note
The default setting is 0 days.
The minimum password age must be less than the maximum password age.
5. When finished, you can close the Local Security Policy window if you like.
6. If you like, you can
force local accounts to change their password at next sign-in to enforce your changes to minimum and maximum password age.
OPTION THREE
To Change Maximum Password Age for Local Accounts using Command Prompt
1. Open an
elevated command prompt.
2. Enter the command below into the elevated command prompt, press Enter, and make note of the current maximum and minimum password age. (see screenshot below)
net accounts

3. Enter the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)
net accounts /maxpwage:days

Note
Substitute days in the command above with a number between 1 and 999 for how many days you want a password can be used before it expires.
The default setting is 42 days.
The minimum password age must be less than the maximum password age.

4. When finished, you can close the elevated command prompt if you like.
5. If you like, you can
force local accounts to change their password at next sign-in to enforce your changes to minimum and maximum password age.
OPTION FOUR
To Change Minimum Password Age for Local Accounts using Command Prompt
1. Open an
elevated command prompt.
2. Enter the command below into the elevated command prompt, press Enter, and make note of the current maximum and minimum password age. (see screenshot below)
net accounts

3. Enter the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)
net accounts /minpwage:days

Note
Substitute days in the command above with a number between 1 and 998 for how many days you want a password can be changed after.
The default setting is 0 days.
The minimum password age must be less than the maximum password age.

4. When finished, you can close the elevated command prompt if you like.
5. If you like, you can
force local accounts to change their password at next sign-in to enforce your changes to minimum and maximum password age.
That's it,
Shawn