Reset your work or school password using security info

Created by John Carnell, Modified on Sun, 2 Mar at 7:01 AM by John Carnell

If you forgot your work or school password or have been locked out of your account, you can use your security info and your mobile device to reset your work or school password.

Important:

Your administrator must turn on this feature for you to be able to set up your information and reset your own password.
If you know your password and want to change it, see Change your work or school account password.

How to reset a forgotten password for a work or school account

Start the sign-in process by visiting https://mysignins.microsoft.com
Sign in
At the sign-in screen, select Can’t access your account?
Enter your work or school email address or username and then prove you aren't a robot by entering the characters you see on the screen.
Select Next.
Note: If your administrator hasn't turned on the ability for you to reset your own password, you'll see a Contact your administrator link instead of the Get back into your account screen. This link lets you contact your administrator about resetting your password, through either email or a web portal.
Select one of the methods to verify your identity and change your password and add the requested information.
Notes:
- Depending on how your administrator has set up your organization, you might need to go through this process a second time, adding info for a second verification step.
- You must have previously set up your mobile device for verification using at least one of these methods.

Common problems and their solutions

Here are some common error cases and their solutions:

Problem	Description	Solution
When I try to change my password, I get an error.	Your password has a word, phrase, or pattern that makes your password easily guessable.	Try again using a stronger password.
After I enter my User ID, I go to a page that says, "Please contact your administrator.	"Microsoft has determined that your user account password is managed by your administrator in an on-premises environment. As a result, you can't reset your password from the "Can't access your account" link.	Your administrator hasn't turned on password reset for your organization from the "Can't access your account" link, or hasn't licensed you to use the feature. To reset your password, you must select the "contact an administrator link" to send an email to your company's administrator, and let them know you want to reset your password.
After I enter my User ID, I get an error that says, "We couldn't verify your account."	The sign-in process was unable to verify your account info.	There are two reasons you could be seeing this message. Your administrator turned on password reset for your organization, but you haven't registered to use the service. To register for password reset, see one of the following articles, based on your verification method: Set up security info to use an authenticator app (preview), Set up security info to use a phone call (preview), Set up security info to use text messaging (preview), Set up security info to use email (preview), or Set up security info to use security questions (preview). Your administrator hasn't turned on password reset for your organization. In this situation, you must select the "contact an administrator link" to send an email to your administrator, asking to reset your password.