How to create local administrator account on Windows 11

To create a local administrator account on Windows 11, open Settings > Accounts > Other users, click the “Add account” button, select the “I don’t have this person’s sign-in information” option, click the “Add a user without a Microsoft account” option to create an administrator account. Finally, select the local account, click the “Change account type” button, and choose the “Administrator” option.
These instructions apply to Windows 11 24H2 and 23H2 or previous versions using Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Computer Management.

On Windows 11, a local administrator account gives the user full access to the device, allowing them to change personal and system settings, install applications, and manage other users.

The only caveat is that when you create a new local account, Windows 11 sets it up as a “Standard” account that is very limited to essential tasks. A user with this type of account can only change some personalization settings and run apps, and they can’t change system settings, install or uninstall apps, or manage other users.

In this guide, I will teach you different approaches to creating an administrator Windows 11 account through Settings, Command Prompt, and PowerShell. These instructions apply to Windows 11 24H2 and 23H2 or any version of the operating system using Command Prompt or PowerShell.

Create local administrator account from Settings on Windows 11
Create local administrator account from Computer Management on Windows 11
Create local administrator account from Command Prompt on Windows 11
Create local administrator account from PowerShell on Windows 11

Create local administrator account from Settings on Windows 11

To create a local administrator account on Windows 11, use these steps:

Open Settings on Windows 11.
Click on Accounts.
Click the Other users tab.
Click the Add account button under the “Other users” section.
Click the “I don’t have this person’s sign-in information” option.
Click the “Add a user without a Microsoft account” option.
Create a Windows 11 administrator account by confirming a name and password.
Configure the security questions to recover the account if the password is lost.
Click the Next button.
(Optional) Select the newly created account and click the “Change account type” button to change the account from Standard to Administrator.
Choose the Administrator option using the “Account type” setting.
Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, the new account will be created on Windows 11 22H2.

Create local administrator account from Computer Management on Windows 11

If you use the Computer Management app, you can create a new account or enable the default “Administrator” account.

Create admin account

To create an admin local account through Computer Management, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for Computer Management and click the top result to open the app.
Expand Local Users and Groups on the left pane.
Right-click the Users folder and choose the “New User” option.
Confirm the user name.

Quick tip: The full name and description are optional settings.
Create a password for the account.
(Optional) Clear the “User must change password at next logon” option.
(Optional) Check the “Password never expires” option.
Click the Create button.
Click the Close button.
Right-click the newly created account and choose the “Properties” option.
Click the Member Of tab.
Click the Add button.
Type the Administrators group in the box.
Click the Check Name button.
Click the OK button.
Click the Apply button.
Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, the new administrator account will be created on Windows 11.

Enable default Administrator account

If you have to enable the system’s default “Administrator” account instead, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for Computer Management and click the top result to open the app.
Expand Local Users and Groups on the left pane.
Select the Users item.
Right-click the Administrator user on the right side and select the Properties option.
Clear the “Account is a disabled” option.
Click the Apply button.
Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, the built-in Administrator account will be enabled on the computer.

Create local administrator account from Command Prompt on Windows 11

To create a local administrator account from Command Prompt, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
Type the following command to create a new account and press Enter:
```
net user USER-NAME PASSWORD /add
```
In the command, change “USER-NAME” and “PASSWORD” with the credentials you want to use for the new user account.
Type the following command to make the newly created account administrator and press Enter:
```
net localgroup administrators USER-ACCOUNT /add
```
In the command, replace “USER-ACCOUNT” with the account name you want to add to the administrators’ group.

After you complete the steps, the administrator account will be created on Windows 11.

Create local administrator account from PowerShell on Windows 11

To create a local administrator account from PowerShell, use these steps:

Open Start.
Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
Type the following command to temporarily store the password inside a string in the “$Password” variable and press Enter:
```
$Password = Read-Host -AsSecureString
```
Type the password for the new Windows 11 admin account and press Enter.
Type the following command to create the new administrator account with PowerShell and press Enter:
```
New-LocalUser "NEW-ACCOUNT-NAME" -Password $Password -FullName "USER-FULL-NAME" -Description "DESCRIPTION"
```
In the command, change “NEW-ACCOUNT-NAME” for the account name and “USER-FULL-NAME” for the user’s full name. Also, replace “DESCRIPTION” with the description you want to use for the account.
Type the following command to add the account to the Administrators user group and press Enter:
```
Add-LocalGroupMember -Group "Administrators" -Member "NEW-ACCOUNT-NAME"
```
In the command, change NEW-ACCOUNT-NAME for the account name.

Once you complete the steps, the new administrator local account will be created on Windows 11, giving the user full access to the device.

Update June 18, 2024: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the process.