How to Find the Administrator Password on Windows 10

Windows 10 doesn’t store the administrator password anywhere you can look it up, so there’s no setting or command that will show it. What you can do is find out which account is the administrator and then reset its password. If the admin uses a Microsoft account, reset it online. If it’s a local account, use its security questions or have another administrator set a new one. This guide covers each case, plus what to do on a work or school PC.

Microsoft ended Windows 10 support on October 14, 2025, so a PC without Extended Security Updates no longer receives security fixes; that program runs until October 12, 2027.

Find out which account is the administrator

From Settings

1. Open Settings > Accounts > Your info. If you see Administrator under your name, you’re already an admin.
2. Go to Settings > Accounts > Family & other users to see other accounts. Accounts labeled Administrator have admin rights.

From Command Prompt

Open Command Prompt (it doesn’t need to be elevated), type net localgroup administrators, and press Enter. Windows lists every account with administrator rights.

When a program asks for an administrator password, the User Account Control prompt also shows the admin account’s name.

Reset the password

If the administrator uses a Microsoft account

An email address shown as the account name means it’s a Microsoft account.

1. On the sign-in screen, select that account and click I forgot my password. Or, from any device, go to Microsoft’s password reset page.
2. Verify your identity with a code sent to the recovery email or phone.
3. Choose a new password, then sign in on the PC while it’s connected to the internet.

If it’s a local account with security questions

1. On the sign-in screen, enter a wrong password once.
2. Click Reset password and answer the security questions.
3. Choose a new password.

If another administrator account exists

1. Sign in with the other admin account.
2. Press Windows + R, type netplwiz, and press Enter.
3. Select the account and click Reset Password.

Resetting a local password this way can make files encrypted with EFS and some saved credentials unreadable, so use the account owner’s own reset options first if possible. There’s more on this in recovering a Windows 10 administrator password safely.

If you can’t reset it at all

If there’s no other admin, no security questions, and it’s a local account, the remaining option is to reset Windows. From the sign-in screen, hold Shift, click Power > Restart, then choose Troubleshoot > Reset this PC. Remove everything reinstalls Windows and erases files, so back up anything you can first. Keep my files may ask for an administrator password, so it often isn’t available in this situation. The full walkthrough is in unlocking your laptop when you forgot the password.

Work or school computers

If your PC is managed by an employer or school, the administrator is usually the IT department. They control the admin password and won’t share it, but they can install software or change settings for you. Don’t try to bypass it, since that can break company policies.

Give yourself admin rights

Once you’re signed in as an admin, you can make another account an administrator: go to Settings > Accounts > Family & other users, click the account, choose Change account type, and select Administrator. To turn on Windows’ built-in Administrator account instead, enable the administrator account using CMD.

Avoid password-cracking tools

Downloads that promise to “recover” Windows passwords often bundle malware, may not work on current versions, and are illegal to use on a PC you don’t own. The official reset methods above are faster and safer.

Frequently asked questions

Can I see the administrator password in Control Panel or the registry?

No. Windows stores only a scrambled hash of the password, which can’t be read back as the password. What Command Prompt can reveal is limited to items such as saved Wi-Fi keys, covered in finding stored passwords on Windows 10 with CMD.

Is this different on Windows 11?

The options are the same, and finding the administrator password on Windows 11 shows where they are in the newer menus.

How do I change the administrator’s name?

The steps are in changing the administrator name in Windows 10.

Summary

You can’t view the admin password, but you can find the admin account in Settings or with net localgroup administrators, then reset the password online for a Microsoft account, with security questions or another admin for a local account, or by resetting Windows as a last resort.