How to Turn Off User Account Control on Windows 10

To turn off User Account Control (UAC) prompts in Windows 10, select Start, type UAC, and open Change User Account Control settings. Drag the slider to the bottom, Never notify, select OK, and then select Yes. You need to be signed in with an administrator account, and the change works on Windows 10 Home, Pro, Enterprise and Education.

Applies to: Windows 10 version 22H2. Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025, and only PCs enrolled in Extended Security Updates still get security fixes, through October 12, 2027.

UAC is the box that asks “Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?” before a program gets administrator rights. It’s one of the main things that stops malware from quietly changing your system, so lower it only for as long as you need to, and turn it back on when you’re done.

Turn off the prompts, or turn off UAC completely?

“Turning off UAC” can mean two different things, and they don’t have the same side effects:

• Silence the prompts (recommended if you must): The Never notify slider position, the Group Policy setting Elevate without prompting, and the Command Prompt method below all do this. UAC itself stays on, apps still start with standard rights, and anything that asks for administrator rights gets them without a prompt. No restart is needed in most cases.
• Disable UAC entirely: Setting the EnableLUA registry value to 0 (the policy Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode) switches off Admin Approval Mode and every related UAC setting. It needs a restart, gives every program you start full administrator rights, and can stop Microsoft Store apps from opening.

If the prompts only bother you because the screen goes dark, there’s a gentler option: the third slider level keeps the prompts but stops the dimming.

Method 1: Use the UAC slider (all editions)

1. Select Start (or the search box on the taskbar), type UAC, and select Change User Account Control settings. You can also get there through Control Panel > User Accounts > User Accounts > Change User Account Control settings, or by pressing Windows + R, typing UserAccountControlSettings, and pressing Enter.

2. The User Account Control Settings window opens with a vertical slider. On a PC that has never been changed, it sits at the second notch from the top.
3. Drag the slider down to the bottom notch, labeled Never notify. The description beside the slider changes to Never notify me when:.

4. Select OK. Windows shows one last UAC prompt to approve the change; select Yes.
5. Restart the PC only if Windows asks you to.

From now on, programs that request administrator rights start without the prompt. You’ll still see a shield icon on some buttons, but clicking them won’t show a confirmation box.

What the four slider levels do

• Always notify: You’re asked before apps install software or change your PC, and also before you change Windows settings yourself. The screen dims during the prompt. This is the most cautious level.
• Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (default): You’re asked when an app wants administrator rights, but not when you change Windows settings. The screen dims.
• Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (do not dim my desktop): Same as the default, but the prompt appears on your normal desktop instead of the dimmed one. This is slightly less secure, because other programs can interact with a prompt on the normal desktop.
• Never notify: No prompts. Apps that request administrator rights on an administrator account get them automatically.

The dimmed screen is what Microsoft calls the secure desktop: only Windows processes can reach it, so another program can’t click Yes for you. That’s why Microsoft recommends keeping it on.

Method 2: Use Local Security Policy or Group Policy (Pro, Enterprise, Education)

This sets the same behavior through a policy, which is handy if you manage the PC through policies already. Windows 10 Home doesn’t include these tools, so use Method 1 or Method 3 there.

1. Press Windows + R, type secpol.msc, and press Enter to open Local Security Policy. You can use gpedit.msc instead; if it won’t start, see these other ways to open the Group Policy Editor in Windows 10.
2. Go to Local Policies > Security Options. In the Group Policy Editor, the path is Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options.
3. Scroll to the settings that start with User Account Control: and double-click User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode.
4. Choose Elevate without prompting from the list and select OK.

The default for this setting is Prompt for consent for non-Windows binaries; choose it again to undo the change. Microsoft’s UAC settings and configuration reference lists every UAC policy, its default and its matching registry value. It reserves Elevate without prompting for “the most constrained environments,” which is another reason to treat this as temporary.

Method 3: Use Command Prompt (works on Home)

This is the quickest way to make the change on several PCs, or to do it from a script. It changes the same two registry values as the Never notify slider position. Editing the registry by hand carries some risk, so type the commands exactly.

1. Select Start, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, select Run as administrator, and approve the prompt.
2. Run this command to stop the prompts for administrators:
   reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System" /v ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
3. Run this command to turn off the secure (dimmed) desktop:
   reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System" /v PromptOnSecureDesktop /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
4. Each command should reply The operation completed successfully.

To go back to the default, run the same two commands with /d 5 for ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin and /d 1 for PromptOnSecureDesktop.

Fully disabling UAC with EnableLUA (not recommended)

Warning: Read this before you follow any guide that tells you to set EnableLUA to 0. This switches off Admin Approval Mode, so every program you start, including anything malicious you open by mistake, runs with full administrator rights. Windows may also warn that the PC is less secure, apps from the Microsoft Store may refuse to open, and the change only takes effect after a restart.

The only common reason to go this far is a specific older program or test setup that fails even with Never notify. If that’s you:

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator (see Method 3).
2. Run:
   reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System" /v EnableLUA /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
3. Restart the PC.

The policy equivalent on Pro and higher is setting User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode to Disabled, followed by a restart.

To undo it, run the same command with /d 1 (or set the policy back to Enabled) and restart. Do this as soon as you’ve finished with the program that needed it.

Check that it worked, or turn UAC back on

• Quick test: Right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator. If the window opens straight away with Administrator: Command Prompt in the title bar and no prompt appeared, the prompts are off.
• Check the values: In an administrator Command Prompt, run reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System". ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin of 0x0 means no prompts; EnableLUA of 0x1 means UAC itself is still on.
• Turn it back on: Open Change User Account Control settings, drag the slider to the second notch from the top, select OK, and select Yes. If you used EnableLUA, set it back to 1 and restart first.

If you can’t change UAC

• Windows asks for a password instead of showing Yes: You’re signed in with a standard account, so you need an administrator’s password to change this setting. Not sure which kind of account you have? Check admin rights on Windows 10 first.
• The slider is greyed out or jumps back: A work or school PC usually sets UAC through policy, and the policy wins every time it refreshes. Ask your IT department.
• You still see prompts after using Method 2 or 3: Make sure you changed the setting for administrators (ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin), not the one for standard users, and that you’re signed in with an administrator account. Password prompts on a standard account aren’t removed by these methods.
• Store apps won’t open: EnableLUA is probably set to 0. Set it back to 1 and restart.
• Only one program needs administrator rights: Leave UAC on and use one of the ways to run a program as administrator in Windows 10, such as setting it to always run as administrator in its properties. You’ll still approve a prompt for that program, but everything else stays protected.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to turn off UAC?

Not as an everyday setting. With prompts off, a program you open by mistake can install software or change system files without any warning. If you turn it off to install a batch of trusted programs or drivers on a new PC, turn it back on when you’re finished.

Will turning off UAC make my PC faster?

No. UAC only steps in when something asks for administrator rights, so it doesn’t slow down everyday use. You save a click per prompt, not processing time.

Does turning off UAC give a standard account administrator rights?

No. UAC controls how administrator rights are approved; it can’t hand them out. To get those rights, an existing administrator has to change the account type or you’d need to create an administrator account in Windows 10.

An old program saves files in the wrong place. Is that UAC?

Possibly. UAC includes file and registry virtualization, which quietly redirects older programs that try to write to protected folders such as Program Files into a per-user folder instead. That’s on by default and it helps those programs run without being elevated, so it’s usually better left alone.

Can I skip the prompt for just one app?

There’s no switch for this in UAC settings. The common workaround is a Task Scheduler task with Run with highest privileges checked, which you then start from a shortcut. Only do this for software you trust, because it gives that program full rights every time.

Are the steps different in Windows 11?

The UAC slider, policy names and registry values are the same in Windows 11; Microsoft’s UAC documentation covers both versions on the same pages.

When the job that needed fewer prompts is done, move the slider back to the default level so Windows can warn you again before something changes your PC.