Create and delete local users on Windows Server

This article describes how to add and remove local users on Windows Server® 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, and 2019.

Access Local users and groups

1. Log in to the server from which you are removing the user.

2. To access Local users and groups:

   1. Click Start > Run.
   2. Enter lusrmgr.msc in the box and click OK.
   3. Alternatively, you can use Windows search to search for Local Users and Groups.

3. In the console, double click on Users, and a list of users displays on the right.

Add a new user

1. Click More Actions and select New User.

2. At a minimum, enter a username, a new password, and confirm that password. You should also enter the name under
   Full Name and a description of the account in the Description field.

   • To allow users to set their password, check the User must change password at next login box. Otherwise, uncheck it.
   • To prevent the user from setting a new password, check the User cannot change password box. You cannot select this
     if you have checked User must change password at next login.
   • If you are creating the user but the user should not yet have login rights, check the Account is disabled box. You
     can undo this when you want.
   • Optionally, you can set the password to never expire by checking the Password never expires box. However, you should
     rarely use this option because aged passwords pose a security risk.

3. After you fill out the form, click Create to save the new user and close the New User dialog. The newly created
   user now shows in the list of users.

Remove an existing user

1. Right-click on the user that you want to delete.

2. Click Delete.

3. Click Yes to confirm when the warning prompt that the deletion can't be undone displays.

Warning: If the user is associated with any services, those services might stop functioning after the user is deleted.
You can disable, instead of deleting, a user to avoid any issues.

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