Minimum password length

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Minimum password length

Description

This security setting determines the least number of characters that a password for a user account may contain. You can set a value of between 1 and 14 characters, or you can establish that no password is required by setting the number of characters to 0.

Default:

  • 7 on domain controllers.

  • 0 on stand-alone servers.

Note

  • By default, member computers follow the configuration of their domain controllers.

Configuring this security setting

You can configure this security setting by opening the appropriate policy and expanding the console tree as such: Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Account Policies\Password Policy\

For specific instructions about how to configure password policy settings, see Apply or modify password policy.

For more information, see: