How to create local account on Windows 11

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On Windows 11, you can create a local account to avoid using the Microsoft account, which means that your settings and files will only be available locally on the device for a more private and secure experience.

Usually, you would want to set up a device with a Microsoft account since it offers more benefits like seamless integration with various services and files and settings syncing across devices. However, if you feel that the cloud-powered account type is not for you, it’s possible to create a local account that doesn’t connect to the Microsoft services using the Settings app, Command Prompt, and PowerShell.

This guide will teach you three different approaches to create a local account on your Windows 11 computer.

Create local account via Settings on Windows 11

To create a local account through the Settings app:

1. Open Start on Windows 11.

2. Search for Settings and click the top result to open the app.

3. Click on Accounts.

4. Click the Family & other users page on the right side.

5. Under the “Other users” section, click the Add account button.

   

   Add account

6. Click the I don’t have this person’s sign-in information option.

   

   Skip Microsoft account option

7. Click the Add a user without a Microsoft account option.

   

   Windows 11 local account option

8. Create a Windows 11 local account by confirming a name and password.

   

   Windows 11 local account info

9. Create the security questions and answers to recover the account if the password is lost.

10. Click the Next button.

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11. (Optional) Select the newly created account, and click the Change account type button.

    

    Change account type

12. Use the “Account type” drop-down menu and select the Administrator option.

    

    Change Standard to Administrator

13. Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, the local account will be created, and the new user should be able to log in as a standard user, or as an administrator, if you changed the account type settings.

Create local account via Command Prompt on Windows 11

If you are comfortable typing commands, it is faster to create and manage an account using Command Prompt.

To create a local standard or administrator account on Windows 11 with Command Prompt:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the following command to create a new account and press Enter:

   net user USER-NAME PASSWORD /add

   

   Create local account command

   In the command, make sure to change USER-NAME and PASSWORD with the credentials you want to use for the new user account.

4. (Optional) Type the following command to add the newly created account to the “Administrators” group and press Enter:

   net localgroup administrators USER-ACCOUNT /add

   In the command, make sure to replace USER-ACCOUNT with the account name you want to add to the administrators’ group.

If you want to test the new changes, sign out, and you will notice the new user account sitting in the bottom-left corner of the screen. Then select the new user account and sign in.

Create local account via PowerShell on Windows 11

To create an account without a Microsoft account with PowerShell:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the following command to temporarily store the password in a secure string inside the “$Password” variable and press Enter:

   $Password = Read-Host -AsSecureString

4. Type the password for the new Windows 11 account and press Enter.

5. Type the following command to create the new account with PowerShell and press Enter:

   New-LocalUser "NEW-ACCOUNT-NAME" -Password $Password -FullName "USER-FULL-NAME" -Description "DESCRIPTION"

   

   PowerShell create account

   In the command, make sure to 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.

6. Type the following command to add the Windows 10 account to the correct user group and press Enter:

   Add-LocalGroupMember -Group "Administrators" -Member "NEW-ACCOUNT-NAME"

   

   PowerShell change account type

   In the command, change NEW-ACCOUNT-NAME for the account name. In the above command, we add the new account to the Administrators group, which gives the user full access to the device. If you want the user to have limited access, add the account to the Users group, making the account a “Standard User.”

Once you complete the steps, the new account will be added to Windows 11 with full access using administrative privileges.