How to create local account on Windows 10

On Windows 10, you can create a local account on a computer to perform any task. However, unlike using a Microsoft account, your settings, preferences, and files will remain locally for a more secure and private experience.

You will typically see the local account type on organizations and less on home computers as a Microsoft account is the preferred type for its benefits and sync capabilities. However, it is still an excellent option to create additional accounts or share a device with others.

This guide will teach you the steps to create a Windows 10 local account using the Settings app, Command Prompt, and PowerShell. In addition, this guide outlines the steps to set up an administrator account and the steps to delete accounts from your device.

• Create local account on Windows 10
• Create local account on Windows 10 from Command Prompt
• Create local account on Windows 10 from PowerShell

Create local account on Windows 10

To create a local account on Windows 10, use these steps:

1. Open Settings on Windows 10.

2. Click on Accounts.

3. Click on Family & other users.

4. Under “Other users,” click the “Add someone else to this PC” button.

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

6. Click the “Add a user without a Microsoft account” option.

7. Under the “Create an account for this PC” section, confirm the new Windows 10 local account information.

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

9. Click the Next button.

Once you complete the steps, the new local account will be listed under “Other users.” The only caveat is that for security reasons, Windows 10 creates every new account with standard privileges that limits the usability of Windows 10. If you want the user to have more privileges to install the application and make system changes, you will need to change the account type to “administrator.”

Change local account type from Settings

To change the account type from “standard” to “administrator,” use these steps:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on Accounts.

3. Click on Family & other people.

4. Under the “Other users” section, select the user account.

5. Click the “Change account type” button.

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

7. Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, the account will have administrator privileges to install apps and make system changes. 

Delete local account from Settings

To delete a local Windows 10 account and files, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on Accounts.

3. Click on Family & other people.

4. Under the “Other users” section, select the local account.

5. Click the Remove button.

6. Click the “Delete account and data” button to confirm the account deletion.

Once you complete the steps, the system will delete the user account and data from the Windows 10 installation.

Create local account on Windows 10 from Command Prompt

If you are comfortable typing command lines, creating a local account and modifying its settings using Command Prompt is a lot faster.

To create a local account with Command Prompt, use these steps:

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

   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.

Change local account type from Command Prompt

To change the account type from “standard” to “administrator” from Command Prompt, use these steps:

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 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.

Once you complete the steps, the profile will have administrative privileges, which means that the user will be able to install apps, modify system settings, and have unlimited access to the device.

Delete local account from Command Prompt

To delete a Windows 10 local account from Command Prompt, use these steps:

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 delete the Windows 10 account and press Enter:

   net user USER_ACCOUNT /del

   In the command, make sure to change USER_ACCOUNT for the account name you want to delete.

After you complete the steps, the user account and files will be removed from the device.

Create local account on Windows 10 from PowerShell

To create a local account with PowerShell on Windows 10, use these steps:

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 10 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"

   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"

   In the command, make sure to 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 computer. However, if you want the user to have limited access, you can add the account to the Users group, making the account a “Standard User.”

Once you complete the steps, Windows 10 will add the new account to the device with full access using administrative privileges. Of course, this is unless you added the account to the “Users” group, in which case the account will be a limited standard account.

Connect new account to a Microsoft account

Using PowerShell should also be possible to create a user account connected to a Microsoft account with this command: New-LocalUser -Name "MicrosoftAccount[email protected]" -Description "Microsoft account description". However, a bug still returns this message when running the command: “New-LocalUser: Cannot validate argument on parameter ‘Name’. The character length of the 36 arguments is too long. Shorten the character length of the argument, so it is fewer than or equal to “20” characters, and then try the command again.” As a result, the easiest way to get around this problem is to create a local account and then use the Settings app to link it with a Microsoft account.

To link a local account with a Microsoft account, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on Accounts.

3. Click on Your Info.

4. Click the “Sign in with your Microsoft account instead” option.

5. Continue with the on-screen directions to connect your account to a Microsoft account.

After you complete the steps, the new account will connect to the specified Microsoft account.

Change local account type from PowerShell

To use PowerShell to change the account type from “standard” to “administrator,” use these steps:

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 change the account type to administrator and press Enter:

   Add-LocalGroupMember -Group "Administrators" -Member "USER_ACCOUNT"

   In the command, make sure to change USER_ACCOUNT for the account name you want to update.

Once you complete the steps, the local account will be added to the “Administrators” group, giving the user permission to make system changes and install or remove apps.

Delete local account from PowerShell

To delete an account with PowerShell, use these steps:

1. Open Start.

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

3. Type the following command to delete the user account and press Enter:

   Remove-LocalUser -Name "USER_ACCOUNT_NAME"

   In the command, make sure to change USER_ACCOUNT_NAME with the account name you want to remove.

After you complete the steps, the account will be deleted from the computer. However, the user account data will remain. If you want to delete both account and data, the easiest way is to delete the account using the “Accounts” page from the Settings app.