How to Password Protect a Word Document [2023]

Emilija Emilija

Written by Emilija Microsoft Office (365) / Word

- 3 min read
Key Takeaways
  1. Open the Word document that you want to password protect. 
  2. Click on the File menu in the upper left corner. 
  3. Click on ‘Protect document’.
  4. ‘Encrypt with Password’.
  5. Enter a password and click ‘OK’.

Password protection is an excellent way to ensure that the data in your Word document will remain safe and inaccessible for all other users except for you.

Therefore, in this how-to, we will go through the steps of setting up a password for your Word document to protect it from prying eyes.

Let’s dive in.

How to password protect a Microsoft Word document

Make sure to save your password in a secure place. If you forget your password, there isn’t a way to retrieve it, and you won’t be able to access your document. Also, passwords are case-sensitive and can be a maximum of 15 characters long.

Windows

  1. Open the Word document that you want to password protect.
  2. Click on the File menu in the upper left corner.

Microsoft word file menu

  1. Click on ‘Protect document’.

protect document

  1. ‘Encrypt with Password’.

encrypt with password microsoft word

  1. Enter a password and click ‘OK’.

encrypt document microsoft word

Microsoft will notify you that if you lose your password, it cannot be recovered.

  1. Retype your password again.
  2. Click off the document.
  3. A password will be required to access the document once you click it.

enter password to encrypt file

macOS-newer

  1. Click on the ‘Review’ menu, and click on Protect document.
  2. Under ‘Security’, enter a password in the fields for “Set a password to open this document”, and “Set a password to modify this document”.
  3. Click ‘OK’.

That’s it!

You have successfully encrypted a document, and now only you and users who know the password will be able to access the document.

Web

The option for setting up a password for your document is not available for Word Online. Users will need to use the Word desktop version.

👉 Also read: How to Remove an Anchor in Word

How to remove a password from a Word document

  1. Open the Word document.
  2. Type the current password to open the file.
  3. Click the ‘OK’ button.
  4. Click on the ‘File’ menu.
  5. Click on the ‘Info’ menu.
  6. Click the Protect document menu.
  7. Select the ‘Encrypt with Password option’.
  8. Clear the current password.
  9. Click the ‘OK’ button.

Wrapping Up

Creating a password for your Word document is a good practice if you want to make sure that no one will be able to access your document but you.

Microsoft Office offers a straightforward solution for setting up a password for documents created in Word.

Follow this guide to set up a password for your document quickly.

FAQ

Can I set up a security question in a Word document?

No, users can’t set up a security question instead of passwords in a Word document.

How can others view the encrypted document?

Other users can view a protected Word document if they have the password for the document. You can share the password via email, or other means of communication. 

How do I password protect a Word document 2021?


  • Go to File > Info > Protect Document > Encrypt with Password.

  • Type a password, then type it again to confirm it.

  • Save the file.

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