Erin Wright Writing

Writing-Related Software Tutorials

How to Password Protect Files in Microsoft Word

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Last week, we password protected PDFs in Adobe Acrobat. This week, we are going to password protect files in Microsoft Word. We will also look at how to remove passwords from Word files.

Table of Contents

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The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. These steps also apply to Word 2021, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013. We will cover this topic in Word for Mac in a separate tutorial.

How to Password Protect Files

Important Note: This password will restrict who can open the file. It won’t restrict who can edit the file once opened. For a full tutorial about restricting editing, please see my previous tutorial “How to Restrict Editing in Microsoft Word.”

  1. Select the File tab in the ribbon.
File tab in Word 365
Figure 1. File tab
  1. Select Info in the Backstage view.
Info tab in the Backstage view in Word 365
Figure 2. Info tab
  1. Select the Protect Document button.
Protect Document button in the Info tab in Word 365
Figure 3. Protect Document button
  1. Select Encrypt with Password from the drop-down menu.
Encrypt with Password option in Word 365
Figure 4. Encrypt with Password dialog box
  1. Type the password into the Encrypt Document dialog box.
Encrypt Document dialog box password text box in Word 365
Figure 5. Encrypt Document password text box

Important Note: Read the Caution statement explaining that Word does not provide a way to retrieve lost passwords. (You don’t want to get locked out of your own Word file!)

Encrypt Document caution statement in Word 365
Figure 6. Caution statement
  1. Select the OK button.
OK button in the Encrypt Document dialog box in Word 365
Figure 7. OK button
  1. Retype the password in the Confirm Password dialog box.
Confirm Password dialog box in Word 365
Figure 8. Confirm Password text box
  1. Select the OK button.
OK button in the Confirm Password dialog box in Word 365
Figure 9. OK button

A note should appear near the Protect Document button stating that a password is required to open the document.

Password is required statement in Word 365
Figure 10. Password is required statement
  1. Save your file.

How to Remove Passwords from Files

  1. Open the Word file using the password.
  2. Select the File tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
  3. Select Info in the Backstage view (see figure 2).
  4. Select the Protect Document button (see figure 3).
  5. Select Encrypt with Password from the drop-down menu (see figure 4).
  6. Delete the characters in the Encrypt Document dialog box.
Password text box in the Encrypt Document dialog box in Word 365
Figure 11. Text box with deleted password
  1. Select the OK button (see figure 7).
  2. Save your file.

Related Resources

How to Open Files in Protected View in Microsoft Word

How to Restrict Style Changes in Microsoft Word