Microsoft Access Tutorial: How to Password Protect Your Database

You can make it so that your Microsoft Access database is password protected. This tutorial will show you how to set a password for a Microsoft Access database and also how to get rid of a password that already exists for an Access database.

1. Open Microsoft Access

Do not open a database yet, just launch the Microsoft Access application.

2. Click on File -> Open

Select the database file that you would like to create a password for.

3. Open Exclusively

On the bottom right of this window click on the little arrow next to the open button. Click on "Open as Exclusive". If you get a warning window, click on the "open" in that window. This should open up that Microsoft Access file.

4. Click on Tools -> Security -> Set Database Password

Hover your mouse over Tools -> Security to find the Set Database Password option, click on it.

5. Enter Password

A window will open up with two text boxes for you to enter and verify your password. Enter your password into the text boxes and then click OK.

6. Re-open the Database

Now if you close this access database and try to reopen it, you will be prompted for the password. Type in the password and click OK to open this Microsoft Access file.

Now, whenever anyone tries to open this Access database, they will have to enter in the password you created.

To remove this password you will go through the same procedure, go to tools and then security, and then click on Unset database password. You will have to make sure to go through this same procedure as before by opening this document as exclusive like you did previously when you created the password for this file.

Click on file -> open and navigate to that file that is protected by the password. Click on that little arrow next to the open button and then click on "Open as Exclusive". This just means that just this instance of Microsoft Access is going to open that file and will have the ability to change the password or even get rid of it.

You will be prompted for the password, enter the password and click OK.

Click on Tools -> Security and "Unset database password". Once again you'll be prompted for the password, enter the password and click OK.

This will have gotten rid of the password on your Microsoft Access database file.