How to Password Protect a Word Document
Lock a Word file so only people with the password can open it. Here is the Encrypt with Password step on Windows and Mac, and how to remove it later.
To stop anyone opening a Word document without a password, use Encrypt with Password. On Windows, go to File, Info, Protect Document, Encrypt with Password, type a password twice, and save. From then on the file cannot be opened without it. Choose the password carefully — Microsoft cannot recover it if you forget.
Set the password (Windows and Mac)
On Windows: File, Info, Protect Document, Encrypt with Password, enter and confirm, then save the file. On a Mac it is the Review tab, Protect, Protect Document, where you set a “password to open.” The password is case-sensitive, so note exactly what you typed. Word for the web cannot encrypt a file — open it in the desktop app to add or change a password.
Encrypt vs restrict — pick the right one
These are different tools, and people mix them up:
| Option | What it does | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| Encrypt with Password | Locks the whole file; needed to open | The contents must stay private |
| Restrict Editing | Limits changes; does not encrypt | Others may read but not edit |
| Password to modify | Opens read-only without it | You want view-only sharing |
Encrypt with Password is the real lock. Restrict Editing only controls formatting and edits, and does not keep a determined reader out.
Remove or change it later
To take the password off, open the file, go back to File, Info, Protect Document, Encrypt with Password, clear the box, and save. To change it, type a new one in the same place. Because a forgotten encryption password is unrecoverable, keep it in a password manager rather than on a sticky note. The same kind of lock works for other files — see password-protect a PDF and, when you own the file, removing a PDF password; for spreadsheets, locking cells in Excel protects the layout rather than the whole file.
Encrypt the file, then store the password somewhere you will actually find it. Encryption is only as good as your ability to remember the key — there is no back door.