How to Password Protect a Word Document in 2021

Are you trying to figure out how to password protect a Word Document? No worries, we’ve got the solution in just a few simple steps.

When you password-protect your Word document, you will be encrypting it.  This requires anyone wanting to access the Word doc (including you) to de-encrypt it to access. That is where the password comes in.  Without the password, nobody will be able to open the document.

One word of warning (no pun intended), though, it’s up to you to remember the password you use to encrypt it. If you forget your password, you’re out of luck.  Microsoft does not provide a way to recover a lost password on a Word document.

How to Password Protect a Word Document on a PC

1. Open: Open the document on your computer.
2. File> Info: Select File in the upper left corner or and look for Info, which is usually the fourth item down under Home, New, and Open.
3. Info > Protect Document: When you click Info, click on Protect Document.
4. Encrypt with Password: For basic password protection, select Encrypt with Password from the pull-down menu.
5. Enter your password. You can use anything you like, although it is case-sensitive.
6. Verify your password a second time to make sure you didn’t make a mistake in typing it in and  then hit OK to finalize.
7. When you save your document, it is password protected.

That’s how to protect a word document on a PC.  Next time you want to open the document, you will be prompted to enter the password before getting access.  If you share the document with someone else, they will need the password to open it.

You may have noticed other options under the Protect Document menu.  You can also choose to grant access in read-only mode, restrict editing or access, add a digital signature, or mark it as a final document from the same pull-down menu.

How to Password Protect a Word Document in Office 365

If you are using the online version of Word as part of the Office 365 suite, the process will look the same except you will be saving your document to the cloud rather than locally on your computer.

How to Password Protect a Word Document on a Mac

If you are using a Mac for Word documents, the process is nearly identical but things are in slightly different places.  Here are the steps for how to protect a Word document on a Mac.

1. Open: Open the document on your computer.
2. Review > Protect: Select Review from the top menu and then Protect.
3. Protect > Protect Document: Click on Protect Document.
4. Encrypt with Password: Select Encrypt with Password.
5. Enter your password. You can use anything you like, although it is case-sensitive.
6. Verify your password a second time to make sure you didn’t make a mistake in typing it in and  then hit OK to finalize.
7. When you save your document, it is now password protected.

We hope that this information helps you to improve the privacy of any documents you have within Microsoft Word. Any lingering questions? Reach out below!