UMD Password Change and Reset Guide

Where to Change Your UMD Password

Open {site} and choose the Directory Password Reset or password management option. UMD calls the account password a Directory ID passphrase, so either term may appear on the page.

Before entering your Directory ID or current passphrase, confirm that the page displays University of Maryland branding and was reached through the university’s official information technology site. Your browser should also show a secure connection indicator. Do not use a sign-in page reached through an unexpected message or advertisement. If anything looks different or suspicious, close the page and start again from {site}.

The official password management system provides separate paths for changing a known passphrase and resetting a forgotten one. Choose the path that matches your situation.

How to Change a Known Password

Use the password-change option when you can still sign in with your current Directory ID passphrase.

1. Open the official password management page and sign in if prompted.
2. Select My Passwords from the account menu.
3. Enter your current passphrase.
4. Create a new passphrase that meets every rule shown on the page.
5. Enter the new passphrase again in the confirmation field.
6. Select Reset to apply the UMD password change.

Type the new passphrase carefully in both fields. Copying and pasting can reproduce an unnoticed extra space. Do not use the browser’s Back button while moving through the account pages, because that can interrupt the session.

After the change is accepted, sign out and test the new passphrase in a fresh browser window. Keep the original page open until the test succeeds, but never leave a passphrase visible on a shared device.

How to Reset a Forgotten Password

Choose Forgot Passphrase when you cannot supply the current password. The official UMD password reset process requires you to prove that the account belongs to you.

1. Enter your UMD Directory ID and submit it.
2. Choose one of the identity-verification methods offered for your account.
3. Request the verification PIN through that method.
4. Enter the PIN and select Verify.
5. Enter the new passphrase in both password fields.
6. Select Reset Password to finish.

The available verification choices depend on the recovery information already connected to the account. Use only an option that you can access. Never give a verification PIN or new passphrase to someone who contacts you unexpectedly.

If no usable self-service method appears, contact the UMD IT Service Desk. Support may require live video identity verification. UMD’s published process accepts a current UMD photo ID or an accepted, unexpired government-issued photo ID. If video verification cannot be completed, support may direct you to in-person verification. Follow the instructions given by the service representative rather than attempting unofficial recovery methods.

UMD Password Requirements

A UMD Directory ID passphrase must meet these officially published rules:

• It must contain between 12 and 32 characters.
• It must include at least one uppercase letter and one lowercase letter.
• It must include at least one digit or punctuation character.
• It cannot begin or end with a space.
• It cannot contain personal information such as part of your name or birthdate.
• It cannot contain more than two identical characters in a row.
• It cannot contain a carriage return, linefeed, forward slash, or backslash.
• It cannot end with a symbol.
• It cannot reuse any passphrase previously used on the account.

These rules apply to UMD Directory ID passphrases. University community members must change that passphrase every 12 months. A password for a separate service account or another system may follow different rules and is outside this UMD account password change process.

Update Saved Passwords After the Change

A successful change does not automatically replace copies of the old password stored on your devices. Update or remove the saved credential anywhere it is used.

• Replace the saved password in desktop and mobile email clients.
• Update browser and password-manager entries for UMD sign-in.
• Remove the old credential from phones and tablets that repeatedly check university services.
• Forget and reconnect to university Wi-Fi if it continues using the previous password.
• Sign out and back in to university applications, learning tools, VPN software, and other services that use the Directory ID.

Update each device promptly. A phone, email client, or application that keeps submitting the old passphrase can cause repeated prompts or contribute to an account lockout.

Fix UMD Password Change Problems

If the new passphrase is rejected, compare it with every published requirement. Check its length, uppercase and lowercase letters, digit or punctuation character, repeated characters, personal information, prohibited slashes, spaces at either end, and final character. Also make sure it was never used before.

If verification fails, request a fresh PIN and enter only the newest one. Confirm that you selected a recovery method you currently control. Do not repeatedly guess codes, because additional failed attempts may prevent recovery.

For an expired page or an unresponsive button, close the password-management tabs and begin a new session. Clear the browser cache if the site keeps treating you as already signed in, or try a private browsing window. Avoid using the Back button during the process.

If the account is locked, stop repeated sign-in attempts and contact the IT Service Desk. When applications continue prompting after a successful change, update their saved credentials, restart them, and check other devices for stored copies of the old passphrase. A managed university computer may need to reconnect to the university network before its local sign-in recognizes the change.

Contact UMD Account Support

Contact the UMD IT Service Desk when you have no available verification method, cannot complete identity verification, remain locked out, or receive an error after following the official steps. Use the verified support options displayed with this page.

Have your Directory ID and an accepted current photo ID ready. Describe whether you know the old passphrase, which recovery option failed, and the exact error shown. Do not send your current password, proposed password, or verification PIN. Support can verify your identity and direct you through the approved reset process.