--- title: Password policies description: A password policy dictates the strength and complexity requirements for a password or passphrase. You can choose or define a policy that fits the needs of your organization. component: pingone page_id: pingone:authentication:p1_passwordpolicies canonical_url: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingone/authentication/p1_passwordpolicies.html revdate: October 22, 2024 section_ids: password-policy-comparisons: Password policy comparisons section_ey4_bb3_fsb: Password Character Restrictions section_password_policy_rules: Password Policy Rules section_password_policy_lockout_rules: Account Lockout Rules --- # Password policies A password policy dictates the strength and complexity requirements for a password or passphrase. You can choose or define a policy that fits the needs of your organization. PingOne allows you to assign password policies to populations and includes three built-in policy types. You can customize these policies or create new policies to meet the password requirements for users in the population. Learn more in the following tables. The built-in password policies include: * Standard (default): The standard password policy incorporates industry best practices for a typical password policy. The standard policy is the default policy when the environment is created. The default policy is applied to populations for which another password policy has not been selected. You can later choose a different password policy to use as the default. * Passphrase: The passphrase policy encourages users to use a passphrase instead of a password for stronger authentication. A passphrase can be easier to remember and more secure because of its length. * Basic: The basic password policy is a more relaxed standard that allows for maximum customer flexibility. Because users are not required to change their passwords, the basic policy can be less secure. Learn more about viewing, adding, modifying, or deleting password policies in [Managing password policies](p1_selectpasswordpolicy.html). ## Password policy comparisons Review the following tables to compare the different rules and restrictions applied by each built-in policy. ### Password Character Restrictions | Character Restriction | Standard Policy | Passphrase Policy | Basic Policy | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------- | ----------------- | ------------ | | Not the same as current password (always enabled). | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Is not an exact match for any of the attribute values in the user profile. | Yes | Yes | No | | Not similar to current password. PingOne checks the Levenshtein distance between the two passwords to ensure they are not too similar. The Levenshtein distance counts the number of characters added to, removed from, or replaced from the old password to the new password. If the Levenshtein distance is less than 3, then the password will be rejected as too similar. For example, changing a password from kitten to smitten would have a Levenshtein distance of 2, and be rejected as too similar. | Yes | Yes | No | | Not a common password. | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Has a computational complexity of at least 7 days, based on the Gibson Research Corporation Password Haystacks concept. | No | Yes | No | | No more than two consecutive repeated characters.For example, `good-apple` is acceptable but `goood-appple` is not. | Yes | No | No | | At least five unique characters. | Yes | No | No | | Between 8 and 255 characters. | Yes | No | Yes | | At least one of the following special characters:\~!@#$%^&\*()-\_=+\[]\\{}\|;:,.<>/? | Yes | No | Yes | | At least one number. | Yes | No | Yes | | At least one uppercase letter. | Yes | No | Yes | | At least one lowercase letter. | Yes | No | Yes | | No more than two or three sequential numbers (configurable).For example, `123` or `432` are not acceptable if set to `2`, but would be acceptable if set to `3`. | No | No | No | | No more than two or three sequential letters (configurable).For example, `abc` or `dcb` are not acceptable if set to `2`, but would be acceptable if set to `3`. | No | No | No | | No more than three sequential QWERTY keyboard characters.For example, `qwer`, `rewq`, `zxcv`, or `vcxz` are not acceptable. | No | No | No | | No more than three sequential symbol row characters.For example, `~!@#` or `#@!~` are not acceptable. | No | No | No | | Supports all printable UTF-8 characters. | Yes | Yes | Yes | ### Password Policy Rules | Policy Rule | Standard Policy | Passphrase Policy | Basic Policy | | --------------------------------------------------- | --------------- | ----------------- | ------------ | | Previous passwords maintained in history for 1 year | 6 | 6 | None | | Password expires after | 182 days | Never | 182 days | | User can change their password after | 1 day | 1 day | Never | ### Account Lockout Rules | Lockout Rule | Standard Policy | Passphrase Policy | Basic Policy | | ----------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ------------ | | Allowed failed attempts | After five failed attempts, the user is locked out | 5 | 5 | | Automatic unlock period | Accounts locked after maximum failed attempts are unlocked after 15 minutes | 15 minutes | 15 minutes |