Configure Temporary Access Pass in Microsoft Entra ID to register passwordless authentication methods

Article
09/23/2023

Passwordless authentication methods, such as FIDO2 and passwordless phone sign-in through the Microsoft Authenticator app, enable users to sign in securely without a password. Users can bootstrap Passwordless methods in one of two ways:

Using existing Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication methods
Using a Temporary Access Pass (TAP)

A Temporary Access Pass is a time-limited passcode that can be configured for single use or multiple. Users can sign in with a Temporary Access Pass to onboard other authentication methods including passwordless methods such as Microsoft Authenticator, FIDO2 or Windows Hello for Business.

A Temporary Access Pass also makes recovery easier when a user has lost or forgotten their strong authentication factor like a FIDO2 security key or Microsoft Authenticator app, but needs to sign in to register new strong authentication methods.

This article shows you how to enable and use a Temporary Access Pass using the the Microsoft Entra admin center. You can also perform these actions using the REST APIs.

Enable the Temporary Access Pass policy

A Temporary Access Pass policy defines settings, such as the lifetime of passes created in the tenant, or the users and groups who can use a Temporary Access Pass to sign-in. Before anyone can sign-in with a Temporary Access Pass, you need to enable Temporary Access Pass in the authentication method policy and choose which users and groups can sign in by using a Temporary Access Pass. Although you can create a Temporary Access Pass for any user, only users included in the policy can sign-in with it.

Global administrator and Authentication Policy administrator role holders can update the Temporary Access Pass authentication method policy. To configure the Temporary Access Pass authentication method policy:

Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least an Authentication Policy Administrator.
Browse to Protection > Authentication methods > Policies.
From the list of available authentication methods, select Temporary Access Pass.
Click Enable and then select users to include or exclude from the policy.
(Optional) Select Configure to modify the default Temporary Access Pass settings, such as setting maximum lifetime, or length, and click Update.

Select Save to apply the policy.

The default value and the range of allowed values are described in the following table.

Setting	Default values	Allowed values	Comments
Minimum lifetime	1 hour	10 – 43,200 Minutes (30 days)	Minimum number of minutes that the Temporary Access Pass is valid.
Maximum lifetime	8 hours	10 – 43,200 Minutes (30 days)	Maximum number of minutes that the Temporary Access Pass is valid.
Default lifetime	1 hour	10 – 43,200 Minutes (30 days)	Individual passes within the minimum and maximum lifetime configured by the policy can override default value.
One-time use	False	True/False	When the policy is set to false, passes in the tenant can be used either once or more than once during its validity (maximum lifetime). By enforcing one-time use in the Temporary Access Pass policy, all passes created in the tenant are one-time use.
Length	8	8-48 characters	Defines the length of the passcode.

Create a Temporary Access Pass

After you enable a policy, you can create a Temporary Access Pass for a user in Microsoft Entra ID. These roles can perform the following actions related to a Temporary Access Pass.

Global Administrators can create, delete, and view a Temporary Access Pass on any user (except themselves)
Privileged Authentication Administrators can create, delete, and view a Temporary Access Pass on admins and members (except themselves)
Authentication Administrators can create, delete, and view a Temporary Access Pass on members (except themselves)
Global Reader can view the Temporary Access Pass details on the user (without reading the code itself).

Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least an Authentication Policy Administrator.
Browse to Protection > Authentication methods.
Select Temporary Access Pass.
Define a custom activation time or duration and select Add.
Once added, the details of the Temporary Access Pass are shown. Make a note of the actual Temporary Access Pass value. You provide this value to the user. You can't view this value after you select Ok.

The following commands show how to create and get a Temporary Access Pass by using PowerShell.

# Create a Temporary Access Pass for a user
$properties = @{}
$properties.isUsableOnce = $True
$properties.startDateTime = '2022-05-23 06:00:00'
$propertiesJSON = $properties | ConvertTo-Json

New-MgUserAuthenticationTemporaryAccessPassMethod -UserId user2@contoso.com -BodyParameter $propertiesJSON

Id                                   CreatedDateTime       IsUsable IsUsableOnce LifetimeInMinutes MethodUsabilityReason StartDateTime         TemporaryAccessPass
--                                   ---------------       -------- ------------ ----------------- --------------------- -------------         -------------------
c5dbd20a-8b8f-4791-a23f-488fcbde3b38 5/22/2022 11:19:17 PM False    True         60                NotYetValid           23/05/2022 6:00:00 AM TAPRocks!

# Get a user's Temporary Access Pass
Get-MgUserAuthenticationTemporaryAccessPassMethod -UserId user3@contoso.com

Id                                   CreatedDateTime       IsUsable IsUsableOnce LifetimeInMinutes MethodUsabilityReason StartDateTime         TemporaryAccessPass
--                                   ---------------       -------- ------------ ----------------- --------------------- -------------         -------------------
c5dbd20a-8b8f-4791-a23f-488fcbde3b38 5/22/2022 11:19:17 PM False    True         60                NotYetValid           23/05/2022 6:00:00 AM

For more information, see New-MgUserAuthenticationTemporaryAccessPassMethod and Get-MgUserAuthenticationTemporaryAccessPassMethod.

Use a Temporary Access Pass

The most common use for a Temporary Access Pass is for a user to register authentication details during the first sign-in or device setup, without the need to complete extra security prompts. Authentication methods are registered at https://aka.ms/mysecurityinfo. Users can also update existing authentication methods here.

Open a web browser to https://aka.ms/mysecurityinfo.
Enter the UPN of the account you created the Temporary Access Pass for, such as tapuser@contoso.com.
If the user is included in the Temporary Access Pass policy, they see a screen to enter their Temporary Access Pass.
Enter the Temporary Access Pass that was displayed in the Microsoft Entra admin center.

Note

For federated domains, a Temporary Access Pass is preferred over federation. A user with a Temporary Access Pass completes the authentication in Microsoft Entra ID and isn't redirected to the federated Identity Provider (IdP).

The user is now signed in and can update or register a method such as FIDO2 security key. Users who update their authentication methods due to losing their credentials or device should make sure they remove the old authentication methods. Users can also continue to sign-in by using their password; a TAP doesn’t replace a user’s password.

User management of Temporary Access Pass

Users managing their security information at https://aka.ms/mysecurityinfo see an entry for the Temporary Access Pass. If a user does not have any other registered methods, they get a banner at the top of the screen that says to add a new sign-in method. Users can also see the TAP expiration time, and delete the TAP if it's no longer needed.

Screenshot of how users can manage a Temporary Access Pass in My Security Info.

Windows device setup

Users with a Temporary Access Pass can navigate the setup process on Windows 10 and 11 to perform device join operations and configure Windows Hello for Business. Temporary Access Pass usage for setting up Windows Hello for Business varies based on the devices joined state.

For joined devices to Microsoft Entra ID:

During the domain-join setup process, users can authenticate with a TAP (no password required) to join the device and register Windows Hello for Business.
On already-joined devices, users must first authenticate with another method such as a password, smartcard or FIDO2 key, before using TAP to set up Windows Hello for Business.
If the Web sign-in feature on Windows is also enabled, the user can use TAP to sign into the device. This is intended only for completing initial device setup, or recovery when the user doesn't know or have a password.

For hybrid-joined devices, users must first authenticate with another method such as a password, smartcard or FIDO2 key, before using TAP to set up Windows Hello for Business.

Screenshot of how to enter Temporary Access Pass when setting up Windows 10.

Users can also use their Temporary Access Pass to register for Passwordless phone sign-in directly from the Authenticator app. For more information, see Add your work or school account to the Microsoft Authenticator app.

Screenshot of how to enter a Temporary Access Pass using work or school account.

Guest access

Guest users can sign-in to a resource tenant with a Temporary Access Pass that was issued by their home tenant if the Temporary Access Pass meets the home tenant authentication requirement. If MFA is required for the resource tenant, the guest user needs to perform MFA in order to gain access to the resource.

Expiration

An expired or deleted Temporary Access Pass can’t be used for interactive or non-interactive authentication. Users need to reauthenticate with different authentication methods after the Temporary Access Pass is expired or deleted.

The token lifetime (session token, refresh token, access token, and so on) obtained by using a Temporary Access Pass login is limited to the Temporary Access Pass lifetime. When a Temporary Access Pass expires, it leads to the expiration of the associated token.

Delete an expired Temporary Access Pass

Under the Authentication methods for a user, the Detail column shows when the Temporary Access Pass expired. You can delete an expired Temporary Access Pass using the following steps:

Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as at least an Authentication Policy Administrator.
Browse to Identity > Users, select a user, such as Tap User, then choose Authentication methods.
On the right-hand side of the Temporary Access Pass authentication method shown in the list, select Delete.

You can also use PowerShell:

# Remove a user's Temporary Access Pass
Remove-MgUserAuthenticationTemporaryAccessPassMethod -UserId user3@contoso.com -TemporaryAccessPassAuthenticationMethodId c5dbd20a-8b8f-4791-a23f-488fcbde3b38

For more information, see Remove-MgUserAuthenticationTemporaryAccessPassMethod.

Replace a Temporary Access Pass

A user can only have one Temporary Access Pass. The passcode can be used during the start and end time of the Temporary Access Pass.
If the user requires a new Temporary Access Pass:
- If the existing Temporary Access Pass is valid, the admin can create a new Temporary Access Pass to override the existing valid Temporary Access Pass.
- If the existing Temporary Access Pass has expired, a new Temporary Access Pass will override the existing Temporary Access Pass.

For more information about NIST standards for onboarding and recovery, see NIST Special Publication 800-63A.

Limitations

Keep these limitations in mind:

When using a one-time Temporary Access Pass to register a Passwordless method such as FIDO2 or Phone sign-in, the user must complete the registration within 10 minutes of sign-in with the one-time Temporary Access Pass. This limitation doesn't apply to a Temporary Access Pass that can be used more than once.
Users in scope for Self Service Password Reset (SSPR) registration policy or Identity Protection multifactor authentication registration policy are required to register authentication methods after they've signed in with a Temporary Access Pass using a browser. Users in scope for these policies are redirected to the Interrupt mode of the combined registration. This experience doesn't currently support FIDO2 and Phone Sign-in registration.
A Temporary Access Pass can't be used with the Network Policy Server (NPS) extension and Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) adapter.
It can take a few minutes for changes to replicate. Because of this, after a Temporary Access Pass is added to an account it can take a while for the prompt to appear. For the same reason, after a Temporary Access Pass expires, users may still see a prompt for Temporary Access Pass.

Troubleshooting

If a Temporary Access Pass isn't offered to a user during sign-in:
- Make sure the user is in scope for the Temporary Access Pass authentication method policy.
- Make sure the user has a valid Temporary Access Pass, and if it's one-time use, it wasn’t used yet.
If Temporary Access Pass sign in was blocked due to User Credential Policy appears during sign-in with a Temporary Access Pass:
- Make sure the user doesn't have a multi-use Temporary Access Pass while the authentication method policy requires a one-time Temporary Access Pass.
- Check if a one-time Temporary Access Pass was already used.
If Temporary Access Pass sign-in was blocked due to User Credential Policy, check that the user is in scope for the TAP policy.

Next steps

Plan a passwordless authentication deployment in Microsoft Entra ID