sp_addlogin (Transact-SQL)
Applies to: 
SQL Server
Creates a new SQL Server login that allows a user to connect to an instance of SQL Server by using SQL Server authentication.
Important
This feature will be removed in a future version of SQL Server. Avoid using this feature in new development work, and plan to modify applications that currently use this feature. Use CREATE LOGIN instead.
Important
When possible, use Windows authentication.
Transact-SQL syntax conventions
Syntax
sp_addlogin
[ @loginame = ] N'loginame'
[ , [ @passwd = ] N'passwd' ]
[ , [ @defdb = ] N'defdb' ]
[ , [ @deflanguage = ] N'deflanguage' ]
[ , [ @sid = ] sid ]
[ , [ @encryptopt = ] 'encryptopt' ]
[ ; ]
Arguments
[ @loginame = ] N'loginame'
The name of the login. @loginame is sysname, with no default.
[ @passwd = ] N'passwd'
The login password. @passwd is sysname, with a default of NULL.
Important
Do not use a blank password. Use a strong password.
[ @defdb = ] N'defdb'
The default database of the login (the database to which the login is first connected after logging in). @defdb is sysname, with a default of master.
[ @deflanguage = ] N'deflanguage'
The default language of the login. @deflanguage is sysname, with a default of NULL. If @deflanguage isn't specified, the default @deflanguage of the new login is set to the current default language of the server.
[ @sid = ] sid
The security identification number (SID). @sid is varbinary(16), with a default of NULL. If @sid is NULL, the system generates a SID for the new login. Despite the use of a varbinary data type, values other than NULL must be exactly 16 bytes in length, and can't already exist. Specifying @sid is useful, for example, when you're scripting or moving SQL Server logins from one server to another and you want the logins to have the same SID on different servers.
[ @encryptopt = ] 'encryptopt'
Specifies whether the password is passed in as clear text or as the hash of the clear text password. No encryption takes place. The word "encrypt" is used in this discussion for the sake of backward compatibility. If a clear text password is passed in, it's hashed. The hash is stored. @encryptopt is varchar(20), and can be one of the following values.
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
NULL (default) |
The password is passed in clear. |
skip_encryption |
The password is already hashed. The Database Engine should store the value without rehashing it. |
skip_encryption_old |
The supplied password was hashed by an earlier version of SQL Server. The Database Engine should store the value without rehashing it. This option is provided for upgrade purposes only. |
Return code values
0 (success) or 1 (failure).
Remarks
SQL Server logins can contain from 1 to 128 characters, including letters, symbols, and numbers. Logins can't contain a backslash (\); be a reserved login name, for example sa or public, or already exist; or be NULL or an empty string.
If the name of a default database is supplied, you can connect to the specified database without executing the USE statement. However, you can't use the default database until you're given access to that database by the database owner (by using sp_adduser, sp_addrolemember), or sp_addrole.
The SID number is a GUID that uniquely identifies the login in the server.
Changing the default language of the server doesn't change the default language of existing logins. To change the default language of the server, use sp_configure.
Using skip_encryption to suppress password hashing is useful if the password is already hashed when the login is added to SQL Server. If the password was hashed by an earlier version of SQL Server, use skip_encryption_old.
sp_addlogin can't be executed within a user-defined transaction.
The following table shows several stored procedures that are used with sp_addlogin.
| Stored procedure | Description |
|---|---|
| sp_grantlogin | Adds a Windows user or group. |
| sp_password | Changes the password of a user. |
| sp_defaultdb | Changes the default database of a user. |
| sp_defaultlanguage | Changes the default language of a user. |
Permissions
Requires ALTER ANY LOGIN permission.
Examples
A. Create a SQL Server login
The following example creates a SQL Server login for the user Victoria, with a password of B1r12-36, without specifying a default database.
EXEC sp_addlogin 'Victoria', 'B1r12-36';
GO
B. Create a SQL Server login that has a default database
The following example creates a SQL Server login for the user Albert, with a password of B5432-3M6 and a default database of corporate.
EXEC sp_addlogin 'Albert', 'B5432-3M6', 'corporate';
GO
C. Create a SQL Server login that has a different default language
The following example creates a SQL Server login for the user TzTodorov, with a password of 709hLKH7chjfwv, a default database of AdventureWorks2022, and a default language of Bulgarian.
EXEC sp_addlogin 'TzTodorov', '709hLKH7chjfwv', 'AdventureWorks2022', N'български'
D. Create a SQL Server login that has a specific SID
The following example creates a SQL Server login for the user Michael, with a password of B548bmM%f6, a default database of AdventureWorks2022, a default language of us_english, and a SID of 0x0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF.
EXEC sp_addlogin 'Michael', 'B548bmM%f6', 'AdventureWorks2022', 'us_english', 0x0123456789ABCDEF0123456789ABCDEF