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Create a login

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Applies to: SQL Server Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance Azure Synapse Analytics Analytics Platform System (PDW)

This article describes how to create a login in SQL Server or Azure SQL Database by using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or Transact-SQL. A login is the identity of the person or process that is connecting to an instance of SQL Server.

Note

Microsoft Entra ID was previously known as Azure Active Directory (Azure AD).

Background

A login is a security principal, or an entity that can be authenticated by a secure system. Users need a login to connect to SQL Server. You can create a login based on a Windows principal (such as a domain user or a Windows domain group) or you can create a login that isn't based on a Windows principal (such as an SQL Server login).

Note

To use SQL Server Authentication, the Database Engine must use mixed mode authentication. For more information, see Choose an Authentication Mode.

Azure SQL has introduced Microsoft Entra server principals (logins) to be used to authenticate to Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, and Azure Synapse Analytics (dedicated SQL pools only).

SQL Server 2022 also introduces Microsoft Entra authentication for SQL Server.

As a security principal, permissions can be granted to logins. The scope of a login is the whole Database Engine. To connect to a specific database on the instance of SQL Server, a login must be mapped to a database user. Permissions inside the database are granted and denied to the database user, not the login. Permissions that have the scope of the whole instance of SQL Server (for example, the CREATE ENDPOINT permission) can be granted to a login.

Note

When a login connects to SQL Server, the identity is validated at the master database. Use contained database users to authenticate SQL Server and SQL Database connections at the database level. When using contained database users, a login is not necessary. A contained database is a database that is isolated from other databases and from the instance of SQL Server or SQL Database (and the master database) that hosts the database. SQL Server supports contained database users for both Windows and SQL Server authentication. When using SQL Database, combine contained database users with database level firewall rules. For more information, see Contained Database Users - Making Your Database Portable.

Permissions

SQL Server requires ALTER ANY LOGIN or ALTER LOGIN permission on the server, or the ##MS_LoginManager## fixed server role (SQL Server 2022 and later).

SQL Database requires membership in the loginmanager role or the fixed server role, ##MS_LoginManager##.

Create a login using SSMS for SQL Server

  1. In Object Explorer, expand the folder of the server instance in which you want to create the new login.

  2. Right-click the Security folder, point to New, and select Login....

  3. In the Login - New dialog box, on the General page, enter the name of a user in the Login name box. Alternately, select Search... to open the Select User or Group dialog box.

    Note

    Certain ports must be allowed communicate with the domain controller if you are searching for a Windows principal. If you are having trouble getting results for the search, see Service overview and network port requirements for Windows.

    If you select Search...:

    1. Under Select this object type, select Object Types... to open the Object Types dialog box and select any or all of the following: Built-in security principals, Groups, and Users. Built-in security principals and Users are selected by default. When finished, select OK.

    2. Under From this location, select Locations... to open the Locations dialog box and select one of the available server locations. When finished, select OK.

    3. Under Enter the object name to select (examples), enter the user or group name that you want to find. For more information, see Select Users, Computers, or Groups Dialog Box.

    4. Select Advanced... for more advanced search options. For more information, see Select Users, Computers, or Groups Dialog Box - Advanced Page.

    5. Select OK.

  4. To create a login based on a Windows principal, select Windows authentication. This is the default selection.

  5. To create a login that is saved on a SQL Server database, select SQL Server authentication.

    1. In the Password box, enter a password for the new user. Enter that password again into the Confirm Password box.

    2. When changing an existing password, select Specify old password, and then type the old password in the Old password box.

    3. To enforce password policy options for complexity and enforcement, select Enforce password policy. For more information, see Password Policy. This is a default option when SQL Server authentication is selected.

    4. To enforce password policy options for expiration, select Enforce password expiration. Enforce password policy must be selected to enable this checkbox. This is a default option when SQL Server authentication is selected.

    5. To force the user to create a new password after the first time the login is used, select User must change password at next login. Enforce password expiration must be selected to enable this checkbox. This is a default option when SQL Server authentication is selected.

  6. To associate the login with a stand-alone security certificate, select Mapped to certificate and then select the name of an existing certificate from the list.

  7. To associate the login with a stand-alone asymmetric key, select Mapped to asymmetric key to, and then select the name of an existing key from the list.

  8. To associate the login with a security credential, select the Mapped to Credential check box, and then either select an existing credential from the list or select Add to create a new credential. To remove a mapping to a security credential from the login, select the credential from Mapped Credentials and select Remove. For more information about credentials in general, see Credentials (Database Engine).

  9. From the Default database list, select a default database for the login. master is the default for this option.

  10. From the Default language list, select a default language for the login.

  11. Select OK.

Additional options

The Login - New dialog box also offers options on four other pages: Server Roles, User Mapping, Securables, and Status.

Server roles

Note

These server roles are not available for SQL Database. There are fixed server-level roles available for SQL Database. For more information, see Azure SQL Database server roles for permission management.

The Server Roles page lists all possible roles that can be assigned to the new login. The following options are available:

bulkadmin check box
Members of the bulkadmin fixed server role can run the BULK INSERT statement.

dbcreator check box
Members of the dbcreator fixed server role can create, alter, drop, and restore any database.

diskadmin check box
Members of the diskadmin fixed server role can manage disk files.

processadmin check box
Members of the processadmin fixed server role can terminate processes running in an instance of the Database Engine.

public check box
All SQL Server users, groups, and roles belong to the public fixed server role by default.

securityadmin check box
Members of the securityadmin fixed server role manage logins and their properties. They can GRANT, DENY, and REVOKE server-level permissions. They can also GRANT, DENY, and REVOKE database-level permissions. Additionally, they can reset passwords for SQL Server logins.

serveradmin check box
Members of the serveradmin fixed server role can change server-wide configuration options and shut down the server.

setupadmin check box
Members of the setupadmin fixed server role can add and remove linked servers, and they can execute some system stored procedures.

sysadmin check box
Members of the sysadmin fixed server role can perform any activity in the Database Engine.

User mapping

The User Mapping page lists all possible databases and the database role memberships on those databases that can be applied to the login. The databases selected determine the role memberships that are available for the login. The following options are available on this page:

Users mapped to this login
Select the databases that this login can access. When you select a database, its valid database roles are displayed in the Database role membership for: database_name pane.

Map
Allow the login to access the databases listed below.

Database
Lists the databases available on the server.

User
Specify a database user to map to the login. By default, the database user has the same name as the login.

Default Schema
Specifies the default schema of the user. When a user is first created, its default schema is dbo. It's possible to specify a default schema that doesn't yet exist. You can't specify a default schema for a user that is mapped to a Windows group, a certificate, or an asymmetric key.

Guest account enabled for: database_name
Read-only attribute indicating whether the Guest account is enabled on the selected database. Use the Status page of the Login Properties dialog box of the Guest account to enable or disable the Guest account.

Database role membership for: database_name
Select the roles for the user in the specified database. All users are members of the public role in every database and can't be removed. For more information about database roles, see Database-Level Roles.

Securables

The Securables page lists all possible securables and the permissions on those securables that can be granted to the login. The following options are available on this page:

Upper Grid
Contains one or more items for which permissions can be set. The columns that are displayed in the upper grid vary depending on the principal or securable.

To add items to the upper grid:

  1. Select Search.

  2. In the Add Objects dialog box, select one of the following options: Specific objects..., All objects of the types..., or The serverserver_name. Select OK.

    Note

    Selecting The serverserver_name automatically fills the upper grid with all of that servers' securable objects.

  3. If you select Specific objects...:

    1. In the Select Objects dialog box, under Select these object types, select Object Types....

    2. In the Select Object Types dialog box, select any or all of the following object types: Endpoints, Logins, Servers, Availability Groups, and Server roles. Select OK.

    3. Under Enter the object names to select (examples), select Browse....

    4. In the Browse for Objects dialog box, select any of the available objects of the type that you selected in the Select Object Types dialog box, and then select OK.

    5. In the Select Objects dialog box, select OK.

  4. If you select All objects of the types..., in the Select Object Types dialog box, select any or all of the following object types: Endpoints, Logins, Servers, Availability Groups, and Server roles. Select OK.

Name
The name of each principal or securable that is added to the grid.

Type
Describes the type of each item.

Explicit Tab
Lists the possible permissions for the securable that are selected in the upper grid. Not all options are available for all explicit permissions.

Permissions
The name of the permission.

Grantor
The principal that granted the permission.

Grant
Select to grant this permission to the login. Clear to revoke this permission.

With Grant
Reflects the state of the WITH GRANT option for the listed permission. This box is read-only. To apply this permission, use the GRANT statement.

Deny
Select to deny this permission to the login. Clear to revoke this permission.

Status

The Status page lists some of the authentication and authorization options that can be configured on the selected SQL Server login.

The following options are available on this page:

Permission to connect to database engine
When you work with this setting, you should think of the selected login as a principal that can be granted or denied permission on a securable.

Select Grant to grant CONNECT SQL permission to the login. Select Deny to deny CONNECT SQL to the login.

Login
When you work with this setting, you should think of the selected login as a record in a table. Changes to the values listed here will be applied to the record.

A login that has been disabled continues to exist as a record. But if it tries to connect to SQL Server, the login won't be authenticated.

Select this option to enable or disable this login. This option uses the ALTER LOGIN statement with either the ENABLE or DISABLE option.

SQL Server authentication
The check box Login is locked out is only available if the selected login connects using SQL Server authentication and the login has been locked out. This setting is read-only. To unlock a login that is locked out, execute ALTER LOGIN with the UNLOCK option.

Create a login using Windows authentication with T-SQL

  1. In Object Explorer, connect to an instance of Database Engine.

  2. On the Standard bar, select New Query.

  3. Copy and paste the following example into the query window and select Execute.

    -- Create a login for SQL Server by specifying a server name and a Windows domain account name.

CREATE LOGIN [<domainName>\<loginName>] FROM WINDOWS;
GO

Create a login using SQL Server authentication with T-SQL

  1. In Object Explorer, connect to an instance of Database Engine.

  2. On the Standard bar, select New Query.

  3. Copy and paste the following example into the query window and select Execute.

    -- Creates the user "shcooper" for SQL Server using the security credential "RestrictedFaculty"
-- The user login starts with the password "Baz1nga," but that password must be changed after the first login.

CREATE LOGIN shcooper
   WITH PASSWORD = 'Baz1nga' MUST_CHANGE,
   CREDENTIAL = RestrictedFaculty;
GO

For more information, see CREATE LOGIN (Transact-SQL).

Follow up: Steps to take after you create a login

The login can connect to SQL Server after creating a login, but doesn't necessarily have sufficient permission to perform any useful work. The following list provides links to common login actions.

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