How to Encrypt a Microsoft Office Document with a Password

You may want to encrypt a Microsoft Office document that has sensitive data. Microsoft Office provides a password protection feature that allows you to set a single password to open and access your document every time.

Encrypt a Microsoft Office document with a password

Open the Microsoft Office document that you wish to encrypt with a password.

Go to the File menu at the top, select Info, click Protect Document and then select Encrypt with password.

For Microsoft Word:
File > Info > Protect Document > Encrypt with Password

For Microsoft Excel:
File > Info > Protect Workbook > Encrypt with Password

For Microsoft Powerpoint:
File > Info > Protect Presentation > Encrypt with Password

You will be prompted to create a password to encrypt the contents of your document. Enter a password and click OK. You will be prompted a second time to re-enter your password. Type your password again and click OK.

You will now see that a password is required to open this document. Your document is encrypted now.

Note: Please understand that if you lose your password, you will not be able to recover your document. Make sure to store your password in a secure place.

Also, learn how to remove password encryption from a Microsoft Office document.