Configure Legal Notice on Windows Login Using Regedit

Administrators can configure custom legal notice banners to appear on the Windows logon screen using the Windows Registry Editor (Regedit). This guide outlines the exact registry keys and values required to set up both a custom title and detailed message body, ensuring users acknowledge organizational policies or legal terms before authenticating.

Prerequisites

Step 1: Open the Registry Editor

  1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box.
  2. Type regedit and press Enter (or click OK).
  3. If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), click Yes to grant administrative permissions.

Step 2: Navigate to the System Policies Key

In the Registry Editor address bar or left navigation pane, navigate to the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

Step 3: Configure the Notice Strings

Within the System key, locate the two string values responsible for the logon message:

  1. Configure the Notice Title (legalnoticecaption):
    • Double-click the legalnoticecaption value in the right pane.
    • In the Value data field, enter the header text you want displayed (e.g., Authorized Access Only or Company Security Policy).
    • Click OK.
  2. Configure the Notice Body (legalnoticetext):
    • Double-click the legalnoticetext value in the right pane.
    • In the Value data field, enter the detailed legal statement, terms of use, or warning message.
    • Click OK.

(Note: If either legalnoticecaption or legalnoticetext does not exist, right-click an empty area in the right pane, select New > String Value, name it accordingly, and set the value data.)

Step 4: Apply and Verify the Changes

  1. Close the Registry Editor.
  2. Sign out of Windows or restart the computer.
  3. Upon booting, Windows will present a dialog box containing your specified title and text. Users must click OK before reaching the standard credential entry prompt.

To disable the notice in the future: 1. Return to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System. 2. Clear the contents of both legalnoticecaption and legalnoticetext by deleting their Value data entries, leaving them blank.