How to Add a Custom Screen Lock Message on Windows 10

We all know that the first thing you see when you boot your system is the login screen.

What if I told you that you can put an custom message to remind you of something every time you turn on your computer?

The only downside of this tip is that there’s no UI where you can add the message to your lock screen… You guessed it! We are going to tweak the Registry. As always.

Two key values are in the way, one that changes the title of the message and the other changes the message of the reminder.

In this article you will discover how to implement the screen lock message using the Registry Editor aka regedit.

How to Add a Custom Message to Your Lock Screen

First backup your Registry in order to make sure you can restore from a crash.

Open Run using the Windows+R key shortcut and type in regedit then hit “OK“.

Navigate to the following path in the Registry Editor:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Microsoft > Windows > Current Version > Policies > System

In the right side of your Registry Editor window you will find two values named legalnoticecaption and legalnoticetext under the System key. In case you don’t see these values right-click and choose “New” > “Multi-String Value” to create two values “legalnoticecaption” and “legalnoticetext“.

Then double-click on each value to add your message to show on the lock screen of your Windows 10 computer.

In the key “legalnoticecaption” add the title of your message screen.

In the key “legalnoticetext” insert the text of your message, this can be useful especially if you have kids and want to remind them of something every time they turn on their computer.

Once you’re done, sign out from Start menu or restart your computer.

You should see a message next time you turn on your computer like the picture below.

This lock message screen will actually appear before you see the login screen. Or when you switch between accounts if you have multiple accounts configured on one PC. This trick can also be used in a Cybercafé to remind people of the rules put by the owner.

But the message will not appear if you lock your desktop, and then return to it later.