Where to find your username setting in Salesforce

Your Salesforce username lives in your personal settings, not in a general account menu. Log in to Salesforce, then click your profile photo or avatar in the top right corner. Select Settings from the dropdown menu. On the left sidebar, look for Personal Information and click it. Your username appears on this page as a field you can edit.

The username field shows your current login name — the text you type into the email or username box when you sign in. This is different from your display name, which is what appears next to your posts or comments in Salesforce Chatter. You are changing the actual login credential, so choose carefully.

Key Takeaways

  • Your Salesforce username is in Settings > Personal Information, and you can change it yourself without contacting your administrator.
  • Your new username must be unique across your entire Salesforce organization and cannot match any other user's name.
  • After you change your username, you must use the new one to log in — your old username stops working when ready.
  • If you forget your new username or get locked out, your Salesforce administrator can reset your password or help you recover access.

The steps to change your username

From the Personal Information page, locate the Username field. Click in the text box and delete your current username. Type your new username — it can include letters, numbers, periods, hyphens, and underscores, but Salesforce treats it as case-insensitive (so "john.smith" and "John.Smith" are the same login).

Before you save, think about what you are changing to. A username you will remember is better than one you have to write down. Many people use a variation of their email address or their first initial plus last name. Once you click Save, the change takes effect when ready. You cannot undo it from this screen — if you made a mistake, you will need to go back into Settings and change it again.

What happens right after you change it

Your old username becomes inactive the moment you save the new one. If you are logged in when you make the change, you stay logged in — Salesforce does not force you out. However, the next time you close your browser or your session expires, you must log back in using your new username. Your password does not change; only the login name does.

If you share your Salesforce login with anyone else (which is not recommended for security reasons), tell them your new username before they try to log in next. If they attempt to sign in with your old username, they will see an error message saying the username or password is incorrect.

Restrictions on what you can choose

Your new username must be unique within your Salesforce organization. If you try to save a username that another user already has, Salesforce will reject the change and show you an error. You cannot use a username that was deleted from your organization within the last 15 days — Salesforce reserves deleted usernames briefly to prevent conflicts.

Salesforce also blocks certain reserved words and system usernames. If you try to use something like "admin" or "system," the field will not accept it. The username field has a 80-character limit, though most usernames are much shorter. If your chosen name is too long, Salesforce will tell you when you try to save.

If you cannot change your username yourself

Some Salesforce organizations restrict username changes to administrators only. If you click into the Username field and it is grayed out or locked, your organization has turned off self-service username changes. In that case, contact your Salesforce administrator and ask them to change it for you. They have the authority to modify any user's username from the Manage Users page in the setup menu.

Your administrator can also change your username if you forget what you changed it to, or if you locked yourself out by entering the wrong username too many times. They cannot tell you what your username is by looking at your account — they can only reset it or set a new one.

Keeping your new username find

Your username is half of your login credential, so treat it like you would treat a username anywhere else. Do not share it in emails or chat messages. Do not write it on a sticky note on your monitor. If you work in a shared space, be aware that someone watching your screen can see what you type when you log in.

Your password is the other half of security. Changing your username does not change your password, and it does not reset any of your access permissions. You still need a strong password — one you do not use on other websites — to keep your account safe. If you suspect someone else knows your password, change it from the same Personal Information settings page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change my username back to what it was before?

Not when ready. Salesforce reserves deleted usernames for 15 days, so you cannot reuse your old username during that window. After 15 days, you can change your username back to the original one if you want to. If you need it back sooner, your administrator might be able to help, but they cannot override the 15-day hold.

What if I change my username and then forget what I changed it to?

Contact your Salesforce administrator. They can see your current username in the user management system and tell you what it is. They can also reset your password if you are locked out, or set a temporary password so you can log in and check your settings yourself.

Does changing my username affect my email address in Salesforce?

No. Your username and your email address are separate fields. You can change one without changing the other. Some organizations set the username to match the email address, but Salesforce treats them independently. If you need to change your email address, that is a different setting in Personal Information.

Will my old username ever work again?

No. Once you change your username, the old one is gone permanently after the 15-day hold expires. Even if you change back to it later, it is a new username from Salesforce's perspective. Anyone who tries to log in with your old username will see an error, so make sure everyone who needs to know your login has the new one.

Can I have two usernames for the same account?

No. Each Salesforce user account has exactly one username. You cannot create an alias or alternate login name. If you need to log in as a different user, your administrator can set up a separate user account, but that would be a different person in the system with different permissions and data access.