Rules for a Strong Password

The valid password for the SQL Server sa user must meet the following password rules and policies.

Allowed characters:

  • Alphabet characters (A-Z)
  • Arabic numerals (0-9)
  • Nonalphanumeric characters (for example, !$#)

The following properties are required for a password to meet the rules specified for a strong password:

  • Length: At least 6 characters. Spaces are also counted as characters.
  • At least one uppercase letter
  • At least one lowercase letter
  • At least one number
  • At least one non-alphanumeric character

The password is case sensitive. When a password is entered, it must match the case that was originally used.

TIP: See the Strong Passwords article in Microsoft Docs for more information about strong password rules.