---
title: Identify Users
description: Learn how to identify users that need to be migrated, and how to migrate local accounts and domain accounts.
ms.reviewer: kevinmi,warrenw
manager: aaroncz
ms.author: frankroj
ms.service: windows-client
author: frankroj
ms.topic: conceptual
ms.localizationpriority: medium
ms.subservice: itpro-deploy
ms.date: 01/09/2024
appliesto:
  - ✅ <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/release-health/supported-versions-windows-client" target="_blank">Windows 11</a>
  - ✅ <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/release-health/supported-versions-windows-client" target="_blank">Windows 10</a>
---

# Identify users

It's important to carefully consider and plan how users are migrated. By default, User State Migration Tool (USMT) migrates all users. Which users to include must be specified by using the command line. Users can't be specified in the **.xml** files. For instructions on how to migrate users, see [Migrate user accounts](usmt-migrate-user-accounts.md).

## Migrating local accounts

Before migrating local accounts, be aware of the following items:

- **Local accounts that aren't on the destination computer must be explicitly specified if they should be migrated.** If migrating local accounts and the local account doesn't exist on the destination computer, the `/lac` option must be specified when using the `LoadState.exe` command. If the `/lac` option isn't specified, no local user accounts are migrated.

- **Consider whether to enable user accounts that are new to the destination computer.** The `/lae` option enables the account that was created with the `/lac` option. However, if a disabled local account is created by using only the `/lac` option, a local administrator must enable the account on the destination computer.

- **Be careful when specifying a password for local accounts.** If the local account is created with a blank password, anyone could sign in that account on the destination computer. If the local account is created with a password, the password is available to anyone with access to the USMT command-line tools.

> [!NOTE]
>
> If there are multiple users on a computer, and a password is specified with the `/lac` option, all migrated users have the same password.

## Migrating domain accounts

The source and destination computers don't need to be connected to the domain for domain user profiles to be migrated.

## Command-line options

USMT provides several options to migrate multiple users on a single computer. The following command-line options specify which users to migrate.

- **Specifying users.** Which users to migrate can be specified with the `/all`, `/ui`, `/uel`, and `/ue` options with both the  **ScanState** and **LoadState** command-line tools.

  > [!IMPORTANT]
  >
  > The `/uel` option excludes users based on the **LastModified** date of the `Ntuser.dat` file. The `/uel` option isn't valid in offline migrations.

- **Moving users to another domain.** User accounts can be moved to another domain using the `/md` option with the **LoadState** command-line tool.

- **Creating local accounts.** Local accounts can be created and enabled using the `/lac` and `/lae` options with the **LoadState** command-line tool.

- **Renaming user accounts.** User accounts can be renamed using the `/mu` option.

  > [!NOTE]
  >
  > By default, if a user name isn't specified in any of the command-line options, the user is migrated.

## Related articles

- [Determine what to migrate](usmt-determine-what-to-migrate.md).
- [ScanState syntax](usmt-scanstate-syntax.md).
- [LoadState syntax](usmt-loadstate-syntax.md).