To create, modify, or delete your own access keys (console)

1. Use your AWS account ID or account alias, your IAM user name, and your password to sign in to the IAM console.

   Note

   For your convenience, the AWS sign-in page uses a browser cookie to remember your IAM user name and account information. If you previously signed in as a different user, choose Sign in to a different account near the bottom of the page to return to the main sign-in page. From there, you can type your AWS account ID or account alias to be redirected to the IAM user sign-in page for your account.

   To get your AWS account ID, contact your administrator.

2. In the navigation bar on the upper right, choose your user name, and then choose Security credentials.
   

To create an access key

1. In the Access keys section, choose Create access key. If you already have two access keys, this button is deactivated and you must delete an access key before you can create a new one.
2. On the Access key best practices & alternatives page, choose your use case to learn about additional options which can help you avoid creating a long-term access key. If you determine that your use case still requires an access key, choose Other and then choose Next.
3. (Optional) Set a description tag value for the access key. This adds a tag key-value pair to your IAM user. This can help you identify and update access keys later. The tag key is set to the access key id. The tag value is set to the access key description that you specify. When you are finished, choose Create access key.
4. On the Retrieve access keys page, choose either Show to reveal the value of your user’s secret access key, or Download .csv file. This is your only opportunity to save your secret access key. After you’ve saved your secret access key in a secure location, choose Done.

To deactivate an access key

• In the Access keys section find the key you want to deactivate, then choose Actions, then choose Deactivate. When prompted for confirmation, choose Deactivate. A deactivated access key still counts toward your limit of two access keys.

To activate an access key

• In the Access keys section, find the key to activate, then choose Actions, then choose Activate.

To delete an access key when you no longer need it

• In the Access keys section, find the key you want to delete, then choose Actions, then choose Delete. Follow the instructions in the dialog to first Deactivate and then confirm the deletion. We recommend that you verify that the access key is no longer in use before you permanently delete it.

To create, modify, or delete the access keys of another IAM user (console)

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the IAM console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/.
2. In the navigation pane, choose Users.
3. Choose the name of the user whose access keys you want to manage, and then choose the Security credentials tab.
4. In the Access keys section, do any of the following:
   • To create an access key, choose Create access key. If the button is deactivated, then you must delete one of the existing keys before you can create a new one. On the Access key best practices & alternatives page, review the best practices and alternatives. Choose your use case to learn about additional options which can help you avoid creating a long-term access key. If you determine that your use case still requires an access key, choose Other and then choose Next. On the Retrieve access key page, choose Show to reveal the value of your user’s secret access key. To save the access key ID and secret access key to a .csv file to a secure location on your computer, choose the Download .csv file button. When you create an access key for your user, that key pair is active by default, and your user can use the pair right away.
   • To deactivate an active access key, choose Actions, and then choose Deactivate.
   • To activate an inactive access key, choose Actions, and then choose Activate.
   • To delete your access key, choose Actions, and then choose Delete. Follow the instructions in the dialog to first Deactivate and then confirm the deletion. AWS recommends that before you do this, you first deactivate the key and test that it’s no longer in use. When you use the AWS Management Console, you must deactivate your key before deleting it.

To list the access keys for an IAM user (console)

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the IAM console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/.
2. In the navigation pane, choose Users.
3. Choose the name of the intended user, and then choose the Security credentials tab. In the Access keys section, you will see the user’s access keys and the status of each key displayed.

   Note

   Only the user’s access key ID is visible. The secret access key can only be retrieved when the key is created.

To list the access key IDs for multiple IAM users (console)

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the IAM console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/.
2. In the navigation pane, choose Users.
3. If necessary, add the Access key ID column to the users table by completing the following steps:
   1. Above the table on the far right, choose the settings icon (  ).
   2. In Manage columns, select Access key ID.
   3. Choose Close to return to the list of users.
4. The Access key ID column shows each access key ID, followed by its state; for example, 23478207027842073230762374023 (Active) or 22093740239670237024843420327 (Inactive).

   You can use this information to view and copy the access keys for users with one or two access keys. The column displays None for users with no access key.

   Note

   Only the user’s access key ID and status is visible. The secret access key can only be retrieved when the key is created.

To find which IAM user owns a specific access key (console)

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the IAM console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/.
2. In the navigation pane, choose Users.
3. In the search box, type or paste the access key ID of the user you want to find.
4. If necessary, add the Access key ID column to the users table by completing the following steps:
   1. Above the table on the far right, choose the settings icon (  ).
   2. In Manage columns, select Access key ID.
   3. Choose Close to return to the list of users and confirm that the filtered user owns the specified access key.

To update access keys for an IAM user without interrupting your applications (console)

1. While the first access key is still active, create a second access key.
   1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the IAM console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/.
   2. In the navigation pane, choose Users.
   3. Choose the name of the intended user, and then choose the Security credentials tab.
   4. In the Access keys section, choose Create access key. On the Access key best practices & alternatives page, choose Other, then choose Next.
   5. (Optional) Set a description tag value for the access key to add a tag key-value pair to this IAM user. This can help you identify and update access keys later. The tag key is set to the access key id. The tag value is set to the access key description that you specify. When you are finished, choose Create access key.
   6. On the Retrieve access keys page, choose either Show to reveal the value of your user’s secret access key, or Download .csv file. This is your only opportunity to save your secret access key. After you’ve saved your secret access key in a secure location, choose Done.

      When you create an access key for your user, that key pair is active by default, and your user can use the pair right away. At this point, the user has two active access keys.

2. Update all applications and tools to use the new access key.
3. Determine whether the first access key is still in use by reviewing the Last used information for the oldest access key. One approach is to wait several days and then check the old access key for any use before proceeding.
4. Even if the Last used information indicates that the old key has never been used, we recommend that you do not immediately delete the first access key. Instead, choose Actions and then choose Deactivate to deactivate the first access key.
5. Use only the new access key to confirm that your applications are working. Any applications and tools that still use the original access key will stop working at this point because they no longer have access to AWS resources. If you find such an application or tool, you can reactivate the first access key. Then return to Step 3 and update this application to use the new key.
6. After you wait some period of time to ensure that all applications and tools have been updated, you can delete the first access key:
   1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the IAM console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/.
   2. In the navigation pane, choose Users.
   3. Choose the name of the intended user, and then choose the Security credentials tab.
   4. In the Access keys section for the access key you want to delete, choose Actions, and then choose Delete. Follow the instructions in the dialog to first Deactivate and then confirm the deletion.

To determine which access keys need to be updated or deleted(console)

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the IAM console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/iam/.
2. In the navigation pane, choose Users.
3. If necessary, add the Access key age column to the users table by completing the following steps:
   1. Above the table on the far right, choose the settings icon (  ).
   2. In Manage columns, select Access key age.
   3. Choose Close to return to the list of users.
4. The Access key age column shows the number of days since the oldest active access key was created. You can use this information to find users with access keys that might need to be updated or deleted. The column displays None for users with no access key.

To update access keys without interrupting your applications (AWS CLI)

1. While the first access key is still active, create a second access key, which is active by default. Run the following command:
   • aws iam create-access-key

     At this point, the user has two active access keys.

2. Update all applications and tools to use the new access key.
3. Determine whether the first access key is still in use by using this command:
   • aws iam get-access-key-last-used

   One approach is to wait several days and then check the old access key for any use before proceeding.

4. Even if step Step 3 indicates no use of the old key, we recommend that you do not immediately delete the first access key. Instead, change the state of the first access key to Inactive using this command:
   • aws iam update-access-key
5. Use only the new access key to confirm that your applications are working. Any applications and tools that still use the original access key will stop working at this point because they no longer have access to AWS resources. If you find such an application or tool, you can switch its state back to Active to reactivate the first access key. Then return to step Step 2 and update this application to use the new key.
6. After you wait some period of time to ensure that all applications and tools have been updated, you can delete the first access key with this command:
   • aws iam delete-access-key

To update access keys without interrupting your applications (AWS API)

1. While the first access key is still active, create a second access key, which is active by default. Call the following operation:
   • CreateAccessKey

     At this point, the user has two active access keys.

2. Update all applications and tools to use the new access key.
3. Determine whether the first access key is still in use by calling this operation:
   • GetAccessKeyLastUsed

   One approach is to wait several days and then check the old access key for any use before proceeding.

4. Even if step Step 3 indicates no use of the old key, we recommend that you do not immediately delete the first access key. Instead, change the state of the first access key to Inactive calling this operation:
   • UpdateAccessKey
5. Use only the new access key to confirm that your applications are working. Any applications and tools that still use the original access key will stop working at this point because they no longer have access to AWS resources. If you find such an application or tool, you can switch its state back to Active to reactivate the first access key. Then return to step Step 2 and update this application to use the new key.
6. After you wait some period of time to ensure that all applications and tools have been updated, you can delete the first access key calling this operation:
   • DeleteAccessKey