Special characters are not what makes a password hard to guess. A long password that you do not reuse elsewhere, and that is not on a list of common or leaked passwords, is stronger than a short one padded with a symbol. NIST’s current guidance for password verifiers says composition rules, such as requiring a mix of character types, should not be imposed at all. Shifting your effort from symbols to length, uniqueness, and screening gives you more protection for the same amount of typing.
Why symbol requirements missed the point
A rule that says “include an uppercase letter, a number, and a symbol” tells you what a password looks like, not how hard it is to guess. People respond to that kind of rule predictably. NIST’s FAQ on its SP 800-63 digital identity guidelines describes the familiar pattern: a user takes a password they already know and appends an exclamation mark to satisfy the requirement. Attackers know that pattern, so the added character adds little.
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NIST’s FAQ also notes that composition rules deliver less benefit than their authors expect, because users satisfy them in predictable ways. The frustration of meeting arbitrary rules can push people toward the minimum compliance needed, rather than toward the choices that actually resist guessing. (NIST SP 800-63 Digital Identity Guidelines FAQ)
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What NIST now asks of password systems
The July 2025 revision of NIST SP 800-63B-4, Digital Identity Guidelines: Authentication and Authenticator Management, sets out how password checking systems, called verifiers, should behave. Its key points are below. These are requirements and recommendations for verifiers within NIST’s framework, not a guarantee that any password of a given length is safe.
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- No composition rules. The publication states: “Other composition requirements for passwords SHALL NOT be imposed.” This governs what a service may demand, not whether a symbol can ever help a password.
- Minimum length. A password used as a single factor should be at least 15 characters. Where a password is one part of multifactor authentication (MFA), the minimum is 8 characters.
- Maximum length allowance. Verifiers should accept at least 64 characters, so that long passphrases are not cut off.
- Blocklist screening. Passwords should be checked against lists of common, expected, or compromised values.
- No forced periodic changes. Passwords should not be required to change on a schedule unless there is evidence of compromise.
If you run a service, these rules are what you should look for in a password policy. If you are a user, they tell you where your effort is most likely to pay off.
Length is the control you can actually make
NIST identifies length as a primary factor in password strength and notes that multiword passphrases are an effective way to make a password longer. A passphrase is several unrelated words strung together. Four or five ordinary words that have no connection to you, your pets, or a favorite song are much harder to guess than a short string with a symbol at the end.
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Passphrases work best when the words are genuinely unrelated. Avoid quotations, lyrics, and well-known phrases, because those can be guessed by attackers who work from lists of popular text. Random words, even if they are slightly harder to remember, are a better choice than a sentence you would naturally write.
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Uniqueness matters more than any single password
A strong password used on several sites is only as safe as the weakest of those sites. If one service is breached, attackers may try the same email and password combination on other services. This is called password stuffing. NIST recommends a distinct password for every account, which limits the damage from any single breach. Password managers are the practical way to achieve that, because they can generate and store a different credential for each account, which removes the need to memorize them. (NIST SP 800-63 Digital Identity Guidelines FAQ)
Two practical approaches cover most people:
| Approach | How it meets the guidance | Main trade-off | What to check before relying on it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Password manager | Generates a distinct, long password for each account and stores it, so you do not need to memorize them. NIST describes managers as a way to generate and maintain distinct credentials. | The vault holds valuable information. Its security depends on protecting the master secret that unlocks it. | Platform support on your devices, how autofill works, the account recovery process if you lose access, and which security features the product offers. (NIST does not evaluate specific products.) |
| Memorable passphrase | Gives length through several unrelated words. NIST says multiword passphrases are an effective way to make a password longer. | Each account still needs its own passphrase, which becomes hard to remember without a manager as the number of accounts grows. | Whether you can recall it reliably, whether the site accepts spaces and long values, and whether the passphrase is unique to that account. |
Where this approach stops
Length and uniqueness protect against guessing and reuse. They do not stop an attacker who tricks you into typing your password on a fake site. NIST is direct on this point: “Passwords are not phishing-resistant.” The same is true for keystroke logging and social engineering, which can capture a password regardless of how long or complex it is. (NIST SP 800-63B-4)
Multifactor authentication adds a separate layer that works even when a password is exposed. It does not replace unique passwords; it complements them. Where a service supports it, a physical security key is one option. NIST’s authenticator assurance guidance identifies a physical authenticator combined with a memorized secret as one configuration, but it does not test or endorse any particular key. (NIST Authenticator Assurance Levels)
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A routine you can follow this week
- List your most important accounts first: primary email, banking, and any account that can reset others.
- Choose how you will store passwords. If you use a password manager, set a strong master secret and make sure you have a recovery method you trust.
- Replace reused passwords on those accounts with a generated password or a passphrase of at least 15 characters, and avoid well-known phrases.
- Turn on multifactor authentication for each account that offers it, starting with email.
- Work through the remaining accounts over time. Change a password only when you have reason to think it was exposed, not on a fixed schedule.
Once these habits are in place, the question of whether a password contains a symbol matters far less than the questions the rest of this article covers.
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