Can't log in? How to recover your LimeSurvey account (Cloud vs. self-hosted)

Can't log in? How to recover your LimeSurvey account (Cloud vs. self-hosted)

There are two kinds of LimeSurvey, and account recovery works differently for each. This guide helps you find out which one you have and get back in as quickly as possible.

Which LimeSurvey do you have?

Look at the web address of your survey site:

  • LimeSurvey Cloud — your site looks like yourname.limesurvey.net, and your account lives at account.limesurvey.org. Recovery is handled through your account page (and, if needed, LimeSurvey support).
  • Self-hosted (Community Edition) — your site runs on your own domain or server. Your account exists only on that installation, so recovery is handled by your own administrator.

Cloud: recover your account

  1. Go to account.limesurvey.org and use the password reset option.
  2. Wait a few minutes, then check your inbox and your spam folder.
  3. No email? The most common cause is that the account is registered under a different email address than the one you tried. Reset emails only go to the registered address. Try every address you might have signed up with — work, personal, or an older one.
  4. If the account was set up for your team or organisation, ask colleagues whether one of them created it. Organisation accounts are often registered under a colleague's or a generic address (like info@ or surveys@).
  5. Still nothing? See "Still locked out?" below.
  6. Can't log in to account.limesurvey.org itself? The same steps apply: use the password reset on the login page, check spam, and try every email address the account might be registered under. If none of that works, contact support through the help center and include your account name or site URL.

Self-hosted: what support can and cannot do

If you run LimeSurvey on your own server, LimeSurvey support cannot reset your password — your account does not exist in their systems, so there is nothing for them to reset.

  • Regular user locked out? Ask your installation's Superadmin to reset your password.
  • You are the Superadmin? Your IT administrator can reset the password directly via the database or server console.
  • For step-by-step help, see the LimeSurvey manual or ask the community at forums.limesurvey.org.

Still locked out?

Cloud customers who have tried everything above should contact LimeSurvey support and include:

  • Your survey site URL (e.g. yourname.limesurvey.net)
  • Every email address you have already tried

With your site URL, support can look up which email address the account is registered under and point you in the right direction.

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