NAME
    chage - change user password expiry information

SYNOPSIS
    chage [-m mindays] [-M maxdays] [-d lastday] [-I inactive]
    [-E expiredate] [-W warndays] user

    chage -l user

DESCRIPTION
    chage changes the number of days between password changes and the date
    of the last password change. This information is used by the system to
    determine when a user must change her password. The chage command is
    restricted to the root user, except for the -l option, which may be
    used by an unprivileged user to determine when her password or account
    is due to expire.

    With the -m option, the value of mindays is the minimum number of days
    between password changes.  A value of zero for this field indicates
    that the user may change her password at any time.

    With the -M option, the value of maxdays is the maximum number of days
    during which a  password is valid. When maxdays plus lastday is less
    than the current day, the user will be required to change her password
    before being able to use her account.  This occurance can be planned
    for in advance by use of the -W option, which provides the user with
    advance warning.

    With the -d option, the value of lastday is the number of days since
    January 1st, 1970 when the password was last changed. The date may
    also be expressed in the format YYYY-MM-DD (or the format more commonly
    used in your area).

    The -E option is used to set a date on which the user's account will no
    longer be accessible.  The expiredate option is the number of days
    since January 1, 1970 on which the accounted is locked. The date may
    also be expressed in the format YYYY-MM-DD (or the format more commonly
    used in your area). A user whose account is locked must contact the
    system administrator before being able to use the system again.

    The -I option is used to set the number of days of inactivity after a
    password has expired before the account is locked. The inactive option
    is the number of days of inactivity. A value of 0 disables this fea-
    ture. A user whose account is locked must contact the system adminis-
    trator before being able to use the system again.

    The -W option is used to set the number of days of warning before a
    password change is required. The warndays option is the number of days
    prior to the password expiring that a user will be warned her password
    is about to expire.

    If none of the options are selected, chage operates in an interactive
    fashion,  prompting the  user with the current values for all of the
    fields. Enter the new value to change the field, or leave the line
    blank to use the current value. The current value is displayed between
    a pair of [ ] marks.

NOTE
    The chage program requires shadow password file to be available.  Its
    functionality is not available when passwords are stored in the passwd
    file.

FILES
    /etc/passwd - user account information
    /etc/shadow - shadow user account information

SEE ALSO
   passwd(5), shadow(5)

AUTHOR
    Julianne Frances Haugh <jockgrrl@ix.netcom.com>