Introduction
Oracle APEX is a low-code development platform that helps you build scalable, secure enterprise apps. Accessing the APEX administration interface requires the ADMIN account, and losing or forgetting that password locks you out of workspace management, user provisioning, and instance-level settings. This guide walks through changing the APEX Admin password using the built-in apxchpwd.sql script.
Prerequisites
- Oracle APEX should already be installed.
Environment Used in This Guide
- Hostname: apex
- IP: 192.168.101.10
ORACLE_SID: APEXDB- PDB: APEXPDB
- APEX: 24.1
- ORDS: 24.2
Step 1: Recognize an Incorrect ADMIN Password
If you're here because login is failing, this is the error you'll typically see when the ADMIN password is wrong:
Step 2: Stop the Running ORDS Service
Before changing the password, stop ORDS by killing its process. This isn't strictly required for the password change itself to work, but it avoids any confusion from cached sessions or stale connections while you're troubleshooting login access.
Step 3: Change the Password Using apxchpwd.sql
The APEX installation directory includes several administrative scripts alongside the original installer files. apxchpwd.sql specifically is used to reset or create the instance administrator account, connect to the correct PDB first, since running it against the wrong container won't affect the APEX instance you're trying to fix.
[oracle@apex ~]$ cd /u02/app/oracle/apex24_1/apex/
[oracle@apex apex]$ ls
apexins1.sql apex_rest_config_nocdb.sql apxdvins_nocdb.sql
apxremov_nocdb.sql builder devins.sql apxrtins_nocdb.sql
apexins2.sql apex_rest_config.sql apxdvins.sql
apexins3.sql appins.sql apxdwngrd.sql
apexins_adb.sql apxappcon.sql apxpatch_cdb.sql
apexins_cdb.sql apxchpwd.sql apxpatch_nocdb.sql
apexins_nocdb.sql apxdevrm_cdb.sql apxpatch.sql
apexins.sql apxdevrm_nocdb.sql apxremov1.sql
apex_rest_config_cdb.sql apxdevrm.sql apxremov2.sql
apex_rest_config_core.sql apxdvins_cdb.sql apxremov_cdb.sql
apxremov.sql core images
apxrtins1.sql coreins2.sql install2024-09-25_04-11-58.log
apxrtins2.sql coreins3.sql LICENSE.txt
apxrtins3.sql coreins4.sql load_trans.sql
apxrtins_cdb.sql coreins5.sql utilities
coreins.sql apxrtins.sql dbcsconf.sql
apxsilentins.sql dbcsins.sql
[oracle@apex apex]$ sqlplus / as sysdba
SQL*Plus: Release 19.0.0.0.0 - Production on Mon Mar 24 18:12:21 2025
Version 19.24.0.0.0
Copyright (c) 1982, 2024, Oracle. All rights reserved.
Connected to:
Oracle Database 19c Enterprise Edition Release 19.0.0.0.0 - Production
Version 19.24.0.0.0
SQL> show pdbs
CON_ID CON_NAME OPEN MODE RESTRICTED
---------- ------------------------------------- ---------- ----------
2 PDB$SEED READ ONLY NO
3 APEXPDB READ WRITE NO
SQL> alter session set container=APEXPDB;
Session altered.
SQL> show pdbs
CON_ID CON_NAME OPEN MODE RESTRICTED
---------- ------------------------------------- ---------- ----------
3 APEXPDB READ WRITE NO
SQL> @apxchpwd.sql
...set_appun.sql
================================================================================
This script can be used to change the password of an Oracle APEX
instance administrator. If the user does not yet exist, a user record will be
created.
================================================================================
Enter the administrator's username [ADMIN]
User "ADMIN" exists.
Enter ADMIN's email [xxxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com]
Enter ADMIN's password []
SQL>
Important: when prompted for the new password, choose a strong one and note it down securely, this becomes your new login credential immediately, and there's no confirmation screen showing it back to you afterward.
Step 4: Log Into APEX Admin With the New Password
With the password reset, restart ORDS if you stopped it in Step 2, then log in to confirm the change took effect.
http://192.168.101.10:8080/ords/apex_admin
APEX Admin Login
Admin Home
Reaching the Admin Home screen confirms the password change worked and you're back in control of the instance.
Thank you for reading!
I hope this content has been helpful to you. Your feedback and suggestions are always welcome. Feel free to leave a comment or reach out with any queries.
Abhishek Shrivastava
Oracle DBA with hands-on experience managing production Data Guard, RAC, GoldenGate, and APEX environments. I write practical, tested installation and troubleshooting guides based on real deployment work.
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