Apply Group Policy Now with gpupdate /force

Re-fetch and reapply computer and user policies immediately on a domain machine — the IT classic.

WindowscmdadministrationgpoLow risk

Run gpupdate /force in a command prompt; it reprocesses both computer and user policies, and some settings still require a logoff or reboot to take effect.

01Command

Command

$ gpupdate /force

02What it does

Domain machines refresh group policy every 90 minutes (±30 random) or at boot, so a policy your admin just changed can take hours to appear. gpupdate /force re-requests all policies at once, reapplying even unchanged ones. It only reprocesses; several settings (drive mappings under certain conditions, software installs, security options changed mid-session) still need a logoff or reboot, and gpupdate prints exactly that when relevant. Verify what actually applied with gpresult /r, which lists the applied GPOs. On home PCs with no domain, the command runs and does effectively nothing — that's expected.

03Risk

RiskLow risk

04Undo

✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.

05Sources

gpupdate — Refresh Group Policy
SS64 · technical · 2026-09-17
Evidence: Documents gpupdate /force for reapplying both computer and user policy immediately.

Last verified: 2026-09-18 · Category: System & Settings

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