# zero-standing-privileges

Source: https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/zero-standing-privileges/
Last updated: 2026-08-29
License: content by Start with Identity. Cite the source URL.

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An access model where no one holds permanent elevated rights; privileges are granted just in time and expire automatically. The strongest form of least privilege for admin access.

Zero standing privilege is the outcome that makes a privileged access program measurable: count the identities holding permanent elevated rights and drive it toward zero. It also changes what a compromised admin workstation means, since there is nothing to inherit at rest. The prerequisite is an elevation path fast enough that engineers use it during an incident rather than keeping a standing account "just in case".

See also: [just-in-time access](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/jit-access/), [least privilege](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/least-privilege/), [what is PAM](https://startwithidentity.com/guides/fundamentals/what-is-pam/), [break-glass](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/break-glass/)