---
title: Creating an account on GitHub
shortTitle: Create an account
intro: 'Create a personal account to get started with {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}.'
redirect_from:
  - /articles/signing-up-for-a-new-github-account
  - /github/getting-started-with-github/signing-up-for-a-new-github-account
  - /github/getting-started-with-github/signing-up-for-github/signing-up-for-a-new-github-account
  - /get-started/signing-up-for-github/signing-up-for-a-new-github-account
  - /articles/signing-up-for-github
  - /github/getting-started-with-github/signing-up-for-github
  - /get-started/signing-up-for-github
versions:
  fpt: '*'
  ghec: '*'
topics:
  - Accounts
---

## About your personal account on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom_the_website %}

To get started with {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}, you'll need to create a free personal account on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom_the_website %} and verify your email address.

{% data reusables.accounts.your-personal-account %}

Later, you can explore the different types of accounts that {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} offers, and decide if you need a billing plan. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/get-started/learning-about-github/types-of-github-accounts)" and "[AUTOTITLE](/get-started/learning-about-github/githubs-plans)."

Note that the steps in this article don't apply to {% data variables.product.prodname_emus %}. If your {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} account has been created for you by your company, you can skip this article and continue to "[AUTOTITLE](/get-started/quickstart/hello-world)."

## Signing up for a new personal account

1. Navigate to https://github.com/.
1. Click **Sign up**.
1. Follow the prompts to create your personal account.

During sign up, you'll be asked to verify your email address. Without a verified email address, you won't be able to complete some basic {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} tasks, such as creating a repository.

If you're having problems verifying your email address, there are some troubleshooting steps you can take. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/account-and-profile/setting-up-and-managing-your-personal-account-on-github/managing-email-preferences/verifying-your-email-address#troubleshooting-email-verification)."

## Next steps

- Now that you've created your personal account, we'll start to explore the basics of {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %}. In the following tutorial, "[AUTOTITLE](/get-started/quickstart/hello-world)," you'll learn about repositories and how to create one, and you'll be introduced to concepts such as branching, commits, and pull requests.
- We strongly recommend that you configure 2FA for your account. 2FA is an extra layer of security that can help keep your account secure. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/authentication/securing-your-account-with-two-factor-authentication-2fa/configuring-two-factor-authentication)."

## Further reading

- "[AUTOTITLE](/get-started/learning-about-github/types-of-github-accounts)"
- "[AUTOTITLE](/get-started/learning-about-github/githubs-plans)"
- "[AUTOTITLE](/account-and-profile/setting-up-and-managing-your-personal-account-on-github/managing-email-preferences/verifying-your-email-address)"