How to Disable Notification Center in Windows 11

Note: The screenshots in this article were captured in a Japanese-language Windows environment. Menu and setting names may differ slightly in an English-language installation.

Permanent kiosks, digital signage, and unmanned information terminals may need to be configured to hide notification history and system information from users. In Windows 11, you can use the DisableNotificationCenter policy to prevent Notification Center from opening from the taskbar notification area.

In this article, we will explain the steps to set DisableNotificationCenter using Registry Editor, the difference between the notification banner and quick settings, and how to check things after setting.

Control target	Effect of DisableNotificationCenter=1
notification center	not displayed
Past notification history	cannot confirm
notification banner	may be displayed
quick settings	This setting alone will not disable it because it is a separate function.
taskbar calendar	Will not open on Windows 11

DisableNotificationCenter does not stop notifications from being generated. If you also want to stop the notification banner that appears on the screen, use Windows notification settings and Windows Update notification policy together.

What changes with DisableNotificationCenter

DisableNotificationCenter is the registry value that corresponds to the Windows "Remove Notifications and Action Center" policy. When set to 1, the Notification Center and past notification history will no longer be available from the taskbar.

On the other hand, it does not stop the ability of apps or Windows to generate notifications. Microsoft's official policy explanation also explains that users can read notifications when they appear, but they will not be able to check missed notifications later.

Because Calendar works as part of Notification Center in Windows 11, enabling this policy prevents Calendar from opening when you select a date or time on the taskbar. Please check the impact on devices that use calendars for maintenance work.

Also, quick settings that display network, volume, brightness, etc. are separate from Notification Center. If you also want to restrict access to quick settings, consider another policy or assigned access.

Points to note before starting work

Editing the registry incorrectly can affect how Windows and apps work. Check the following before proceeding.

• Work with a maintenance account with administrator privileges
• Export the Explorer key you are about to change beforehand
• Do not change or delete existing values
• Check on a test machine before deploying to a production device
• Check whether monitoring and maintenance will be affected even if you cannot see the notifications.
• Provide a management method to restore settings

In Windows Pro/Enterprise/Education, you can also set this by going to Local Group Policy Editor's "User Configuration" → "Administrative Templates" → "Start Menu and Taskbar" → "Remove Notifications and Action Center." For organization management terminals, give priority to group policies and MDM policies.

Go to Explorer key

1. Open Registry Editor

Open "Run" with Win + R, enter regedit, and press Enter. If User Account Control appears, review and allow it.

2. Go to Windows key

Enter the following path into the Registry Editor's address bar:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows

3. Check the Explorer key

Check whether you have an Explorer key under the "Windows" key. If it does not exist, right-click the Windows key, select New → Key, and name it Explorer.

If you already have an Explorer key, use the existing key instead of recreating it.

Set DisableNotificationCenter to 1

Select the Explorer key, right-click in the blank area on the right, and select New → DWORD (32-bit) Value. This creates a DWORD (32-bit) value even on 64-bit versions of Windows.

Enter DisableNotificationCenter as the name of the value you created, then double-click it to configure:

Item	Setting details
value name	DisableNotificationCenter
type	DWORD (32-bit) value
value data	1
Notation	Hexadecimal or decimal (the result is the same for 1)

After setting, the status will be as follows.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer
  DisableNotificationCenter    REG_DWORD    0x00000001

Restart Windows and check

Microsoft's official policy specifications require a reboot to take effect. Close the Registry Editor, restart Windows, and check with the kiosk user.

1. Can't open notification center from taskbar
2. Unable to check past notification history
3. Selecting a date or time affects the calendar as expected
4. Quick settings for network and volume remain as separate functions
5. Check if the notification banner is displayed with a test notification
6. Display app operation and automatic startup are not affected.

If Notification Center remains, check the value name, type, and path. Also check if there are any other settings applied in your domain policy or MDM.

If you also want to hide the notification banner

However, DisableNotificationCenter=1 does not necessarily stop the notification banner from appearing the moment a notification arrives. If you do not want to send notifications to the kiosk screen, use the following methods in conjunction with each other depending on your needs.

Turn off notifications for Windows as a whole or per app

Go to Settings → System → Notifications and turn off all notifications or notifications for unnecessary apps. Check each app to make sure you don't delete warnings that are necessary for maintenance.

Use Do Not Disturb mode

If you want to suppress notification banners for a set amount of time, use Do Not Disturb mode and automatic rules. Suitable for configurations that suppress notifications only during business hours or during full screen display.

Control Windows Update notifications

If you want to control only Windows Update notifications, use the Update Notification Display Options policy. If you include and hide restart warnings, it will be difficult for not only users but also administrators to notice the need for updates, so combine this with maintenance plans.

Windows Update policy settings are explained in How to control automatic updates and restarts of Windows 11 using Group Policy.

How to restore settings

If you want to restore Notification Center, delete the DisableNotificationCenter value you created, or change its value data to 0, and restart Windows.

Do not delete the existing Explorer key or other values unless you are sure they are the ones you created. If this was set by group policy, return the corresponding policy setting to Not configured.

Summary of settings

Setting items	Content
configuration tool	Registry Editor (regedit）
key	HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer
value name	DisableNotificationCenter
type	DWORD (32-bit) value
Value to disable	1
Undo value	0 or remove value
Main effect	Make Notification Center and Notification History unavailable
How to reflect	restart windows

Reference materials

• Windows 11 taskbar policy list (Microsoft Learn)
• Calendar does not open when Notification Center is disabled (Microsoft Learn)
• Windows notification issues and Do Not Disturb mode (Microsoft Learn)

Summary

DisableNotificationCenter=1 is a setting that disables the Windows 11 Notification Center and past notification history. It is not a setting that stops all notification banners, but quick settings will remain as a separate function.

For kiosks and digital signage, separate designs for disabling Notification Center, notification settings for each app, and controlling Windows Update notifications. After setting, please check the impact on notification banner, notification history, calendar, and quick settings with a production user.