Define the number of days after which a catch-up scan is forced

Policy ID: Scan_MissedScheduledScanCountBeforeCatchup
Scope: Computer Configuration
Supported on: At least Windows Server 2012, Windows 8 or Windows RT
Source: Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11 2026 Update (26H2) (version 1.0)
Category: Windows Components › Microsoft Defender Antivirus › Scan

Description

This policy setting allows you to define the number of consecutive scheduled scans that can be missed after which a catch-up scan will be forced. By default, the value of this setting is 2 consecutive scheduled scans.

If you enable this setting, a catch-up scan will occur after the specified number consecutive missed scheduled scans.

If you disable or do not configure this setting, a catch-up scan will occur after the 2 consecutive missed scheduled scans.

Options

Define the number of scheduled scans that can be missed after which a catch-up scan is forced

Registry

ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scan View registry values

MissedScheduledScanCountBeforeCatchup-
MissedScheduledScanCountBeforeCatchupREG_DWORD

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