reauthorise

Reauthorize is a verb meaning to grant authorization again, typically after expiration, revocation, or a change in conditions. It can apply to legal authorities, licenses, funding, programs, or access rights. The act of reauthorization may extend a mandate or restore permission under predefined terms. In legislative contexts, reauthorization often refers to reapproving a program or statute, sometimes extending its funding or authority for a fixed period. In administrative or regulatory settings, a license or permit may be reauthorized when initial permission has lapsed or when conditions are updated. In information technology and security, reauthorization can refer to renewing or refreshing a user’s or system’s authorization after a token or credential expires.

Etymology and spelling variants: the term is formed from re- (again) + authorize. In British English the spelling is reauthorise, while American English commonly uses reauthorize. Both forms appear in international and organizational usage, and some style guides note the preferred variant depending on regional conventions. The related noun forms are reauthorization or, less commonly, reauthorisation.

Contexts and usage: common in policy and governance when governments extend the life of programs, grants, or agencies. It also occurs in regulatory compliance, licensing, and contracts. In computing, reauthorization may describe revalidating access rights after authentication, or issuing a new authorization for an application or service when credentials have expired or permissions have changed.