Use default email If you have Moodle installed in your instance, uninstall it (though you may want to copy the contents of config.php somewhere else for reference later). Create an empty database on your DB server. Take note of this database's name. Install Moodle using the command line install script and provide the --adminemail flag e.g. php admin/cli/install.php --adminemail=admin@example.com Fill in each prompt in during the install process with correct values (you can check with the values in your old config.php) until you get to the prompt for the admin email address. You should see admin@example.com in brackets as the default value. Just hit "enter" to confirm you want to use the default. Finish the installation Log in to the newly installed Moodle site using the admin account CONFIRM that you are not prompted to add an email address after you've logged in View the admin user's profile page CONFIRM that admin@example.com is set as their email address Specify email Repeat the steps from the "Use default email" test. However, when prompted for the admin email address, specify one from the command line (e.g. " realadminemail@example.com ") rather than simply hitting enter to accept the default and confirm the specified email address is the admin's email address.