If you’re using any of the out-of-the-box mvc template projects (Visual Studio 2012 / c#), they do a great job with including functionality for user membership including log in, register and change password. However it does seem to be missing a ‘forgot password’ or ‘reset password’ function. Below is how you can quickly add this functionality by modifying the existing controllers and views:

1. Add a new view (I’m calling mine ResetPass) under the Views > Account folder:

<%@ Page Title="" Language="C#" MasterPageFile="~/Views/Shared/Site.Master" Inherits="System.Web.Mvc.ViewPage<ledme2.Models.LoginModel>" %>

<asp:Content ID="Content1" ContentPlaceHolderID="TitleContent" runat="server">
    Reset Pass
</asp:Content>

<asp:Content ID="Content2" ContentPlaceHolderID="MainContent" runat="server">

    <hgroup class="title">
        <h1>Reset Your Password</h1>
    </hgroup>

    <section id="loginForm">
        <h2>Enter the username you wish to reset. An email will be sent with your password and the new password will expire in 3 hours.</h2>
        <% using (Html.BeginForm(new { ReturnUrl = ViewBag.ReturnUrl }))
           { %>
        <%: Html.AntiForgeryToken() %>
        <%: Html.ValidationSummary(true) %>

        <fieldset>
            <legend>Enter the username you wish to reset. An email will be sent with your password and the new password will expire in 3 hours.</legend>
            <ol>
                <li>
                    <%: Html.LabelFor(m => m.UserName) %>
                    <%: Html.TextBoxFor(m => m.UserName) %>
                    <%: Html.ValidationMessageFor(m => m.UserName) %>
                </li>
            </ol>
            <input type="submit" value="Reset" />
        </fieldset>

        <% } %>

        <% if (ViewData["msg"] != null)
           { %>
        <%: ViewData["msg"] %>
        <% } %>
    </section>
</asp:Content>

<asp:Content ID="Content3" ContentPlaceHolderID="FeaturedContent" runat="server">
</asp:Content>

<asp:Content ID="Content4" ContentPlaceHolderID="ScriptsSection" runat="server">
</asp:Content>

2. Add these two methods to the AccountController.cs (I’ve left out the code w/ the email function, feel free to add your own):

 [AllowAnonymous]
        public ActionResult ResetPass(string returnUrl)
        {
            ViewBag.ReturnUrl = returnUrl;
            return View();
        }

        [HttpPost]
        [AllowAnonymous]
        [ValidateAntiForgeryToken]
        public ActionResult ResetPass(LoginModel model, string returnUrl)
        {
            if (WebSecurity.UserExists(model.UserName))
            {
                string ptoken = WebSecurity.GeneratePasswordResetToken(model.UserName, 190);
                //change to be as secure as you choose
                string tmpPass = Membership.GeneratePassword(10, 4);
                WebSecurity.ResetPassword(ptoken, tmpPass);
                //add your own email logic here
                ViewData["msg"] = "Your new password is: " + tmpPass;
                return View(model);
            }
            else
            {
                ModelState.AddModelError("", "The user name wasn't found.");
            }

            return View(model);
        }

3. Add this code to the Login.aspx view:

<p>
            <%: Html.ActionLink("Reset", "ResetPass") %> your forgotten passord?

</p>

4. Now you should get this result on the login page:

And when clicked: