ID.me MFA recovery steps if you lost access or can’t sign in

If you’re locked out of your http://ID.me account and can’t complete multi-factor authentication (MFA), you can recover access by confirming your identity and setting up a new MFA method. This article shows how to begin the MFA recovery process, especially if you lost your phone, changed your number, or didn’t receive a verification code.

Begin the MFA recovery process

1. Start MFA recovery on the http://ID.me sign-in page

Go to the ID.me sign-in page.
Enter your email address and password, then select Sign in.
After you’ve signed in, on the “Complete Your Sign In” screen, select MFA recovery process.

2. Confirm account ownership

Follow the prompts to confirm ownership of your account. For example, take a live selfie, join a video call, confirm your email or personal information, or upload your identity document.

3. Set up a new MFA method

Follow the prompts to set up a new MFA method. You must complete this step within 30 minutes of confirming your account ownership. If you’re not sure how to do this, go to Forgot to set up a new MFA method? below.

Didn’t set up a new MFA in time?

If you forgot to set up a new MFA method:

Go to the ID.me sign-in page.
Enter your account email address and password, then select Sign in.
On the “Complete Your Sign In” screen, select MFA recovery process.
Follow the prompts to set up your new MFA method.

Note: If you didn’t set up a new MFA method within 30 minutes of confirming account ownership, you’ll need to start over with the MFA recovery process and confirm account ownership again.

Trouble confirming your account?

Issues with your selfie

If your selfie wasn’t clear, try again, following our selfie best practices.
For browser, camera, or other technical issues, visit Fix video selfie issues during ID.me verification.

Can’t upload your ID

If your ID wasn’t clear or fully visible, visit Rejected documents for tips.
Learn what to do if you didn't receive a text message to take document photos.
For other issues uploading your document, visit Document upload troubleshooting.

Problems with your camera or microphone

If you couldn’t get your device’s camera or microphone to work to take a selfie or complete a video call, visit Camera and microphone troubleshooting.

Didn’t receive a confirmation email

If the confirmation email isn’t in your inbox, check your spam and junk folders. If you lost access to your email, you’ll need to work with an http://ID.me agent to recover your account.

Can’t confirm your personal information

If your personal information recently changed, use your old information, such as your previous physical address. If your information didn’t recently change, double check to ensure you entered it correctly.