California Community Colleges works with ID.me to verify the identity of students who apply to California community colleges using CCCApply. This streamlines and secures both the admissions and financial aid process while also safeguarding student information.
ID.me's role in this is only for identity verification. ID.me does not approve admissions or financial aid applications. This article explains how to verify your identity as a prospective community college student.
I’m new to ID.me
To access the California Community Colleges online services, you’ll need to:
- Sign in to or create an OpenCCC account
- Sign in to or create an ID.me account
- Verify your identity
- Consent to share your identity information with CCC
You only need to verify your identity once—then you can use your ID.me log in for CCC and anywhere else ID.me is accepted.
I already have an ID.me account
If you are an existing ID.me member, follow the steps in California Community Colleges and ID.me.
1. Sign in or create an OpenCCC student account
To get started, sign in to your OpenCCC account or create one if you don't have an account:
- Go to California Community Colleges.
- Enter your college name, city or ZIP Code.
- If you already have an OpenCCC student account, select Sign in, then enter your information and follow the prompts to sign in. To create a new OpenCCC account, select Create an Account.
- To set up your account, follow the prompts to enter your email or phone number, then enter the Security Code you receive. Next, enter your contact information, personal information, and account password. Finally, select Create Account.
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Select Verify with ID.me. You’ll be redirected to the ID.me sign-in page.
Note: If you don’t want to verify your identity, select Verify Later, then select Yes, I want to opt out of ID.me.
Create an ID.me account
To help ensure you can always sign in to your ID.me account, and that you can verify your identity, use a personal email address that you have access to.
After your ID.me account is set up, verify your identity. To get started:
- On the ID.me sign-in page, select Create an account.
- Enter your personal email address and a strong password, then select Create account. Learn how to create a strong password.
- Follow the prompts to finish setting up your ID.me account and to confirm ownership of your email. You’ll be redirected to begin verification.
Verify your identity
You can verify your identity using Self-Service or on a video call with an ID.me agent. Select the tab below for an overview of each verification method:
Self-Service is the most common verification method and takes 5-10 minutes to complete. To verify, you’ll need:
- A mobile phone that has a camera or a computer with a webcam
- Email address
- Government-issued photo ID (U.S. driver's license or state ID, U.S. passport, or U.S. passport card)
- Social Security number
To verify your identity using Self-Service:
- Select Self-Service.
- Follow the prompts to upload your US driver’s license or state ID, or select Change Document to upload a passport or passport card. Learn how to take photos of your documents.
- Take and submit a video selfie.
- Enter your Social Security number.
- Review and confirm that all of your information is accurate, then select Yes. If your information is incorrect, you will have the option to update it. After ID.me verifies your identity you will receive a confirmation message as a way to protect you from fraud.
- Select Allow to finish your identity verification process.
During a video call, you’ll upload a document and connect with a live agent to verify your identity without uploading a selfie. To verify, you’ll need:
- A mobile phone that has a camera or a computer with a webcam
- Email address
- Government-issued photo ID (U.S. driver's license or state ID, U.S. passport, or U.S. passport card)
- Social Security number
To verify on a video call:
- Select Video Call.
- Select Get Started, accept ID.me's consent to collect personally identifiable information, then select Continue.
- Follow the prompts to upload your US Driver’s License or State Photo ID, or select Change Document to upload a Passport or Passport Card. Learn how to take photos of your documents.
- Enter your remaining information, including your Social Security number, then select Continue. Learn why ID.me asks for your Social Security number.
Connect with a Video Chat Agent
During the call with your Video Chat Agent, the agent will compare you to your uploaded identity document. To connect to a live call:
- After your information is confirmed, you will be prompted to join a video call. Select Join video call to proceed.
- Wait for the next Video Chat Agent to be available.
- Consent to having your call recorded, then select Join video call when prompted.
- Stay on the call as the Video Chat Agent compares you to your identity document photo. This should only take a moment.
Share your information with CCC
To complete the process, you must consent to share your information with CCC. How you do this depends on the verification method you used:
- Self-Service: After you confirm your information, select Allow to share your information.
- Video call: After you verify, you’ll receive an email with next steps. Follow the instructions in the email to share your information with CCC.
Who to contact for help
ID.me
ID.me can help if you have trouble with your account or verifying your identity. Common issues include:
- Signing in to your account
- Uploading documents or selfies
- Fixing rejected documents
Community colleges
The community college you verify for can best help with questions and next steps after you complete the verification process. For example, you may have questions about benefits or services you verified for. Before contacting the college:
- Confirm your verification was successful
- Confirm you shared your information with the organization
- Review our best practices and sample messages of how to request help from the organization you need to access