US Virtual Notary uses ID.me as a secure login so they can ensure that the person signing in to your account is really you and not someone pretending to be you. US Virtual Notary requires that you verify your identity at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Identity Assurance Level 2 (IAL2) to join your scheduled appointment as a signer or witness.
This article explains how to set up your ID.me account and verify your identity to use with US Virtual Notary.
Get started
To schedule an appointment with the US Virtual Notary:
- Go to the US Virtual Notary website and follow the prompts to book your appointment.
- On the appointment page, select to join your meeting as a Signer, Witness or Guest. Signers and witnesses will be prompted to verify with ID.me.
- Select Verify with ID.me.
Already have an account?
Do not create another account if you already have one. Instead, sign in to share your information.
- Select Sign In with ID.me, then sign in with your ID.me account and complete multi-factor authentication (MFA).
- If required, follow the prompts to provide any additional information. Continue to the Verify your identity section for more information.
- From the Authorize screen, review the information your organization will receive, and then select Allow to consent to share that information with them.
Creating an account for the first time?
If you have never created an ID.me account, you need to follow these steps:
- From the Sign In to ID.me screen, select Create an ID.me 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.
- Set up a multi-factor authentication (MFA) method.
After creating an account and securing it with MFA, follow the steps below to verify your identity.
Verify your identity
You can verify using self-service, which is a self-guided process, or with a live agent during a video call.
Verifying with Self-Service
- Most commonly used method to verify.
- It takes 5-10 minutes to complete.
For steps to verify, visit Verifying with Self-Service.
Verifying with a Video Call
If there is an issue verifying your identity using self-service, you may need to complete your verification by uploading additional documents and joining a video call. Wait times can vary, but you can schedule a video call appointment at a time that’s convenient for you.
You will need to have two primary documents or one primary document and one secondary document to complete the process.
You may need to provide additional documentation:
- To prove your Social Security number
- To prove your current address
- If your name has changed
You’ll need to present your original, physical documents on the video call.
Do you have multiple ID.me accounts?
If you already created a duplicate ID.me account using your work email address or another email address that you own, follow the steps in How to use an email address that’s on your duplicate account to make your email address available to add to your original ID.me account.
For more information on duplicate accounts, visit What to do if you have a duplicate account.
Get help
Who you need to contact for help depends on if you completed the verification process or not.
ID.me
ID.me can help if you have trouble with the identity verification process. Common issues include:
US Virtual Notary
They 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 them:
- 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.