Verifying for state benefits and services

ID.me verifies your identity for partnering state agencies. After verifying, you can take steps like applying for unemployment insurance benefits, signing in to government portals, and more. This article shows how to verify your identity for state benefits and services.

Before you verify

To verify your identity, you’ll need to provide specific information and up-to-date documents. We recommend gathering any necessary documents before you begin the verification process.

For most states, you will verify using our self-service verification method. This is the most common verification method, and can be completed in a few minutes. To verify, you’ll need:

• A mobile phone that has a camera or a computer with a webcam
• Email address
• Government-issued photo ID (driver's license, passport, passport card, or state ID)
• U.S. phone number
• Current U.S. address
• Social Security Number

1. Begin with your state

You’ll begin the verification process with the state agency you’d like to verify with:

• If you received an email from your state asking you to verify your identity, open the email and select Verify your identity, or copy the url into your web browser.
• If your state works with ID.me and you didn’t receive an email, you can start by going to your state’s government agency site. Follow the prompts for the online tool, service or benefit you’re verifying for.

For specific information on how to start your verification, select the link for your state workforce agency below:

Keep in mind, not all states partner with ID.me. When in doubt, visit your state’s government agency site for more information.

2. Verify your identity

For most states, you will start with the self-service verification method. If you are not able to verify using self service, you will finish verification on a video call with an ID.me Video Chat Agent.

For all other states, follow the steps below to verify using self service:

1. Select Verify with ID.me in the email you received from a state partner or if you see an ID.me button on a state partner’s site.
2. If you have an ID.me account, sign in using your email address and password.
   To create an ID.me account, enter your email address and password, select Create account, then confirm your email address.
3. Set up multi-factor authentication (MFA) to make your account even more secure.
   
   Tip: If you’re setting up MFA for the first time, make sure to save or download your recovery code to ensure you always have access to your ID.me account.
   
4. Upload photos of your document. Acceptable documents include driver’s license, state ID, passport, passport card. You may need to upload the front and back of your documents.
5. Take and submit a video selfie.
   
   Tip: If you're unable to take a video selfie, you’ll have the option to do a quick video call with a trusted referee. For more information, visit Best practices for taking a selfie.
   
6. Enter your Social Security Number if you are creating a new account.
7. Review and confirm your information.
8. Select Allow and continue to share your identity information with your state.

3. Confirm your information

After you’re verified, go back to the government agency’s application and sign in using your ID.me account. If prompted, make sure to allow consent to share your information and to access the state agency’s application. For more information on what you can do after you’ve verified your identity, please contact your state agency.

Troubleshooting verification

Retry verification

If you are unable to complete your verification, select Retry. You may see the option to change verification methods after failing your identity verification. If you have tried all available methods and are unable to verify your identity, contact your state workforce agency directly. 

Documents weren’t approved

If your documents weren’t approved, you will have another opportunity to upload your documents. For tips to ensure your documents are approved, visit My documents were rejected.

Duplicate account

When verifying your identity or community, you may see a “Duplicate Account” message that asks you to sign in with the original email address you verified with. This means you already verified under a different ID.me account. To learn more, visit I have more than one account.

I couldn’t verify using self-service

If you could not verify your identity using self-service, you can finish verification on a video call. For steps to verify, visit Verifying your identity on a video call.