Guidance

Ofsted services: multi-factor authentication for Government Gateway

Set up additional security features on your Government Gateway account

• From: Ofsted
• Published: 7 July 2020

Applies to England

You have the option of setting up a further level of security in your Government Gateway account for Ofsted services.

If you do set this up, you will receive a code when you want to:

• sign into Government Gateway
• reset your Government Gateway password
• recover your Government Gateway user ID if you forget it

If you lose your user ID or password, you will find it easier to recover or reset them with multi-factor authentication set up.

How to set up multi-factor authentication

You will need to:

1. Create a Government Gateway account if you do not have one, or sign into your existing account.
2. At the top right, select ‘Manage profile’.
3. Scroll down to ‘Your security preferences’.
4. Select ‘Add’.

5. Select whether you want to receive access codes by text message, voice call or through an app:

   • text message, which you will need a mobile phone number for
   • voice call, which you will need a phone number for
   • through an app, which you will need a smartphone or tablet for
6. Follow the instructions for the method you chose.

Published 7 July 2020