Guidance

Proving your identity with GOV.UK One Login by answering security questions

What to do if you're having problems proving your identity with GOV.UK One Login using security questions.

You can currently only prove your identity with GOV.UK One Login if you have a photo ID. You can find out more about the different ways to prove your identity with GOV.UK One Login and which photo IDs you can use.

If you do not have a photo ID, the service you’re trying to use might offer a way to prove your identity without using GOV.UK One Login. Go back to the service you want to use to find out more.

If you made a mistake in answering a security question

We use Experian, a credit reference agency, to ask you security questions that only you should know the answers to. This helps to protect you against identity theft.

If you’ve made a mistake in your answers you cannot use this method again to prove your identity. This is to help protect you and make sure we can keep your details safe.

Go back to the service you want to use to find out if you can try another way to prove your identity. 

If you think any of the information in your credit file is incorrect, you could ask for a copy of your credit file to check for any errors. You can do this by contacting any credit reference agency.

If you have different names on different identity documents

The details on the photo ID you use to prove your identity must match the details that Experian keeps about you. This includes any middle names or initials. You cannot currently prove your identity with GOV.UK One Login if the names do not match exactly.

Published 26 October 2023