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 prove your identity with GOV.UK One Login by answering security questions if you have photo ID or a current account with a UK bank or building society. 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 photo ID or a UK current account, 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

You must answer the security questions correctly to prove your identity. If you’ve made a mistake in your answers you cannot try this method again to prove your identity. This is to help protect you against identity theft and fraud, 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 believe you’ve answered the questions correctly but could not prove your identity

We check the answers you give against information held by Experian, a credit reference agency. This is based on information in your credit file.

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

You can prove your identity using an identity document with any of your names on it, but the name on the document 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.

Contact GOV.UK One Login if you need more help.

Updates to this page

Published 26 October 2023
Last updated 22 November 2024 show all updates
  1. Added details about a new way to prove your identity with GOV.UK One Login. You can prove your identity with information about your bank or building society account as well as with photo ID.

  2. Added translation

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