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.
- From:
- Government Digital Service
- Published
- 26 October 2023
- Last updated
-
2228NovemberJanuary20242026 — See all updates
Contents
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
WeYou usemust Experian,answer athe credit reference agency, to ask you security questions thatcorrectly only you should know the answers to. This helps to protectprove youyour againstidentity. identity theft.
If you’ve made a mistake in your answers you cannot usetry 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 from 2 different sources, depending on what the questions are about.
Questions about financial information
We check your answers to questions about things like your mobile phone contract, mortgages, loans or bank accounts 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.
Questions about Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
We check your answers against information held by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). If you think the information about your PIP could be incorrect, you can contact DWP.
If you have different names on different identity documents
TheYou detailscan onprove theyour photoidentity IDusing youan useidentity todocument provewith any of your identitynames on it, but the name on the document must match the details that Experian or DWP 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
Sign up for emails or print this page
Update history
2026-01-28 11:02
Added guidance about what to do if you think a correct answer about your Personal Independent Payment has not been accepted.
2024-11-22 08:38
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.
2023-10-26 09:05
Added translation