GOV.UK ID Check

Government Digital Service

About this app

GOV.UK ID Check is a secure way to confirm your identity when you sign in to a government service with GOV.UK One Login. It works by matching your face to your photo ID.

Before you start
You can use any of the following types of photo ID:
• UK photocard driving licence
• UK passport
• non-UK passport with a biometric chip
• UK biometric residence permit (BRP)
• UK biometric residence card (BRC)
• UK Frontier Worker permit (FWP)

You can use an expired BRP, BRC or FWP up to 18 months after its expiry date.

You will also need:
• a well-lit area where you can take a good quality photograph
• an Android phone running Android version 10 or higher

How it works
If your photo ID is a driving licence you will:
• take a photo of your driving licence
• scan your face using your phone

If your photo ID is a passport, BRP, BRC or FWP you will:
• take a photo of your photo ID
• scan the biometric chip in your photo ID using your phone
• scan your face using your phone

What happens next
The app only helps confirm your identity. You will return to the website of the government service you were accessing to view the results of your identity check.

Privacy and security
Your personal information will not be stored in the app, or on the phone when you finish using it. We collect your data securely and delete it when it is no longer needed.

Ratings and reviews

Unsurprisingly poorly designed. Stuck in a never ending loop of clicking a button to link the app to the website, which opens a new window with the same button and so on for ever. Website long winded and unhelpful describing pages to go to rather than linking. Classic piece of government work.

Went through process, it couldn't verify me. Called support who said there was nothing that could be done and I was locked out for 6 months. Eventually found the work-around of deleting account and starting everything again using driving licence rather than passport, which worked.

I think this government ID is used for terrible and corrupt agendas. I typed in my details to hmrc correctly multiple times, which conveniently didn't work. I took one dim lit photo of my passport and it worked perfectly. I think the website fails to work purposely so you have to download the app.

What’s new

We’ve made design improvements to make it easier to use the app.