GOV.UK ID Check

Government Digital Service

About this app

Use GOV.UK ID Check to prove your identity when you:
• access some HMRC services with Government Gateway
• need to change how you get security codes to sign in to your 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 driving licence if it expired in the last 90 days and it was issued by DVLA.

You can use an expired BRP, BRC or FWP up to 24 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

The system is a bit lacking in help. You easily could for example tell the user to simply scan the second QR code on their computer screen - which would then automatically start this app. (Just starting this app seems to lead to failure every time!)

if you fail to create an ID after the scan with the message "we were not able to confirm your identity!" and restart, it just keeps going back to the "we were not able to confirm your identity!" screen in a loop. even if you refresh the site and uninstall and reinstall the app.

I have had a dreadful experience with this app to open a personal tax account. There is a system fault as it does not recognise letters from other alphabets. Hence, I am unable to get pass the passport check because one letter changes into something else when the passport is scanned. I have called hmrc helpline several times but no one can help. The system claims that I have entered incorrect information when I have not. I remain unable to use any of the digital government apps.

What’s new

We’ve made technical updates to the document sharing part of the journey.