Verifying Your Account with an ID
To upload a copy of your ID using your computer:
- Take your ID and cover up anything we don't need to see, like your address or Social Security number.
- Scan or take a close-up photo of your ID in a well-lit room.
- Save the photo or scan to your computer.
- Follow the on-screen instructions for uploading your ID.
If you're not sure what type of IDs Facebook can use to confirm your identity, please review our ID list.
There are two reasons why you may be asked to send a scan or photo of an ID to Facebook:
- To confirm that the account you're trying to access belongs to you: Your security is important to us. We ask for an ID so that we don't let anyone into your account except for you.
- To confirm your name: We ask everyone on Facebook to use the name they go by in everyday life. This helps keep you and our community safe from impersonation, scams, and phishing.
After you send us a photo or scan of your ID, we'll delete it from our servers.
Learn what kinds of ID we accept or learn how to upload your ID to Facebook.
If you need to confirm your name on Facebook, or if you've lost access to your account, you may be asked to send us a copy of something with your name on it. You have several different options for this, including photo IDs that are issued by the government, IDs from non-government organizations, official certificates or licenses that include your name or other physical items like a magazine subscription or a piece of mail.
Any time you send us something that confirms your name or identity, please cover up any personal information we don't need to see (ex: credit card number, Social Security number). Also keep in mind that we encrypt everyone's connection to Facebook by default and delete anything that you've sent to us after we've confirmed your name or identity.
Learn more about how Facebook protects the privacy and security of your information when you submit an ID.
Group One
You can send us one of the items from group one to confirm your name or get back into your account. Anything that you send us should contain either your name and date of birth or your name and photo.
- Birth certificate
- Driver's license
- Passport
- Marriage certificate
- Official name change paperwork
- Personal or vehicle insurance card
- Non-driver's government ID (ex: disability, SNAP card, national ID card, pension card)
- Green card, residence permit or immigration papers
- Tribal identification or status card
- Voter ID card
- Family certificate
- Visa
- National age card
- Immigration registration card
- Tax identification card
Group Two
If you don't have anything from group one, you can send us two different items from group two. The name on the items that you send us should be the same name that you want to show on your profile.
If you've lost access to your account, you may be asked to provide something that also shows a photo or date of birth that matches the details on your Facebook account. This extra precaution is so that we can make sure that the only one with access to your account is you.
- Bank statement
- Transit card
- Check
- Credit card
- Employment verification
- Library card
- Magazine subscription stub
- Membership ID (ex: pension card, union membership, work ID, professional ID)
- Paycheck stub
- Permit
- School ID card
- School record
- Social Security card
- Utility bill
- Yearbook photo (actual scan or photograph of the page in your yearbook)
- Company loyalty card
- Contract
- Family registry
- Diploma
- Religious documents
- Certificate of registration for accreditation or professional
- Professional license card
- Polling card
- Address proof card
- Social welfare card
After you send us a copy of your ID, it'll be stored securely while we resolve your issue. We also delete the copy of your ID after 30 days.
Please keep in mind that Facebook uses IDs to confirm that an account belongs to you, and that you're using the name you go by in everyday life on that account. We encourage everyone who sends us an ID to cover up any other information that we don't need to see. The only parts of your ID that we need to see are your name, photo and date of birth.
Learn more about what happens when you send us something from our ID list, and how Facebook protects the privacy and security of your information.
If you're having trouble uploading or posting photos, try these troubleshooting tips:
- Make sure that you have the latest version of Adobe Flash. Most of the time, this will fix any issues with adding photos to Facebook. To get the latest version of Adobe Flash:
- Remove outdated versions of Adobe Flash that might be on your computer.
- Download the latest version of Adobe Flash.
- Quit all web browsers before you begin installing.
- If you're using adblocking software, turn it off or make sure that Facebook is included as an exception.
- Try uploading the original photo instead of an edited version. Editing photos (example: with iPhoto or Photoshop) before uploading them may cause the upload to fail.
- Check the photo format. Try only uploading JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF or TIFF files. If you're uploading a PNG file, it's best to keep the file size below 1 MB. PNG files larger than 1 MB may appear pixelated.
- Check the size of the photo. We recommend uploading photos under 15 MB.
- Make sure you're using the latest version of your browser.
- Check your Support Inbox. If you've been warned for posting abusive content, you may be temporarily blocked from uploading photos.
If you still can't upload photos, report a problem.
