Using the 188体育 ID Check app
How to use the 188体育 ID Check app to prove your identity, including how to download the app and how to scan your face and your photo ID.
The 188体育 ID Check app is for proving your identity when you sign in to a government service with 188体育 One Login. To use the app, you must start on the government service you are trying to access. You鈥檒l be guided to the app when it is time to use it.听
The app will check that:
- your photo ID is real
- you are a real person
- you are the same person as in your photo ID
Find out what to do if you鈥檙e having problems linking the 188体育 ID Check app to 188体育.
Downloading the app聽
If you鈥檙e using an iPhone, it must be running iOS 14 or higher and be either:
- an iPhone 6s or newer if your photo ID is a UK driving licence
- an iPhone 7 or newer if you鈥檙e using any other type of photo ID
For an Android phone (for example, Samsung or Google Pixel), it must be running Android 10 or higher.
You also need one 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 (also called a BRC)
- UK Frontier Worker permit (FWP)
You can use an expired BRP, BRC or FWP up to 18 months after its expiry date.
Make sure you鈥檙e not using private browsing, also known as 鈥榠ncognito鈥�, in your web browser when downloading the app.听
If you need help to download the app to your phone, there is advice on:
If you prefer not to use the app, you can prove your identity in another way.听
Scanning the QR codes
If you鈥檙e using a computer or tablet and you want to use the 188体育 ID Check app to prove your identity, you鈥檒l be shown how to switch to your smartphone.听
You鈥檒l need to scan a QR code to download the app. If you downloaded the app to your smartphone before, you can scan the same QR code to open it.
Linking the 188体育 ID Check app to 188体育
You鈥檒l need to link the 188体育 ID Check app to 188体育 when you open it.
This lets us know you鈥檙e the same person who signed in to a government service with 188体育 One Login earlier.
To link the app:
- Tap 鈥楥ontinue鈥� when you open the app and accept any sign in prompts.
- Tap the 鈥楲ink app to continue鈥� button on the 鈥楲ink this app to 188体育鈥� screen.
If you鈥檙e using a computer or tablet
If you signed in to 188体育 One Login on a computer or tablet before opening the app, you may be asked to go back to your computer or tablet and scan a second QR code. It will be on the same page as the first QR code but further down.
If you鈥檙e using a smartphone
If you signed in to 188体育 One Login on your phone, you may be asked to go back to the browser window where you saw instructions to download and open 188体育 ID Check. There will be a second button further down the page which says 鈥楲ink 188体育 ID Check鈥�. Tap this button to link the app manually.
If you鈥檙e struggling to link the app to 188体育
If the app is still not linking to 188体育, try checking:
- adblock is turned off on your phone
- you鈥檙e using an iPhone 7 or newer and running iOS 14 or higher with Safari, Chrome or Firefox as your default web browser, or an Android phone (for example, Samsung or Google Pixel) running 10 or higher with Chrome or Firefox as your default web browser
- you鈥檙e not using private browsing, also known as 鈥榠ncognito鈥�, in your web browser
If you鈥檙e still unable to link the app, you can return to the website of the service you want to use and look for other ways to prove your identity.
How to scan your photo ID
If you鈥檙e using a UK driving licence
You鈥檒l be asked to take a photo of your driving licence. The photo will be taken automatically, so do not touch your screen while this is happening.
Make sure you:
- hold your driving licence in the palm of one hand and your phone with the other hand - if you鈥檙e having trouble taking a photo of the licence while it鈥檚 in your hand, place it on a dark matte background聽
- move the licence away from bright sources of light to reduce glare
- get your entire licence inside the white frame
If you鈥檙e using a passport
Make sure the passport you鈥檙e using has a biometric chip. To check if your passport has a biometric chip, look for the rectangular biometric chip symbol on the front cover.听
You鈥檒l be asked to:
- Take a photo of your passport.
- Scan the biometric chip in your passport using your phone.
- Scan your face using your phone.
If you鈥檙e using a BRP
If your photo ID is a BRP, you鈥檒l be asked to:
- Take a photo of your BRP.
- Scan the biometric chip in your BRP using your phone.
- Scan your face using your phone.
Scanning the biometric chip in your passport or BRP
The scan can fail because:
- your phone is not touching your photo ID
- your phone has a case or accessory on it - try removing these and scanning your photo ID again
- internet connection has been lost briefly
- the phone was moved while the scan was happening
- another document, other than your passport or residence permit, is being scanned
You could try again and you should see a help animation. Follow the on-screen instructions and, when you鈥檙e ready, select 鈥楽tart scan鈥� or place your phone on top of your passport to start the scan automatically.
Scanning your face
You鈥檒l use your front-facing (selfie) camera to do this. To scan your face with the 188体育 Check ID app, check that:
- your face is completely aligned with the oval on your screen
- you are looking straight ahead
- you keep as still as you can while the scan happens
What to do if the identity check on the app does not work
If you were not able to prove your identity with the first photo ID you鈥檝e chosen, you can try again using another photo ID.听
Go back to the service you were trying to access to start proving your identity again.听
You can also try to prove your identity another way with 188体育 One Login.
if you need more help.
Updates to this page
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You can now use an expired BRP, BRC or FWP to prove your identity with the 188体育 ID Check app, as long as it expired less than 18 months ago.
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Updated to clarify that the 188体育 Check ID app works on phones that have Firefox as their default web browser.
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Updated guidance on linking app to 188体育 service.
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Instructions on how to link the 188体育 ID Check app to 188体育 have been removed as there's now a separate piece of guidance about this.
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Updated the iPhone model and operating system for using the 188体育 Check ID app.
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Update on how to link the app to your browser session, and on the mobile phones and operating systems that work with the app
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Added translation