This article is about verification requests that send you to a form asking for your (1) government-issued ID card or passport, and (2) a document that verifies your residency.

Identity Review Process

We routinely ask freelancers and clients to verify their identities to help keep Upwork a safe place for you to do business. You will need to scan two documents in order to verify your identity. Don't crop, rotate, touch up, adjust colors, or alter the images in any way.

We will review your uploaded items to verify your identity and let you know when we are done. This usually takes 48 hours. Keep in mind, we may ask you to submit additional documents or a short video. In some cases, it may also be necessary to contact you for a live video call or to verify your phone number.

Documents Required

Your current, valid government-issued photo ID

• This ID must include your picture, signature, name, date of birth, and address. An exception is passports, which don't need your address.
• Acceptable documents include: passport, national ID card (NIC/CNIC), driver's license, NBI Clearance (the Philippines only), tribal documents, tax ID, voter ID, postal ID, or any other valid government-issued photo ID that meets these criteria.
• For refugees and asylum seekers, we may accept the following documents:
  - UNHCR-issued document
  - Asylum Seeker Temporary Visa
  - Asylum Seeker Certificate
• Even when issued by a government agency, we can't accept documents such as student IDs, employee IDs, and library cards.
• Don't crop, rotate, touch up, adjust colors, or alter the images in any way.

A recent billing statement

• Acceptable documents include: bank statements, credit card statements, utility bills, or any other monthly bill that meets the name, address, and date criteria above.
• The statement must include your name and address, as well as the utility/bank address.
  The dates on your scanned statement must be within six months of the date you upload them.
• Your name on the statement must match both your verified name on Upwork and your government ID. Your account may be a joint account, but your name must be on the account and statement.
• Your address must match the location information you entered on Upwork.
• Don't crop, rotate, touch up, adjust colors, or alter the images in any way.

Image Guidelines

Requirements for ID & statement images

• Do not edit the image in any way.
• We must be able to clearly see the front of your ID. If the expiration date is on the back of your photo ID, then you must also send us a scan of the back of the card
• Your name and address, and the utility company or bank address information, must be visible on the billing statement you submit.
• All four corners of your ID/statement need to be visible in the image.
• Images should be in color and at least 200 dpi.
• Images should be a PNG, JPEG, PDF, or BMP file.

Your Upwork profile must match your verification information

• Upwork profile picture and ID picture must both be of you (they don’t need to be the same photo).
• Upwork profile address must match your address as shown on your ID and statement.

Your Upwork verified name must match the name on your ID.

Location and ID mismatches

Generally, your profile location should match your physical location. But we understand that sometimes, you may be residing in one country with an ID from another country. If this is the case, we’ll introduce a third step to verify your location.

If your profile location and your ID don’t match, we’ll automatically add another step to verify your location. This helps us prevent scams.

You can change your profile country to match your ID or upload a supplemental document that confirms you live in the country shown on your profile.

Verifying your location is a required step to earn your Verified Badge if your account has a country mismatch. Our support teams will be in contact if additional information is needed.