Earlier this year we launched the Identity Verified badge which we expanded to all earning freelancers. We have a professional marketplace of freelancers and this badge is designed to instill confidence in clients that freelancers here on Upwork are who they say they are. To date, more than 44,000 freelancers have received their ID Verified badge, helping them to build trust with clients.
As part of our commitment to maintaining a professional online global freelance marketplace that is safe and fraud-free, we’re requiring every earning freelancer on Upwork to verify their identity to get the badge. This will be rolled out in a phased approach to enable a seamless experience for our freelancers. We will begin requiring the Identity Verified badge for newly earning freelancers in July and start rolling out to existing freelancers starting in August.
We’re letting freelancers know now, to give them ample time to review the process and obtain the necessary documents. Those who already have the option to be verified don’t have to wait to complete their verification. They can go ahead and get the badge now by going to User Settings > Identity Verification.
Identity Verification process:
Freelancers receive the Identity Verification badge after completing a two-part verification process. We’ve improved the process so that freelancers are generally able to complete their verification within 10 minutes, though in some cases it can take up to 1-2 days. To get the badge, eligible freelancers have to successfully pass two stages:
Depending on the freelancers’ location and what country they’re from, we ask for the following types of government ID:
- Driver’s license
- Passport, green card, etc.
- National identity card
Access to your information is reserved exclusively for Upwork agents who have passed strict background checks and our third party vendor’s automated checks. Clients can see that you have undergone the verification process from the badge only.
What to expect
Freelancers will be notified via email and shown an in-product message when they’re required to complete their identity verification. At that time they will have seven days to complete the process, after which they cannot submit proposals and withdraw earnings until they’ve verified. This process will not affect active contracts.
Verifying identities is just one part of our efforts to maintain trust within our community. As the landscape evolves, we adapt our methods to stay one step ahead. This also means that we may periodically ask freelancers to reverify their identity to ensure the validity of their accounts.
We appreciate all the feedback and issues that have been shared in the forums so that we can quickly improve and implement this process. If you have any questions, please share here!