To help keep Upwork a secure and trusted place for everyone, we may ask you to verify your identity at times. If we ask you to verify, you may not be able to post a job, message, or work with freelancers until you complete the requested verification.
We’ll send you an email asking you to verify if you need to do so. We’ll also show you a banner on every page when you log into your Upwork account.
Verify your identity
To complete the verification process in order to start working with freelancers, you’ll need to take these steps:
- Log into your Upwork account, go to Settings, then Identity Verification, or select the link in the banner that we will display on your Upwork account.
- Provide a valid government-issued ID
- Complete location verification if needed
- Send a selfie or complete a video call to confirm your identity (we’ll let you know if you need to complete a video call)
If you have any questions, you can respond to the email we sent asking you to verify or select Get Support from any Help page.
Important note about your privacy:
Upwork takes the protection of your personal information seriously. We do not sell any of the identity verification information you share with us, and we process and retain your information according to Upwork’s Privacy Policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
We are working to keep Upwork secure and safe for everyone, and that includes making sure that people are who they say they are.
We use a third-party vendor to verify your government ID. Then we’ll ask you to submit a selfie or meet with you in a video call. We may also ask for additional confirmation about your location if needed.
Your account will be placed on hold, and you may not be able to post a job, message, or work with freelancers.
If you think that this was an error, you can appeal. Learn more about the appeal process.
Thank you for asking. No, you will not be able to work with freelancers or send messages until after the identity verification process is complete.
We know you’re busy, so we try to make it quick. For most, the process takes a few minutes. In some cases, we may need more time to review the submitted information — 1 to 3 days — but rest assured we will work as fast as we can.
No, at this time we are not displaying verification badges on client accounts. That may be something we consider doing in the future.
Upwork takes the protection of your personal information seriously. We do not sell any of the identity verification information you share with us, and we process and retain your information according to Upwork’s Privacy Policy.
Thanks for reaching out. Any resident of the European Union can request that we delete their information under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Once you request this, Upwork has 30 days to respond to your request. Learn how to make a GDPR request to Upwork here.