ID.me is our federally-certified technology partner for secure digital identity verification. ID.me helps make sure you’re you – and not someone pretending to be you – when you request access to your benefits.

ID.me uses bank-grade security infrastructure and federally-compliant information protection practices to safeguard your data.

ID.me never shares user data with third parties unless they receive explicit consent from the user to do so – on a case by case basis – after the user has been appropriately authenticated. In fact, ID.me requires your explicit permission before they send your information to our agency.

No. When ID.me verifies information about your credit history for identity verification there is no impact on your credit score and does not hurt your credit report in any way.

ID.me’s verification process requires collecting sensitive pieces of information, like your Social Security number (SSN). ID.me needs this information in order to uniquely identify you, a critical step to prevent impersonation and fraud.

Users will be able to verify through a self-serve document upload verification process, either biometric or non-biometric. Or, if these do not work, they can verify by speaking with a video chat agent.

There are several reasons why an identity verification attempt may be unsuccessful. One potential cause is that the information provided to ID.me does not match the authoritative sources they use for identity verification. Alternatively, an attempt may be unsuccessful if a user entered incorrect information or if the identity documents provided do not meet federal digital identity protection guidelines. If your first three verification attempts are unsuccessful, click on the “Verify identity on a video call” button to join a video call with an ID.me employee that is trained and certified to verify your identity.

If your self-service identity verification attempt was unsuccessful, you can verify your identity on a recorded video call with a Trusted Referee instead. This process consists of a short video call with a trained ID.me employee where you present acceptable documentation to verify your identity.

You will need either two primary IDs or one primary and two secondary IDs. Please review this list of acceptable documents. Be sure to have these physical documents on hand before joining the video call.

When taking a picture of your document, make sure all four corners are visible, turn off your flash to reduce glare, place your document on a dark surface, and match the orientation to the document (e.g., use landscape for driver’s licenses). If you’re still experiencing difficulties, Locate and click the “Verify identity on a video call” button to join a video call with a Trusted Referee.

Depending on the number of claimants attempting to verify their identity, the Virtual In-Person wait time can vary; however, once you join the video call session with an ID.me Trusted Referee, the verification process should take 15 minutes or less.

ID.me will notify the North Carolina Division of Employment Security (DES) that your identity has been verified, and you will receive an email from DES with information about accessing your account for unemployment benefits.  

​Please allow up to 48 hours for this process to be completed. If you are still having trouble accessing your DES account after 48 hours has passed, you may contact the DES Customer Call Center at 888-737-0259.