{"title":"How to Get an IRS Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN)","canonicalUrl":"https://www.showmestepbystep.com/taxes/how-to-get-an-irs-identity-protection-pin","category":{"slug":"taxes","name":"Taxes"},"creator":{"name":"Precision Accounting Intl. LLC","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPB2_XDDen5BiL0ye_kvoeQ","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_mrRXkxwTg"},"tldr":"Get an IRS Identity Protection PIN in about 15 minutes. Create an ID.me account, verify your identity, enroll. A free code that blocks tax fraud.","totalDurationSeconds":387,"difficulty":"easy","tools":[],"materials":[],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Step 1: Start at IRS.gov and Choose ID.me","text":"Go to IRS.gov, click sign in, and choose to sign in to your individual account. You will land on a page offering two paths: sign in with an existing ID.me account, or create a new one.ID.me is the identity verification service the IRS uses. You are not signing up for anything extra, and one ID.me account works across every IRS online service."},{"number":2,"title":"Step 2: Create the ID.me Account","text":"Enter an email address you can actually get into, choose a password, confirm it and tick the terms box.Use a personal email rather than a work one. You will need access to this account every January for the rest of your filing life, and work email disappears when jobs do."},{"number":3,"title":"Step 3: Confirm Your Email","text":"ID.me sends a confirmation email. Either click the button in it or copy the six-digit code back into this page.It can take up to fifteen minutes to arrive. Check spam before requesting another."},{"number":4,"title":"Step 4: Set Up Multi-Factor Authentication","text":"Pick how you want to receive a sign-in code. Text message or phone call is the fastest, and either is fine.Enter your mobile number, then type in the six-digit code that arrives."},{"number":5,"title":"Step 5: Save the Recovery Code","text":"ID.me offers you a recovery code. Generate it and put it somewhere safe.This is the thing that gets you back in if you lose your phone. Without it, and without the phone, you are back to full identity verification."},{"number":6,"title":"Step 6: Choose Self-Service Verification","text":"Two ways to verify: self-service, which needs a photo ID and a selfie and takes five to ten minutes, or a video chat agent, which needs the same documents plus a recorded call and takes ten to fifteen.Self-service is faster and it is the route shown here. The video chat option exists for people who would rather not submit biometric data, and it collects no selfie."},{"number":7,"title":"Step 7: Pick Your Document","text":"Choose which government photo ID you are using. Driver's licence, state ID, passport or passport card all work.Then choose whether to photograph it with your phone or upload an existing image."},{"number":8,"title":"Step 8: Photograph Your ID, Front and Back","text":"ID.me texts a link to your phone. Open it there and photograph both sides.Four things it checks, and all four cause rejections:The image is clear and not blurry, including the barcodeEvery piece of information is visible, including the expiry dateThe document is not photographed at an angleThe ID is valid and unexpiredLay it flat on a dark surface, in good light, and shoot straight down."},{"number":9,"title":"Step 9: Take the Video Selfie","text":"Grant camera permission, then start the face scan. It uses liveness detection, so it will ask you to move closer while a series of coloured lights flashes.Take your glasses off. Reflections are a common failure."},{"number":10,"title":"Step 10: Enter Your Social Security Number","text":"Once the selfie matches your ID photo, enter your SSN.It is used to confirm your identity against IRS records. This is not a credit check and it does not affect your credit score."},{"number":11,"title":"Step 11: Authorize the IRS to Receive Your Details","text":"ID.me lists exactly what it will hand to the IRS: name, email, birth date, address, SSN, phone. Read it, then click Allow.This is the handoff. ID.me verified you, and this is you permitting it to tell the IRS so. You can revoke the access later in ID.me account settings."},{"number":12,"title":"Step 12: Click Enroll in IP PIN","text":"From inside your account, find and click Enroll in IP PIN.Everything up to here was account creation. This is the first step that is actually about the PIN, which is why the process feels longer than it is."},{"number":13,"title":"Step 13: Confirm Enrollment and Save the Number","text":"You get two choices. Stay enrolled for future years generates a new PIN automatically every year. Current year only does it once.Take the continuous option. Then click Enroll now, and your PIN appears immediately.Print the page or write the number down and keep it with your tax records. Give it to your tax preparer when you file, and to nobody else."}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-08-30T01:16:13.973Z","published":"2026-08-30T01:15:52.112Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}