Verify your identity

In order to publish your app to Google Play, you may be required to verify your identity by submitting a valid form of photo identification and personal information during the Google Play Console account sign-up process. Identity verification may take approximately 3 business days.

Requirements at sign-up

Verify your identity

After account creation, you must upload a valid government-issued photo identification (issued from the sign-up country) and proof of address document to be processed by Google. For more information on acceptable documents for your country/region, see Google Play Developer Verification: Required documents by country and region.


The form of photo identification you choose should exactly match the personal information you enter during the verification process.

Tips for taking a clear picture

  • Capture the entire document in the photo. It should be readable and in focus. Do not crop the image - all four corners of the document should be contained within the image.

  • Keep your image free of reflections and glare. Turn off the flash.

  • Incomplete documents or dark or blurry photos won't be accepted.

  • You'll be allowed a limited number of verification attempts.

  • Uploading files other than an image of your ID may result in account suspension.

Confirm your details

Confirm that your name, home address, and other details match the photo ID you've uploaded. Mismatched photo IDs will fail verification, require resubmission, and delay access to app publishing features.

Verification process

After you create your account, you can track the status of your identity verification from the All applications page. When the verification process is complete, an email is sent to the account owner.

Manage a failed verification

Your identity verification may fail due to one of the following reasons:

  • The submitted document is not a document type we accept. 
  • The name of the individual (for Individuals) or of the authorized representative (for Organizations) entered into the form does not match exactly the name on the submitted government-issued photo ID. 
  • The name of the organization entered does not match exactly the name on the submitted proof of organization document. 
  • The submitted image only includes the front or back side of the document only, but the other side of the document is also required. 
  • The payments profile account type is set to "Organization," but it seems your developer account is an individual (or vice versa).
  • The submitted picture of the ID is black and white.
  • The image uploaded does not meet the requirements to process the request (for example, blurry, low quality, low resolution, unreadable/unclear, damaged, not all information visible).

Mostly applies to individual IDs, verification may fail due to one of the following reasons:

  • The submitted document was issued by a country which is different from the payments profile country. 
  • The submitted document is expired. 
  • The document images of photocopies or screenshots are not accepted. Mostly applies to IDs.
  • Document is partially covered, that the image does not show the full document, flashlight is covering important information, thumb is covering important information, etc.
  • Reflection, glare or flashlight is covering important information on the document.

You can resubmit your valid form of photo identification from the banner at the top of the app list page by selecting Verify ID. If you require additional support, contact us

Play Console feature access

During the identity verification process, you can still access many features on the Play Console that will help you get your app ready to publish. However, you will not be able to publish an app until your identity is verified. 

Frequently asked questions

Why is Google requiring me to provide a valid form of photo identification?

We do this to confirm it's really you attempting to publish the app. We also do this to protect you and Google Play users from fraud.

I'm a user on a developer account, but not the owner. How does this affect me?

Users of a developer account will be limited to the same set of features as the account owner, provided they have been given permission to access those features. For example, if you have access to manage production releases, you will be unable to publish a release until the account owner's identity has been verified. 

My identity verification failed, can I get a refund for the $25 sign-up fee?

You can request a full refund for the registration fee by contacting our support team

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