In a recent article about online passport renewals I mentioned that the first step in this process was to establish an account at MyTravelGov, the State Department’s online access system.
What I should have mentioned at the time is that if you’ve already established a login.gov account to access another U.S. government agency, you could just sign in with those credentials.
In fact, if you first establish your account at MyTravelGov, you are essentially creating your own login.gov account. Which is a good thing.
What's so good about login.gov?
If you’re asking this question, you’re not alone. The U.S. government isn’t particularly adept at promoting this useful single-sign-on platform that lets you access the online self-service portals of many (but not all) government agencies.
Which agencies accept login.gov?
Some of the most noteworthy agencies that use it are:
- The State Department (for online passport renewals).
- The Social Security Administration (to apply for Social Security or request benefit statements).
- The Department of Homeland Security (to apply for Global Entry, TSA Precheck and other trusted traveler programs).
- The Small Business Administration (to apply for SBA loans and grants).
- The Department of Veterans Affairs (to manage VA benefits and care).
- Volunteer.gov (to sign up for volunteer opportunities with the Department of the Interior).
Establishing a login.gov account
It’s relatively easy to establish an account. Have your email address and cell phone handy before you apply.
- Start at https://login.gov/
- Click “Create Account.”
- Enter your email address.
- Check your email for a message from login.gov. Click on the link to confirm your email address.
- Create a strong password of 12 characters or more.
- Enter your cell phone number to request a security code delivered by your choice of text or phone call.
- Enter your security code.
- You’ll be presented with a 16-digit personal key. You can use this key to authenticate your account if you need to change your password and don’t have your phone handy. Write this key down. It can only be used once. If you use it, you can create a new personal key for future use.
- Confirm that you have received your personal key by entering it.
That’s it! Make sure you keep your login information in a safe place. Now, whenever you visit an eligible U.S. government site you can use your login.gov credentials to access its self-service portal.
Several noteworthy agencies that don’t use login.gov.
Unfortunately, login.gov is not universally accepted. Three noteworthy agencies don’t use it.
- Treasury Direct. The U.S. Treasury’s website for purchasing Treasury securities has its own rather arcane process for establishing online access.
- Medicare.gov. At this point in time, you need to create a standalone Medicare login to sign up for Medicare or change your coverage. You won’t be able to sign up until you receive your Medicare card, since you’ll need your Medicare member number to establish your online credentials.
- The Internal Revenue Service. The IRS site doesn’t use login.gov to grant online access. It uses a different platform, known as id.me. This platform, created by a commercial company, provides secure login services to multiple agencies as well. Some agency portals allow users to login using either login.gov or id.me.
Should you establish a login.gov id?
Generally, people don’t create their login.gov account until they want to take a specific action with a U.S. government agency.
The benefit of creating your login.gov account before you need to use it for a specific purpose is that once established, you can log on to any affiliated U.S. government site and immediately do what you need to do. Anything that can save you time when dealing with the government is time well spent.
This article was authored by Chris Gullotti and Jeffrey Briskin. Chris is a financial advisor and Partner with Canby Financial Advisors, a SEC-registered investment adviser. SEC registration does not constitute an endorsement by the SEC nor a statement about any skill or training. Chris can be reached at 508.598.1082 or cgullotti@canbyfinancial.com. Jeffrey Briskin is Director of Marketing at Canby Financial Advisors.
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