ID.me verification requiring video interview with 'trusted referee' - is this normal?

yep thats normal for some ppl. happened to me too when i did mine last month. system couldnt match my selfie to my drivers license photo (probably cuz my license pic is like 7 yrs old lol). the video call is their extra security step when the automated system cant verify u 100%

This is completely normal. ID.me has two verification paths: 1) The automated path - where your selfie and ID match perfectly and you're verified immediately 2) The trusted referee path - where there's any issue with your documentation or facial match, and you need a video call Common reasons for needing the referee include: - Significant appearance changes since ID photo was taken - Poor quality photos or lighting during selfie capture - ID cards with damage or wear - System technical issues The video call is actually a good security feature as it prevents fraudulent claims. Your DEO account should update within 24-48 hours showing you're verified through ID.me.

THEY DID THIS TO ME TOO!!! And then the wait time was like 3 HOURS before I could talk to a referee!!! Ridiculous system. Why make us jump through all these hoops just to get our benefits??? The whole thing is designed to frustrate people into giving up.

I work in IT security and can explain why this happens. ID.me uses facial recognition technology to match your selfie with your ID photo. When the confidence score falls below a certain threshold (too many differences between images), it routes you to manual verification with a trusted referee. This is actually a good thing - it means their security is working properly rather than automatically rejecting you. Common triggers include: - Significant weight loss/gain - Different hairstyle/color - Facial hair changes - Aging (if ID is several years old) - Different glasses - Poor lighting during selfie capture After your video verification, your ID.me status should link to your DEO account within 48 hours. If it doesn't update by then, contact DEO directly.

Update: My DEO account is now showing that I'm verified! It took about 36 hours after the video call. For anyone else going through this process, make sure you have good lighting for the video call and have your ID ready. The referee was actually really nice and the call only took about 5 minutes once I finally got connected. Thanks everyone for confirming this is normal!

Just went through this exact same thing last week! The video call requirement caught me off guard too - I was expecting it to be completely automated. My wait time was about 90 minutes which was frustrating, but the actual call with the referee was pretty straightforward. They just verified my identity documents and asked a few basic questions to confirm I was really me. The whole video portion took maybe 10 minutes once I got connected. My verification status updated the next day and I was able to access my DEO account without any issues after that. Definitely normal from what I can tell!

This happened to me about 2 months ago and I was so confused at first! I thought I had messed something up during the verification process. The video call requirement seems to be pretty random - some people get verified instantly while others like us have to do the extra step. My wait time was around 2 hours which was annoying, but the referee was professional and made the process quick once we got connected. One tip: make sure you're in a quiet room with good lighting and have your physical ID ready to show on camera. The whole video portion only took about 7-8 minutes for me. My DEO account showed as verified the following morning. It's definitely a legitimate part of their security process, not a scam or anything to worry about!

I just completed this same process yesterday! The video call requirement definitely surprised me too - I was expecting everything to be automated. My wait time was about 45 minutes which wasn't too bad compared to some of the horror stories I've heard. The referee was very professional and the actual call only lasted maybe 6-7 minutes. They had me show my ID from different angles and asked a couple basic verification questions. One thing that helped was making sure I had good wifi connection and was in a well-lit room. My DEO account updated to show verified status this morning, so the whole process worked smoothly once I got through the initial surprise of needing to talk to someone! For anyone still waiting to do theirs - it's really not as scary as it seems at first.

I went through this same process about 3 weeks ago and had the exact same reaction! I was totally caught off guard when it suddenly said I needed a video interview - I thought I had messed something up. My wait time ended up being around 75 minutes which felt like forever, but the actual video call was surprisingly quick and painless. The referee was really friendly and just had me show my ID from a couple different angles and verify some basic info like my address. The whole video portion took maybe 8-10 minutes once I got connected. My DEO account showed as verified about 24 hours later. It's definitely a normal part of their security process - seems like a decent chunk of people get routed to the video verification even when everything looks fine on their end.

I just finished my ID.me verification this morning and had the exact same experience! The video call requirement totally blindsided me - I was expecting it to be completely automated like most online verifications. My wait time was about 2 hours which was pretty brutal, but I used the time to get organized and make sure I had good lighting set up. The actual video call with the referee was much less intimidating than I expected - they were very professional and walked me through each step. They had me show my driver's license from different angles and asked me to verify my address and last 4 of SSN. The whole video portion took maybe 5-6 minutes once connected. Based on what others are saying, it sounds like this is just their standard security protocol when the automated system can't get a high enough confidence match. My verification status is still showing as pending, but hopefully it'll update within the next day or two like everyone else's did!

I just went through this exact same thing last week! I was so confused when it suddenly switched to requiring a video call - I thought for sure I had done something wrong during the upload process. My wait time ended up being about 2.5 hours which was absolutely brutal, but I stuck it out since I didn't want to start over. The referee was actually really nice though and made the whole thing feel very routine. They had me hold up my ID at different angles, verify my address, and asked a couple other basic questions to confirm my identity. The actual video portion only took about 8-9 minutes once I finally got connected. What really helped was making sure I was in a room with good natural light and had my physical ID easily accessible. My DEO account updated to show verified status about 30 hours later. It's definitely frustrating that they don't warn you upfront that this might be required, but it seems like it's just part of their normal security process when the automated matching doesn't work perfectly. Hang in there - once you get through the video call part, everything should update pretty quickly!

I had this same experience about a month ago! The video call requirement caught me completely off guard too - I was sitting there in my pajamas thinking it would just be a quick upload process. Had to scramble to make myself presentable and find good lighting. My wait was around 90 minutes which felt like forever, but the referee was super professional and patient. They walked me through showing my ID from multiple angles and asked standard verification questions like confirming my address and DOB. The whole video portion was maybe 7-8 minutes once connected. My account showed verified within about 36 hours after that. It's definitely their standard process when the facial recognition can't get a high enough confidence match - nothing you did wrong! Just wish they'd give people a heads up that this might be required so we can be better prepared.

I went through this exact same process about 6 weeks ago and had the same reaction! I was totally unprepared for the video call requirement - thought I had somehow messed up the automated verification. My wait time was around 2 hours which was pretty frustrating, but I used that time to find better lighting and make sure my internet connection was stable. The referee was really professional and made the whole thing feel very routine. They had me show my driver's license from different angles, verify my address and last 4 digits of my SSN, and asked me to state my full name and date of birth. The actual video call only took about 6-7 minutes once I got connected. My DEO account updated to verified status about 28 hours later and I've had no issues since then. It's definitely a normal part of their security process - seems like roughly 30-40% of people get routed to the video verification step even when everything looks fine on their end. Don't stress about it too much, just make sure you have good lighting and your physical ID ready when you do the call!