ESD login nightmare - account says 'associated with another email' despite updates

Ugh, the same thing happened to me back in January! The system kept saying my account was linked to an old email I hadn't used in years. Super frustrating! What finally worked was clearing ALL my browser cookies and cache, then using an incognito window. For some reason ESD's website gets stuck on old information. Try that before pulling your hair out completely!

This is actually a known issue with their SecureAccess Washington (SAW) integration. When you update your email in one system, it doesn't always sync properly with the other. Here's what you need to do: 1. Go to secure.esd.wa.gov (NOT through the SAW portal) 2. Click on "Forgot Username" (even though you know it) 3. Enter your NEW email address 4. When you get the recovery email, follow those links instead of your usual login method 5. Once you're in, go to Account Settings and verify both email fields match This forces the system to recognize the email change across both platforms. Let me know if that works!

i had the EXACT same problem last month!! the esd website is TRASH!! i tried what ur doing like 12 times and gave up. ended up having to call them which took FOREVER but they fixed it on their end. something about account duplication i guess?? good luck lol

Im having this EXACT same problem right now, tried calling ESD over 30 times this week with no luck. Always get the "high call volume" message and then it hangs up on me! Has anyone successfully gotten through on the phone? Im desperate at this point.

This is a common issue that happens when there are simultaneous logins to both the ESD and SAW systems with different credentials. The technical reason is that ESD's system maintains a separate authentication database that should sync with SAW, but the sync process can fail. If the method suggested by the other commenter doesn't work, you'll need to: 1. Contact the SAW help desk directly at 855-682-0785 2. Specifically ask them to check for "orphaned accounts" under both email addresses 3. Request a full profile reconciliation They need to run a specific database query to fix this issue. Make sure to note that you've already tried updating your profile through the standard methods. In the meantime, you can still start a claim by phone at 800-318-6022, though wait times are significant. They can manually input your initial claim while your online access is being fixed.

has anyone else noticed that this seems to happen a lot more after they "upgraded" their system last year?? i never had these problems before but now every time i try to do anything with ESD its some new technical error. typical government waste of taxpayer money if you ask me. they probably spent millions on a system that works WORSE than the old one.

have u tried using a diffrent browser? sometimes internet explorer works better for goverment sites (weird i kno). my husbands esd account only works on his phone not on our computer for some reason.

Update on this issue: ESD just published a technical bulletin about this exact problem. They're aware of the email association errors happening after their March 2025 security update. They recommend waiting 24 hours between email updates to allow their system to fully process changes. For those still struggling, they've also added a specific option in their phone tree for this issue - when you call the main number, press 2, then 4, then 1 for "account association errors" which should connect you to specialized technical support. Glad to hear the OP got their issue resolved using the method I suggested!