Facebook account locked, confirm your identity

A "Facebook account locked" message is a security step, not a ban. Meta's help page on how to unlock your Facebook account says that when it sees unusual activity, it might lock the account to protect it, and that it may ask you to confirm your identity before you can get back in. The unlock steps are free and self-service, and when you still control your email and phone they are usually straightforward. Problems start when the code goes to an email or phone you no longer have, or when an ID upload keeps getting rejected.

This guide explains why accounts get locked, what each identity check asks for, how to work through the "Confirm your identity" steps, and what to do when one of them fails.

Why Facebook locks accounts (suspicious activity, login from new place)

Meta's unlock article is short on detail about triggers. It says only that if Meta sees unusual activity on your account, it might lock it for security. You will know it happened if you get an email from Facebook saying your account was locked, or if you log in and see a message saying so.

Meta's separate article on confirming your identity adds that it asks for a security check "if we think your account's security might have been affected." In practice, that usually lines up with the signs Meta lists in its guide to recovering a hacked account: login alerts you did not trigger, a device or location you do not recognise under Where you're logged in, a changed password or contact detail, or posts and messages you did not write.

A lock can also hit an account where nothing bad happened: logging in while travelling, from a new phone or through a VPN can look unusual to an automated system. Meta does not publish its exact signals, so treat any list of "triggers" you find online as a guess.

The identity checks: code, selfie video, ID upload

Meta can ask for one or more of these, depending on the account and what its systems saw.

A confirmation code. Sent to an email address or phone number on the account. This is the most common check and the quickest one to pass if you still control those contact details.

Your details. Meta's identity article says you may be asked for your date of birth, and that it means the date you gave when you signed up, not necessarily your real one if they differ. If you picked a security question you cannot answer, Meta says you may be able to go back and choose a different question, or try again later.

A video selfie. Meta has a help article on video selfie verification, but when we checked it, the article showed a notice that the feature isn't currently available in our country. Whether you are offered a video selfie depends on where you are; if you see it, follow the on-screen prompts in good light with your face fully in frame.

An ID upload. Meta's page on why Facebook may ask you to upload an ID says one reason is to confirm that the account you are trying to access belongs to you. The types of IDs Facebook accepts are covered in the ID section below.

For a plain-language summary of how these checks work across Meta's apps, see our glossary entry on identity verification.

Step by step through 'Confirm your identity'

Work through this on a phone or computer you have used to log in to Facebook before, on a network you normally use.

1. Open Facebook or the email link. Meta says it will take you through the unlock steps the next time you log in or when you follow the link in its email. Before you click a link in an email, make sure it really came from Facebook; if in doubt, open the app or type facebook.com yourself.
2. Select Get started. This is the instruction on Meta's unlock page. Follow the on-screen steps in order.
3. Request the code once. Send it to the email or phone you can actually reach. Meta warns that codes can take longer to arrive, and that if you have requested several already you should wait a day before trying again. Check spam, blocked messages on your phone, your signal and your phone's storage, and ask your carrier whether your plan blocks such texts.
4. Answer any detail questions carefully. Use the date of birth you originally entered on Facebook.
5. Complete the selfie or ID step if asked. See the next sections for what Meta accepts.
6. Reset your password if prompted. If you have forgotten it, Meta's identity article links to its password reset flow.
7. Be patient after the check. Meta's page on the 24-hour security wait says that after you complete a security check you may have to wait 24 hours to log in. Your account stays visible to friends during that time, but you cannot use it.

Once you are back in, check your contact details, log out devices you do not recognise and turn on two-factor authentication. Meta's guide to avoiding losing access also recommends a second email or phone number and a passkey.

When the code goes to an old email or phone

This is the most common reason a Facebook account locked behind a code stays locked. Meta has a dedicated article for it: recover your account if you can't access your email or phone.

The official steps are:

1. Try the other contact details first. Meta suggests trying any email or phone you might have forgotten was on the account, checking for typos and adding the country code to phone numbers. Your email provider may also be able to restore access to an old inbox.
2. Try facebook.com/hacked. Meta says you may be able to recover the account at facebook.com/hacked, even if you are not sure it was compromised.
3. Use a familiar device. On a phone or computer you have used to log in before, go to facebook.com/login/identify and enter an email, phone number, name or username linked to the account.
4. Select No longer have access to these? You may instead see Forgot account? or Recover. Follow the prompts.
5. Add fresh contact details. Meta says the new email or phone you give must not have been used on the account before.
6. Pass the identity checks, then reset your password.

If the old email was changed by someone else, Meta's hacked-account page notes that it sends a message with a special link to the previous address, which you can use to reverse the change. For a broader map of Meta's recovery routes, see our guide to Meta's account recovery hub.

If your ID upload is rejected or stuck

Meta's Upload an ID instructions are simple: take a close-up photo of your ID in a well-lit room, save it, and follow the on-screen steps. Meta also says to submit only the required documents, because sending more than necessary may delay the review.

According to Meta's page on why Facebook might reject your ID, a photo can be rejected if it is:

• blurry or poorly lit
• missing required information
• a photo of a screenshot or a photocopy
• not fully in frame

What Meta accepts. One government ID, such as a driver's license, national identity document, passport or birth certificate, showing your name plus your date of birth or a photo. If you do not have a government ID, Meta accepts two different non-government documents, such as a student ID, a diploma or employment verification. Both must show your name, at least one must show your date of birth or photo, and the name must match your profile. If you have lost access to your account, Meta says it may ask for something with a photo or date of birth matching the details on your Facebook account.

Do not edit the image. Meta says it does not accept photos digitally modified to hide information. You can physically cover non-essential details, such as an ID number, before you take the photo.

If the upload seems stuck, do not resubmit again and again. Meta's page on what happens to your ID says it uses both manual review and automated systems, so a check can take time. Wait for a response at the email on the account, then try once more with a clearer photo if it is rejected.

Because Meta asks for the name on non-government documents to match your profile, check that match before you upload anything. If your profile uses a nickname, a document showing that same name is more likely to line up with what Meta checks.

Facebook account locked vs disabled vs hacked

These three states need different fixes, so check which one you are in before you act.

Meta's article on suspended or disabled accounts says you can appeal a suspension within 180 days, though it notes the period varies by region, and that if you do not appeal in time, or the appeal fails, the account is permanently disabled. That is a policy decision, not a security lock, and it is handled through a different flow; our Facebook account disabled appeal page explains it.

A hacked account can also end up locked. If someone else changed your details, fix the takeover first; our page on hacked Facebook account recovery covers that route.

Be careful with anyone who offers to unlock your account through a contact at Meta. Meta's own checks happen inside Facebook, and scammers often target people who have just been locked out.

When professional help makes sense

If the unlock flow sends you a code you can receive, or your ID is accepted, you do not need anyone's help. Do it yourself first; the official steps above are free.

Outside help is worth considering when:

• every contact detail on the account is gone and the recovery flow keeps looping
• your ID has been rejected more than once and you cannot tell why
• the lock follows a hack and the attacker changed the email, phone and password
• the profile is an admin of business Pages or ad accounts, so being locked out stalls the business

Shilder is an independent service, not part of Meta. We prepare the evidence and work through the same official Meta channels described above, and we cannot override Meta's decisions. You can read how cases work on our Facebook account recovery page and check pricing before deciding.