Government of Ontario

My Ontario Account - Help

Overview

Welcome to My Ontario Account - a Government of Ontario login service that lets you sign in quickly and securely to Government of Ontario services using a single login. With My Ontario Account you can log in using either an email and password or using the Sign-In Partner Interac® sign-in service.


Using My Ontario Account Service

When you navigate to a government service that is protected by the My Ontario Account service, you will be redirected to the My Ontario Account Sign in page for authentication. You have the option to sign in either using an email address and password or to use the Sign-In Partner Interac® sign-in service. After successful authentication you will be redirected to the home page for the Government Service.

You can also sign in directly to My Ontario Account. After successful authentication you will see the My Connected Services page, where you can access your enrolled government service(s) and/or manage your My Ontario Account settings.

This happens if one of the following scenarios is applicable:

  • You toggled the language or changed the authentication method on the sign in page. The next time you login, you should be redirected to the government service home page upon authentication, if the language or authentication method remains unchanged.
  • If it is your first time logging in, the dashboard will not show the connected service; however, you were enrolled successfully, and it will appear the next time you sign in and view the My Ontario Account dashboard.

You can edit the following from your account profile:

  • Primary Email
  • Password
  • Display language
  • Mobile authenticator app

Note: The Extra Verification settings are managed by the system based on the government service you are accessing and their security requirements.

You can access your account profile by:

  • Signing into My Ontario Account from the Connected services page click on settings from the drop-down menu on the top right and access the "Account" page
  • You can also access the “Account” page from the government service that you have accessed by clicking on the link provided.

Sign-in using an Email Address and Password

You must have an email address and a password to create a My Ontario Account.

This email will be used to:

  • Sign in
  • Recover your password
  • Receive notifications about My Ontario Account

Your email address must be unique. If you’ve chosen an email that is already in use, the system will ask you to choose another one.

The password is mandatory. Choose a password that is easy for you to remember, but hard for others to guess. Never share your password with anyone.

Your password must have:

  • Minimum eight characters
  • At least 1 number(s)
  • At least 1 lowercase letter(s)
  • At least 1 uppercase letter(s)
  • Does not contain part of username
  • At least 1 symbol(s) e.g., ` ~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) - _ = + [ ] { } | : ; ' < / ?

The activation email that is sent to your inbox expires after 30 minutes. If that happens, you can easily resend another activation email within 24 hours of creating your account:

  • Navigate to the government service you are trying to access and sign in.
  • When prompted on the “Set up security methods” screen, click the Set up button.
  • Follow the steps on the “Verify with your email” screen to complete account activation.

If you have not activated your account within 24 hours, the account will be deleted. You will be able to create your account again by navigating to the government service you were trying to access to complete your activation.

You can reset the password by using the forgot password feature, for activated accounts only:

  • Access the main Sign In page
  • Click on “Forgot password?”
  • Follow the steps to reset your password.

Note: If you made 5 unsuccessful attempts to login then your account will be locked. In this case you will not be able to reset your password and must unlock your account first.

Your account will be locked after 5 unsuccessful login attempts. If this happens, you can only unlock your account if it has been activated by using the unlock account feature:

  • Access the main Sign In page
  • Click on “Unlock account?”
  • Follow the steps to unlock your account and you will be able to login with your original password.

If the emails have not been received, then:

  • Check your junk/spam folder
  • Verify that your email address is correct

If you need additional support, please access your Sign-in page. Then click the “Contact us” link.

If you have this issue, please contact your government service support team directly.

Sign-in with Sign-In Partner Interac® sign-in service

Sign-In Partner Interac® sign-in service is a secure, private and convenient way to sign into online government services. You can gain access by signing in with your online banking credentials from a Sign-In Partner.

Our Sign-In Partner, Government Sign-In by Verified.Me, has rebranded to Interac® sign-in service. This name change has no impact to you. You can continue to use the same secure sign-in service, under a new name we have updated our website to display Sign-In Partner only.

Sign-In Partner Interac® sign-in service lets you sign in quickly and securely to government services by using the same credentials that you already use with your bank.

No passwords or personal information are shared with the government or your bank. The government won’t see any of your banking information and your bank won’t know which government service you are using.

On the sign-in page, click on Sign-In Partner to add it as a sign in option.

If you do not have an existing My Ontario Account, then:

  • You must provide your email address, which will be verified by entering a one-time verification code.
  • Upon successful verification of your email address, the system will automatically create a My Ontario Account for you using the email address provided and your Sign-In Partner Interac® sign-in service will be activated.

If you already have a My Ontario Account, then:

  • You will be prompted to enter your email address and password credentials for your My Ontario Account and your Sign-In Partner Interac® sign-in service will be activated.

To remove the Sign-In Partner Interac® sign-in service please scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the ‘Contact us’ link. You must provide your email address to complete the removal process.

If the one-time code has expired, you have two options:

  • If you are logged in, then click on the resend code link. You will receive a new code via email in your inbox.
  • If you are logged out, then close the browser and restart the process again.

If you are having trouble signing in, please contact your bank for assistance. They should be able to help you with problems like:

  • My password doesn’t work
  • I forgot my password
  • I lost my bank card
  • I don’t know the answers to my security questions

You can also use the email address you provided the first time you signed in by clicking on the Forgot Password link and setting up a new password.

To sign in with different bank credentials you can use the Switch My Sign-In Partner service on the Sign-In Partner Interac® website. To use this service, you must still have access to the username and password you previously used to sign in. If you don’t have access to the username and password you previously used to sign in, you may need to contact the service you are trying to access to request an account reset so that you can re-register.

If you cancel your online privileges with your bank, you will no longer be able to access the online government site using your cancelled user ID and password. Only active online banking user IDs and passwords can be used to access this service.

If you are facing this issue then:

  • Please scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the ‘Contact us’ link and provide your account email
  • Help desk will reset your account and provide guidance
  • You can then reactivate the Sign-In Partner Interac® sign-in service using the same email

Using Multi-Factor Authentication

Multi-factor authentication (also referred to as MFA or Multifactor Authentication), provides a higher level of assurance and security and depends on the security requirements for the government service you are accessing.

When prompted for MFA, users can use either option:

  • One-time passcode over email
  • Third-party authenticator app

Completing the multi-factor authentication depends on the security requirements for the government service you are accessing.

Using MFA is simple. You will be sent a one-time verification code via email and/or Mobile Authenticator App which you need to enter on the verification screen to complete the authentication process.

No. Using any mobile authenticator app is not mandatory.

If a Government of Ontario service requires multi-factor authentication, you can always use one-time passcode over email.

The multi-factor authentication option chosen from your last My Ontario Account session will be the default option. To choose another security method, you can use the ‘Verify with something else’ link when prompted for multi-factor authentication.

Using Mobile Authenticator App

An authenticator app is a mobile application that helps you securely verify your identity and provides an extra layer of security to your online accounts by generating time-based one-time passcode.

My Ontario Account supports any authenticator applications available from the App Store or Google Play.

Instead of receiving a one-time verification code by email, you can set up a Mobile Authenticator App to generate a verification code that requires multi-factor authentication (MFA).

You may use any generic mobile authenticator applications of your choice (e.g. Google Authenticator, Okta Verify, Microsoft Authenticator, etc.). You must install the application on your mobile device from the App Store or Google Play.

You will only be prompted for MFA if the Government of Ontario service you are navigating to requires it.

Okta Verify is an authenticator app that supports push notifications. Push notifications are short messages which can be sent directly to a user’s mobile device that appear as a pop-up on a desktop browser, mobile home screen or mobile app device notification center.

Install the Okta Verify app from the App Store or Google Play before proceeding with setting this up to your My Ontario Account.

Before proceeding with set up, install the mobile authenticator app from the App Store or Google Play. During enrollment to a Government of Ontario service, you will be prompted to set up multi-factor authentication. Select “Set up” from one of the multi-factor authentication methods presented and follow the steps. You have the option to set a multi-factor authentication method at anytime, under Settings within the My Ontario Account.

Before proceeding with set up, install an mobile authenticator app from the App Store or Google Play.

To set up an authenticator app:

  • Sign in to the Government of Ontario service with your Sign-In Partner credentials
  • Go to Settings within the My Ontario Account
  • Select a mobile authenticator app of your choice under Security Methods
  • If you don’t have an existing password, you will need to set a password by clicking “Reset password”, then select “Forgot Password” from the Verify with your Password page and follow the steps.

The Settings page can be accessed using this link Settings

You must sign in to access this page.

If you can’t can the QR code from your mobile device, you must set this up manually by:

  • Copying the Secret Key to the authenticator application of your choice from the Set up Mobile Authenticator App/Can’t scan QR code page
  • After set up of the authenticator application is completed, return to the above page and select “Continue” to complete the set up

Follow these steps:

  • Select “Can't scan?”
  • A link to install Okta Verify can sent by SMS or by email
  • Follow the steps to complete the set up.

Although Google Authenticator is displayed, any mobile authenticator app may be used.

You may remove a mobile authenticator app by:

  • Signing in to your My Ontario Account and go to Settings
  • Follow the steps to remove the authenticator application under Security Methods
  • Set up an authenticator with your new device

If you have the old device, remove the mobile authenticator app from Settings within My Ontario Account. Then follow the steps to set up the mobile authenticator app with the new device.

If you do not have the old device, remove the authenticator from your Settings with My Ontario Account using your password and email.

No. There is no impact to your existing mobile authenticator app.

You might consider changing the name of your account on your mobile authenticator app to reflect your updated email.

You may remove a mobile authenticator app by:

  • Signing in to your My Ontario Account
  • Go to Settings
  • Follow the steps to remove the authenticator app under Security Methods.

Technical requirements

Our online service is designed for a variety of operating systems and browsers. For the best viewing experience, you will need one of the following operating systems:

For desktops:

  • Windows 10 and above
  • MacOS 10.5 and above

For mobile or tablet devices:

  • Android 8 and above
  • iOS 14 and above
  • iPadOS 14 and above

You will also need the latest version of one of these browsers:

If your browser is having issues completing your requests, check to see if your browser supports TLS 1.2

Glossary

  • My Ontario Account: The Government of Ontario authentication service that lets you sign in quickly and securely to Government of Ontario services using a single login, using either an email and password or using the Sign-In Partner Interac® sign-in service.
  • Sign-In Partner: The list of organizations that have partnered with SecureKey Technologies to offer you the Sign-In Partner Interac® sign-in service.
  • Financial Institution: Commonly referred to as your bank.
  • One-time verification Code: The one-time verification code is sent by email, either when signing in using Sign-In Partner Interac® sign-in service for the first time, or when signing into a government service that requires two-factor authentication.