**Users Following Up About Identity Verification (IDV)

Once documents are approved, the location verification is also auto approved.

If it still shows “Submitted” & past 48 hours it is possible that they used an old link. In this case, please ping #ask-identity-verifications Slack channel to see if submitted docs are sufficient.

After the user clicks on the IDV link they will see the following flow:

• Page 1 - provides information on what the user will need to submit
• Page 2 - requests user’s name etc. and to upload Government issued ID, National ID, or Passport
• Page 3 - requests user address and to upload a credit card, bank, or financial billing statement
• Page 4 - is a notification page letting the user know the process has been completed

Zendesk categories to use for all interactions: Terms of Service

Resources:

• Hourly Protection(now showcases ID Verification Badge as a requirement)
• Update to Hourly, Bonus, and Expense Payment Agreement with Escrow Instructions | September 2022(Community announcement showcasing the update)

On September 28th, we launched a policy change related to freelancers’ eligibility revolving around IDV. The direct change entails that freelancers will not receive payment protection for hourly contracts unless they have completely IDV’d.

This policy change of requiring verification of the identity of our users for payment protection aims to help us combat fraud and scams that can harm our community. It also helps build trust, because our customers want to know that they are working with honest people who are who they say they are. Since our Hourly Payment Protection is a membership benefit for those with an account in good standing, it is required that those protected have already verified their identity.

Important Notes:

• At this time, this update only applies to hourly contracts.
• We currently ask freelancers to verify their identity by the time they win their first contract, but we may begin asking freelancers to verify their identity earlier. We also plan to require identity verification for clients soon as well. 
• Payment Protection is still evaluated after we have either received a chargeback or Upwork has not received payments.
• Zendesk categories to use for all interactions: Terms of Service

Here’s the part of the TOS that was updated:

In order to qualify for Hourly Payment Protection, a freelancer’s account must be in good standing at the time of the payment at issue, including, for example, completion of the identity verification process, tax information, and any other similar requests or requirements. (Section 6.1)

SMF requiring freelancers to IDV with a deadline:

IDV email with added statement below:

The statement below will be added before “This process is not connected….”: 

You may start a contract before verifying your identity, but you will not be eligible for Upwork Hourly Payment Protection until you've successfully completed the process.

FAQs:

Why do I have to verify my identity to qualify for Upwork Hourly Payment Protection?
Verifying the identity of our users helps us combat fraud and scams that can harm our community. It also helps build trust, because our customers want to know that they are working with honest people who are who they say they are. Since our Hourly Payment Protection is a membership benefit for those with an account in good standing, it is required that those protected have already verified their identity.

How do I qualify for Upwork Hourly Payment Protection? 

To qualify for Hourly Payment Protection as a freelancer, you’ll need to:

• Have an hourly contract
• Earn the ID Verification badge 
• Work with a client who is using a verified billing method
• Have an Upwork account in good standing
• Log your hours with the Upwork Desktop App
• Have contract-related activity in your Work Diary
• Update your Work Diary with memos or activity labels that describe the activity performed
• Maintain adequate and fair activity levels
• Stay within the contract's weekly limit

Does this change impact fixed-price projects?

No, this only applies to Upwork Hourly Payment Protection for hourly contracts.

Does this change impact Project Catalog projects?

No, this only applies to Upwork Hourly Payment Protection for hourly contracts.

I’ve already verified my identity. Do I need to do it again?

Only if we ask. We may ask you to verify your identity again if needed. If we do, please go here in your Upwork account or follow the steps in the email we send. 

Can I choose not to verify my identity but continue working on my contracts?

If we ask you to verify your identity, your Upwork account may be suspended until you do. This is intended to maintain the security and trust users place in our platform. In those cases, we may pause your contracts, which would interrupt your work and payments. We suggest verifying your identity as soon as we ask so you don’t have to worry about a suspension or miss out on the membership benefit of Upwork Hourly Payment Protection. 

Why does the identity verification requirement only apply to freelancers and not to clients? Shouldn’t we verify them too?

We are making several updates to provide greater trust signals to all users of Upwork, including updates to our identity verification process for both freelancers and clients.

Are there users on Upwork who haven’t verified their identity? If so, how are they allowed to use Upwork? 

We currently require freelancer users to verify their identity by the time they start their first contract. If identity verification is not complete by that time, your Upwork account will be suspended until it’s completed. 

We have an IDV feature that helps to identify "forged" documentation, helping to showcase if a freelancer uploads the same items as someone else; same photo, same ID numbers, same expiration date, etc. If the feature catches this - we utilize that information for future uploads.

This means that our tool is able to immediately identify if something is "forged" based on past identification and will automatically suspend customers uploading forged items. 

These freelancers will have the following suspensions: 214-Identity, 467 - Lockout - High-Risk User, and 529 - Disable IDV

If a freelancer is looking to appeal this specific suspension: please have them reply directly to the email communication they received. Note - We should NOT instruct these customers to click the “file an appeal now” button in our “Appealing an Account Suspension” HC article. 

Emails sent to clients & freelancers:

• Freelancers receive “Your account has been blocked” email shown here
• Clients with suspended freelancers receive “Your freelancer has been blocked” email shown here (the Talent Services link the email brings the CL to is this one here)