This information about on-screen messages in MyMassGov may help you register for and use your MyMassGov account. You can find additional instructions in the MyMassGov Guide.
Email and Password
You may need to enter information in a different way when creating or logging in to your account or resetting or changing your password.
| On-screen message | What’s happening | Try this |
|---|---|---|
| Please enter a password. | You selected the “Log In” button without typing your password first | Enter your password and select "Log In” again. |
| Please enter a valid email. | You selected the "Log In" button without entering your email address. | Enter the email address and select "Log In". |
| Please enter a valid email address. | You entered an email address that doesn’t work or is incomplete | Make sure you’re using an email address that you know works and have access to. It must be something like: name@email.com |
| The email or password you’ve entered is incorrect. To reset your password, select “Forgot Password”. | You used an email address that isn’t connected to an existing account or a password that is incorrect | Check that the email address you entered is the one you used to create your account. If you have forgotten your password, select the “Forgot Password” link to reset it. |
| The password entry fields do not match. Please enter the same password in both fields and try again. | You created a new password, enter it again to confirm it, and the two passwords don’t match | Review both passwords and make sure they are entered correctly. Select the “Show Password” eye icon to see what you’ve entered. |
| You tried to reset your password on MyMassGov, but there is no account linked to this address. | You tried to reset your password and entered an email address that is not connected to a MyMassGov account | You'll get an email with "Account does not exist" as the subject. Follow the instructions in the message. |
| Your attempt to create a MyMassGov account was unsuccessful. | You tried to create a new MyMassGov account with an email address that is already in use with an existing account | You'll get an email with "Account already exists" as the subject. Follow the instructions in the message. |
Code and code entry
The following on-screen messages may appear when you’re setting up MFA as part of creating a new account, verifying your email when logging in to your account, or if you’ve forgotten your password.
| On-screen message | What’s happening | Try this |
|---|---|---|
| Incorrect code entered, please try again. | You entered a 6-digit verification code that doesn’t match your authenticator app, text, or phone | Get the correct code from your authenticator app or phone and try again. |
| You have entered an incorrect code. | You entered an incorrect email verification code | Get the correct one-time password from your email, enter it, and verify again. |
| You have exceeded the number of code generation attempts allowed. | You didn't get a verification code by email and selected “Get a new code” too many times. | Close the browser and try again after at least 10 minutes. |
| You have exceeded the maximum time allowed. | You received a verification code by email and waited more than 10 minutes to enter it into MyMassGov | Select “Get a new code”, get the new code from email, enter it into the “Verification code” field, and try again. |
| You have tried too many times. Please try again later. | You entered an incorrect verification code more than three times | Select "Cancel" and start over. |
| Unable to generate the verification code. | You entered a partial number in MFA setup and selected "Send Verification Code" (Note: the same message will appear if there is failure to send the MFA message to your phone number- for example, if you've entered an invalid phone number of there is a network issue). | Enter a valid phone number and select "Send Verification Code" |
| Unable to validate the verification code. | You entered an incorrect verification code and selected "Verify". | Enter the correct verification code and select "Verify". The code is 6 digits long. |
Missing or incorrect information
These on-screen messages may guide you when creating an account, setting up MFA, resetting a password, or changing an existing password.
| On-screen message | What’s happening | Try this |
|---|---|---|
| This information is required. | You didn't fill out a required field like “Email,” “Verification code,” “First Name,” “Last Name” or you didn't select an MFA option, or didn't enter a phone number or authenticator code | If you’re creating an account, make sure you complete all fields. If you’re setting up MFA, make sure you choose an MFA option and complete all fields. |
| A required field is missing. Please fill out all required fields and try again. | If you’re verifying your email, make sure you entered in both your first and last name before selecting “Continue." Make sure you complete all details if you’re:
| Fill out the required field(s) and try again. |
| One or more fields are filled out incorrectly. Please check your entries and try again. | You entered a password that doesn’t meet required password rules. You may see this when creating, resetting, or changing a password. | Make sure that the password meets the following rules and try again. You can select the “Show Password” eye icon to see what you entered. Password rules:
|
| Only valid characters are allowed. | You entered a non-alphabetic letter in a name. Only letters and hypens are allowed. | Enter only alphabetic letters or hypens. |
| Type of captcha (visual/audio) is required. | On the captcha page during account creation, you selected "Continue" without entering the captcha challenge type | Enter the correct captcha challenge type and select "Continue". |
| Captcha challenge is not resolved. Please solve it to proceed. | During account creation on the captcha challenge page, you entered an incorrect captcha challenge type and selected "Continue". | Enter the correct captcha challenge type and select "Continue". |
Phone-related
You may get on-screen messages if there is a problem with the phone number you use when creating a new account, setting up MFA, or during MFA authentication.
| On-screen message | What’s happening | Try this |
|---|---|---|
| Please enter a valid phone number. | You entered an incomplete or incorrect phone number | Enter a correct, complete phone number. In North America it must be 10 digits (including the area code). |
| Your secondary phone number must be different from your primary phone number. | You set up a secondary phone number and entered the same phone number as was used for a primary phone number, and selected "Send Verification Code". | Enter a different secondary phone number and select "Send Verification Code". |
Account-related
The following on-screen messages may let you know if something isn’t right when updating, creating, or managing your account.
| On-screen message | What’s happening | Try this |
|---|---|---|
| We are having trouble signing you in. Please try again later. | Login functionality is having difficulty connecting to the network | Wait a few minutes and try to log in again. |
| Your account is temporarily locked to prevent unauthorized use. Try again later. | You entered multiple incorrect passwords in a row. | Wait a few minutes and try again. If you can’t remember the password, select the “Forgot Password” link in the “Log In” screen. |
| Your account has been locked. Contact a support person to unlock it, then try again. | Contact a support person for assistance. |
Identity verification and document verification
You may get on-screen messages to guide through entering your personal data to complete identity verification.
| On-screen message | What's happening | Try this |
|---|---|---|
| You’ve reached your limit of identity verification attempts. Please try again in _____ hours. | You tried to complete identity verification too many times | A message will specify the amount of time you need to wait before re-trying identity verification. Select the “I understand” button and wait the required time before starting the identity verification process again. |
| You've reached your limit of identity verification attempts. You may continue applying or try again in 72 hours. | You tried to complete identity verification too many times | A message will specify the amount of time you need to wait before re-trying identity verification. Select “Continue Application” and wait the required time before starting the identity verification process again. |
| There is an issue with your form submission. Please fix the below before resubmitting: Too many identity verification attempts. Please try again later. | You tried to complete identity verification too many times | Go to the “Settings” page and select “Begin Identity Verification." This page will list how much time you need to wait before trying again. Wait the required time and start the identity verification process again. |
| The account informaiton doesn't match- please log out and try again. | You entered the necessary data for identity verification (e.g. name, email address) and at least one piece of information doesn’t match the information in your user profile | Your account information and the information you enter for identity verification need to match.
|
| An error occurred while saving your personal information. Please try again. | A system is down or there is an unexpected system error | Try refreshing the page. If this doesn’t work, log out of MyMassGgov, log back in, and start the identity verification process again. |
| You have landed here without a documentation verification referral. | You didn’t start the identity verification process from the beginning | Only complete document verification if you’re asked to do so after completing identity verification. |
| An unexpected error occurred while starting documentation verification. Please try again. | There is network problem or service or system outage while you’re completing document verification | Refresh your screen and/or re-start the document verification process. |
| No changes were made to your [name or email]. | You began the process of updating your profile information and select “Cancel” before selecting “Save” | Select “Edit” next to the information you’d like to change- name and/or email and select “Save” when your change is complete. |
| Please provide a valid 9-digit code. Must contain only numbers. | You entered a Social Security number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification number (ITIN) that isn’t valid | Enter all 9 digits of your SSN or ITIN in the “SSN or ITIN” field. Be sure to enter numbers only. |
| Please enter your SSN before continuing | You didn't enter your Social Security Number (SSN) | Enter your full SSN in the “SSN or ITIN” field. |
| Phone number must contain 10 digits | You didn't enter a phone number or entered one that was fewer than 10 digits | Enter all 10 digits of your phone number in the “Phone number” field. |
| Phone number is invalid | You entered a phone number that isn't correct | Enter a complete, working phone number. |
| Something went wrong. You’ll need to try again. | You entered a 6-digit code that isn't correct | Check the code you received and enter it correctly. |
| Please provide a valid 6-digit code. Must contain only numbers. | You entered a verification code | Check the code you received and enter all 6 digits into the “Enter verification code” field. Make sure that you’re not entering the 5-digit number that the message was sent from. |
| Please enter code | You didn't enter a verification code | Enter the verification code you received in the “Enter verification code” field. |
| Please add a valid birth date. Must be 13 years or older. | You entered a birth date that makes you younger than 13 years old | If you are 13 or older, enter your correct birth date. If you are younger than 13, you are not eligible to use MyMassGov. |
| Date must not exceed 120 years old. | You entered a birth date that makes you more than 120 years old | Enter your correct birth date into the “Birth date” field. |
| Please enter your date of birth | You didn't enter your birth date | Make sure to enter your complete birth date (month, day, and year) in the “Birth date” field. |
| Please enter your address | You didn't enter your street address | Enter your residential address (not a PO Box) in the “Street address” field. |
| Please enter your city | You didn't enter your city | Enter your city in the “City” field. |
| Please enter your state | You didn't enter your state | Enter your state in the “State” field. |
| Please provide a valid 5-digit ZIP code, e.g. 55555. You can use an extended ZIP +4 code, e.g. 55555-5555 | You entered a ZIP code that isn't valid | Enter your correct zipcode in the “ZIP code” field |
| Please enter ZIP code | You didn't enter a ZIP code | Enter your complete zip code in the “ZIP code” field. |
Contact
| Date published: | April 25, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Last updated: | September 22, 2025 |