ActionID 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app for NGP VAN
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
On this page
ActionID is the one login NGP VAN gives you for its tools: VAN and Votebuilder, NGP, MiniVAN and the rest. Campaign staff and volunteers both use it (NGP VAN). NGP VAN now calls its two-step login multi-factor authentication (MFA), and it offers two kinds: codes by text message, or codes from an authenticator app, which it marks as the recommended choice (NGP VAN). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the ActionID steps come from NGP VAN's own pages, linked below, including the screenshots in its MFA how-to (a PDF on ngpvan.com), which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on an ActionID account. The PDF's text and its screenshots don't always use the same labels, so what you see may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Your campaign may require it
For many people, MFA on ActionID isn't a personal choice. Whoever manages your VAN database can tick Require MFA for Login on a User Profile, and everyone with that profile has to set up MFA the next time they sign in. Your invitation email may already say you must set it up, and if you skip it, VAN stops you with a Set up two-factor authentication button that leads to your ActionID profile (NGP VAN). If you're signing up for the first time, ActionID also offers the step right after you create the account, and you can skip it there (NGP VAN).
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
These steps follow NGP VAN's MFA how-to (NGP VAN).
- Go to myaccount.ngpvan.com and sign in with your ActionID email and password.
- Find the Two-factor authentication box on your ActionID account page.
- Next to Authentication app, choose Set up authentication app. (The PDF's text calls this option Set up with Authenticator App.)
- A Scan code screen shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the QR code is on your iPhone's own screen, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- Type the 6-digit code from Novaz into the verification code field and confirm. The screenshot shows a Verify button; the text says Enable.
- ActionID then shows Save this recovery code. Use Copy recovery code or write it down, then choose Finish.
There's a Trouble scanning? link under the QR code, but NGP VAN doesn't describe what it shows. If it gives you a text key, you can type it in Novaz with +, then Enter key manually, as the Setup key (What is a 2FA setup key?). Scanning is the better choice, though, because NGP VAN doesn't say how often its codes change, and a QR code carries those settings for you.
One recovery code, not a list
ActionID's setup screen shows one recovery code rather than a sheet of them. NGP VAN tells you to save it right away and to keep in mind you may need it a year or two later (NGP VAN). Without a Novaz backup (iCloud backup or a backup file), the keys exist only on your iPhone, so this code is what gets you in if that phone is gone. Keep it in a password manager or on paper, away from the phone.
If you've lost it, get a fresh one while you can still sign in: on your ActionID account page, choose Get a new recovery code, save it, and choose Finish. More in 2FA backup codes.
When ActionID asks for a code
After your email and password, ActionID asks for the code from your app. A Remember this device for 30 days box lets you skip the code on that browser and device for 30 days. You'll be asked again after the 30 days, after clearing cookies, or on any other browser or device. NGP VAN says not to tick the box on shared computers, including devices a campaign lends you (NGP VAN).
If ActionID rejects your code
NGP VAN's pages don't cover rejected app codes. Check your iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?
If you lose your authenticator
On the code screen, choose Use a recovery code, type the code you saved, and choose Verify. In NGP VAN's screenshot of the sign-in page, the other options sit behind Try another method (NGP VAN).
Without the recovery code, you can't fix it yourself. NGP VAN says to contact your administrator, who asks NGP VAN's Support team to reset your ActionID (NGP VAN). If you can't sign in to reach the Contact the Admin link in VAN, NGP VAN points you to the campaign you work or volunteer for, and then to your State Democratic Party (NGP VAN). For ActionID account trouble in general, the support address is Actionidsupport@ngpvan.com (NGP VAN). NGP VAN doesn't say how long a reset takes. See also Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Changing phones
NGP VAN doesn't describe moving the authenticator to a new phone, but its ActionID page says you can change two-factor methods from your account at any time (NGP VAN). Do it while the old phone still works. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore the account on the new iPhone instead; without one, you'll set ActionID up again on the new one. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
A screenshot in the how-to also shows a Turn off all two-factor authentication button there, but the text doesn't explain it.
Official NGP VAN help
- How to: Increase user account security with multi-factor authentication (PDF)
- About ActionID
- Frequently Asked Questions - ActionID
- How to Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2018; its setup steps are out of date)
