Deputy 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Deputy is the scheduling and timesheet app many workplaces use for rosters, shift swaps and clocking in. Your Deputy login belongs to you, but it lives inside your employer's Deputy business, and that shapes how two-factor authentication (2FA) works. It's optional, and anyone can turn it on for their own account, whatever their access level (Deputy). The main method is an authenticator app. A text message code is the fallback, and your managers can act as the safety net if you let them.

This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Deputy steps come from Deputy's own help center, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. Deputy's help pages block automated visits, so we read them through the help center's public article feed on help.deputy.com. We haven't tested the steps on a Deputy account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Before you start

Deputy lists three things to sort out first (Deputy):

• an authenticator app on your phone;
• a verified mobile number on your Deputy profile, confirmed with a one-time code Deputy texts you. This number is what gets you in later if the app isn't available;
• your phone's date and time set to update automatically from the network.

If your business signs you in through single sign-on (SSO), Deputy's 2FA doesn't apply to those sign-ins. It only applies when you sign in with your Deputy username and password, and any extra check for SSO comes from your identity provider (Deputy).

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

Deputy's help describes these steps in the web app (Deputy):

1. Sign in to Deputy in a web browser.
2. Click your profile photo at the top right and choose Account overview.
3. Click Edit profile.
4. Open the Security tab and click Enable two-factor authentication. If Deputy asks, verify your mobile number first.
5. Confirm your Deputy password.
6. A window with a QR code opens. Look at the checkbox on this screen before you go on (see the next section).
7. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the code. If Deputy is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
8. If you'd rather type it, click Enter key manually in Deputy. It shows an account name and a code. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, put that code in Setup key, and fill in Service and Account as you like. See What is a 2FA setup key?
9. Type the 6-digit code from Novaz into Deputy to finish.

Deputy's codes are 6 digits and change every 30 seconds, which matches what Novaz uses when you type a key by hand.

The manager-reset checkbox

The QR code screen includes an option that lets the managers in your business turn off your 2FA if you get locked out. It's ticked unless you untick it (Deputy).

Think before you untick it. Deputy's help doesn't mention backup codes, so a manager reset is one of the few ways back in. If you opt out and later lose both your authenticator and your text messages, your manager has to contact Deputy Support for you (Deputy).

Signing in with a code

After your email and password, Deputy asks for the 6-digit code from your app, then Submit. A checkbox lets Deputy remember you for 30 days, but only on that computer and that Deputy URL. Another computer, or another Deputy address, asks for a code again (Deputy).

If Deputy rejects your code

Deputy's own advice is about time: authenticator codes depend on your phone's clock. Switch the phone's time from manual to automatic, or, if it's already automatic, turn it off and on again. On iPhone that's 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?

Moving to a new phone

Deputy's route is to turn 2FA off while you still have the old phone, then set it up again on the new one (Deputy). With Novaz, you can instead restore your accounts on the new iPhone from iCloud backup or a backup file; if you have neither, use Deputy's route. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Try these in order:

1. On the code screen, click I can't use my authenticator app. Deputy texts a short-lived code to your verified mobile number (Deputy). If you once replied STOP to Deputy's texts, send START to that thread so the code can arrive.
2. Ask a System Administrator, Advisor or Location Manager in your business. They can open your name on the People tab, choose Manage login issues, then Disable two-factor authentication (Deputy). You can then sign in and set it up again.
3. If you unticked the manager-reset option, your manager contacts Deputy Support. Deputy asks employees and supervisors to go through their admin or location manager first, and they can open a ticket for you (Deputy).

Deputy's help doesn't say what proof Support asks for or how long it takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

While signed in, click Edit Profile, open the Security tab and click Disable two-factor authentication. Enter a code from your authenticator and click Submit (Deputy). Then remove Deputy from Novaz: open it and tap Remove account.

Official Deputy help

• How do I enable two-factor authentication on my Deputy account?
• How do I disable two-factor authentication on my Deputy account?
• How do I reset the login details and 2FA for my team members?
• Single Sign-On (SSO) FAQs
• How to request support from Deputy