Skip to content
Novaz AuthenticatorGET

Gosuslugi 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5

On this page
  1. Turn on the one-time code (TOTP)
  2. When Gosuslugi asks for the code
  3. No backup codes
  4. If Gosuslugi rejects your code
  5. Changing phones
  6. If you lose your authenticator
  7. Switching to another method
  8. Official Gosuslugi help

Госуслуги (Gosuslugi) is Russia's public services portal, and its login also works on many other sites. A second sign-in step is mandatory there. You pick one of four: a text message code, a code in the MAX messenger (offered only at sign-in, as a test), a one-time code (TOTP) from an authenticator app, or biometrics (Gosuslugi). Gosuslugi suggests TOTP or biometrics if you fear someone could read your text messages (Gosuslugi). This guide sets up TOTP with Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Gosuslugi steps come from Gosuslugi's own help pages, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026, through the help center's public data feed (the pages themselves open only in a full browser). The help is in Russian only, so we give its labels in Russian with our translation. We haven't tested the steps on a Gosuslugi account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Turn on the one-time code (TOTP)

From Gosuslugi's help (Gosuslugi):

  1. In your personal account, open Профиль (Profile) > Безопасность (Security) > Вход в систему (Sign-in), at lk.gosuslugi.ru/settings/safety/login.
  2. Choose Вход с подтверждением (Sign-in with confirmation) > Одноразовый код (TOTP) (One-time code) > Продолжить (Continue).
  3. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the QR code. On the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
  4. Can't scan? Gosuslugi also offers a key. Tap +, then Enter key manually, and type it as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
  5. Enter the code from Novaz on Gosuslugi.

Gosuslugi says an entry named «Gosuslugi» then appears in your app. Its help doesn't give the code length or how often it changes, so scan the QR code if you can: it carries those settings, while a typed key always gets 6 digits every 30 seconds.

In the Gosuslugi mobile app, the same setting is under your profile, Безопасность > Вход в систему > Вход с подтверждением (Gosuslugi).

When Gosuslugi asks for the code

Every sign-in with your login and password ends with your chosen confirmation, and so does a sign-in with biometrics in place of the password (Gosuslugi). That includes other sites where you use your Gosuslugi login (Gosuslugi). Two ways in are separate: a QR code scanned with the Gosuslugi app, and an electronic signature certificate. Both work only from a computer and must be set up beforehand.

No backup codes

Gosuslugi's help doesn't mention backup or recovery codes. It says plainly that without the app that makes your codes, you can't sign in with a one-time code (Gosuslugi). Without a Novaz backup (iCloud backup or a backup file), its keys are only on your iPhone. Either way, your real safety net is the Gosuslugi mobile app, kept signed in, or an electronic signature you've connected. See the recovery section below.

If Gosuslugi rejects your code

For a «Неверный код» (Wrong code) error, Gosuslugi says to compare the clocks on the device you sign in from and the phone that makes the code. By its account, being off by one second can be enough (Gosuslugi). On iPhone, open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically, and check the computer's clock too. Novaz warns you when the iPhone's clock is 15 seconds or more off.

If the clocks agree and the error remains, Gosuslugi says to sign in another way or restore access. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Gosuslugi treats a changed phone like a lost one: the one-time code stops working (Gosuslugi). It doesn't describe moving the code. With Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone and keep the same codes. Otherwise, since you can change your method under Вход с подтверждением whenever you're signed in, set up Одноразовый код (TOTP) on the new iPhone while the old one still works. The help doesn't say whether you must pick another method in between. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Gosuslugi's help lists these routes (Gosuslugi, Gosuslugi):

  1. The Gosuslugi app, if you signed in to it earlier and can still open it. Change the method there, with no account recovery needed. Or sign in on a computer with Войти другим способом (Sign in another way) > QR‑код, scanning with Госкан in the app (version 11.0 or later), then change the method in your profile.
  2. An electronic signature, if you connected it as a sign-in method before.
  3. Restore access (Gosuslugi), either online through SberBank if you're a client, or at a service center with your passport and SNILS (insurance number). The center sends a one-time password, which should arrive within 5 minutes. You sign in with your SNILS and that password, then set a new one.

Restoring access switches your confirmation to text message codes, so set up TOTP again afterwards. If your SNILS on Gosuslugi doesn't match the real one, an agency check takes 15 minutes to 5 working days. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Switching to another method

There's no off switch, since the step is mandatory. You can choose another method in the same settings at any time (Gosuslugi). Afterwards, open Gosuslugi in Novaz and tap Remove account.

Official Gosuslugi help

More guides: Government