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Novaz AuthenticatorGET

Login.gov 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. Read this first: support can't let you back in
  2. Add an authentication app
  3. Add backup codes or another method
  4. When Login.gov asks for a code
  5. If Login.gov rejects your code
  6. Changing phones
  7. If you lose your phone
  8. Removing the app
  9. Official Login.gov help

Login.gov is the U.S. government's shared sign-in account, run by the General Services Administration (Login.gov). Its own pages name My Social Security (Social Security Administration), Medicare.gov and VA.gov as partners (Login.gov), along with USAJOBS and Global Entry (Login.gov). One authenticator app on your Login.gov account covers all of them.

The second step is mandatory. You set up at least one authentication method when you create the account (Login.gov), and you can't turn two-factor authentication off later (Login.gov). The options are face or touch unlock, an authentication app, a security key, a text or phone call, backup codes, and a government employee ID (PIV/CAC) (Login.gov). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Login.gov steps come from Login.gov's own help pages, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Login.gov account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Read this first: support can't let you back in

There's no recovery process for a lost second step: "Login.gov cannot grant you access to your account if you get locked out" (Login.gov). Lose your only method and you delete the account and start over. So add two methods, especially with Novaz: without an iCloud backup or backup file, its keys live only on your iPhone.

Add an authentication app

From Login.gov's help (Login.gov, Login.gov):

  1. At secure.login.gov, enter your email address and password, select Sign in, and confirm with a method you already have.
  2. On your account page, find the Your authentication methods menu on the left.
  3. Select Enable next to Authentication app.
  4. Login.gov lets you scan a QR code or type a code. To scan, tap + in Novaz, then Scan QR code. If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo (see how).
  5. To type it, tap +, then Enter key manually, and type the code from the page as the Setup key. Login.gov's help doesn't give that code a name. See What is a 2FA setup key?
  6. Follow the remaining prompts. When Login.gov asks for a code, enter the six-digit code Novaz shows.

Login.gov is rolling out a redesign to some people first (Login.gov), so buttons may not match these labels exactly. On a new account, the authentication app is one of the choices at the Set up a second layer of security step.

Login.gov's codes have six digits; its help doesn't say how often they change. Scanning the QR code is the safer choice, since it carries the exact settings.

Add backup codes or another method

Backup codes come as a set of ten. Each works once, and after the tenth Login.gov asks you to download a new list (Login.gov). Login.gov calls them the least secure option and warns against relying on them alone. Next to Novaz they make a good second method: print them or keep them in a password manager, not on your iPhone. See 2FA backup codes.

When Login.gov asks for a code

Every sign-in asks for a code after your password, whether you start at secure.login.gov or on an agency's site (Login.gov). If you select Remember this browser while entering a code, that browser can skip the step for up to 30 days. The same page also says closing the browser window can bring the prompt back. It only applies to that browser, and a browser update, cleared cookies, private mode or a VPN can undo it (Login.gov).

If Login.gov rejects your code

Login.gov points to the clock: make sure your device's time is right, for example by comparing it with time.gov (Login.gov). On iPhone, turn on Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz also warns when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes: Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

For app trouble on a new phone, Login.gov sends you to the app's developer (Login.gov). If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, restore it on the new iPhone and Login.gov comes with it. Without one, set Login.gov up again while the old phone still works: sign in, add the authentication app on the new phone, then remove the old entry. Login.gov doesn't say whether two apps can be on at once, so check that another method works first. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your phone

  • You have another method: sign in, select Choose another security option at the code prompt, and use it (Login.gov). Then select Manage next to the lost authenticator, then Delete (Login.gov).
  • You have no other method: sign in with your email and password, select Choose another security option, use the deleting your account link at the bottom, and select Yes, continue deletion. Login.gov emails a confirmation, then a second email 24 hours later with the final step (Login.gov). Agency records stay, and you can reuse the same email for a new account after 24 hours (Login.gov).

The contact center at (844) 875-6446 is open around the clock, but it can't sign in to or manage your account for you (Login.gov). The personal key from identity verification is for password resets, not signing in (Login.gov). More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Removing the app

Two-factor authentication stays on, but you can remove the app with Manage and Delete once another method is in place. Then open Login.gov in Novaz and tap Remove account.

Official Login.gov help

More guides: Government