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Novaz AuthenticatorGET

MyMassGov 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. Why the app matters if you travel
  2. Set up the authenticator app
  3. Signing in afterwards
  4. Coming from myRMV
  5. If MyMassGov rejects your code
  6. No backup codes
  7. Changing phones
  8. If you lose your authenticator
  9. Removing the app
  10. Official MyMassGov help

MyMassGov is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts sign-in that people use for state services such as unemployment, SNAP and paid family leave, and now for most individual myRMV transactions at the Registry of Motor Vehicles (Mass.gov, Mass.gov). Multifactor authentication (MFA) isn't optional here. If you skip it when you create the account, MyMassGov makes you set it up the next time you sign in (Mass.gov).

The methods are an authenticator app, a phone number for texts or calls, and a second phone number. This guide covers the app, using Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the MyMassGov steps come from the Commonwealth's own MyMassGov help pages on Mass.gov, linked below, which we read on October 24, 2026. We haven't tested them on a MyMassGov account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Why the app matters if you travel

Several Mass.gov MFA pages warn that from outside the country you may need an authenticator app to get in, and suggest setting up both an app and text messages (Mass.gov). The state recommends at least two methods anyway, so one can stand in for the other (Mass.gov).

Set up the authenticator app

You choose the methods on a screen MyMassGov shows during account creation or at your first sign-in (Mass.gov):

  1. Go to my.mass.gov, choose Personal or Business, and create an account or sign in.
  2. On the Choose an Authentication Method screen, check Authentication App. You can check a phone option too. Select Continue.
  3. MyMassGov shows a QR code, plus an account name and a key you can type instead.
  4. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the code. If the page is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
  5. To type the key instead, tap +, then Enter key manually. Put MyMassGov in Service, your email in Account if you like, and the key in Setup key. More in What is a 2FA setup key?
  6. Enter the 6-digit code from Novaz on the MyMassGov page and select Continue.

The entry is named MyMassGov Personal or MyMassGov Business, followed by your sign-in email. One set up before 2025 may read Login.mass.gov instead (Mass.gov). Personal and Business are separate logins, each with its own entry.

Signing in afterwards

After your password, MyMassGov may show Verify your account. Select Authentication app, type the six-digit code and select Continue (Mass.gov). The pages say you might be asked, not that you always will, and don't explain when it's skipped. You may also need a code to edit account settings (Mass.gov).

Coming from myRMV

The first time you open myRMV through MyMassGov, the RMV links your old myRMV profile. If you already had one, it asks once for a security code from the email, phone or authenticator app you set up in myRMV itself. Without it, you request a Letter ID (Mass.gov). So keep any old myRMV entry in your app until that step is done. After that, the codes you use are MyMassGov's.

If MyMassGov rejects your code

Mass.gov doesn't cover rejected app codes. Make sure you're reading the right entry, Personal or Business, not an old myRMV one. Then check the iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

No backup codes

The MyMassGov pages don't mention backup or recovery codes. Your fallback is a second method. Without a Novaz backup (iCloud backup or a backup file), its keys exist only on your iPhone, so a phone number on the account is worth adding.

Changing phones

While you can still sign in, go to Multifactor Authentication (MFA) Methods, select Update MFA Methods, then Authenticator app, then Update authenticator app, and scan the new QR code with the new phone (Mass.gov). Mass.gov then says to delete the old MyMassGov entry from your app. If you use Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead and skip this. Without one, do this before you wipe the old phone. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

If you also set up a phone number, sign in with it and replace the app as above. If not, you need an MFA reset, and there's no central desk for it. Find the state service you use in the contact list and call that agency's support line, or use its other support option if no number is listed. A representative resets your MFA once you've shown the account is yours (Mass.gov). The pages don't say what proof is needed or how long it takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Removing the app

You can't turn MFA off. You can remove the authenticator app only if another method is set up: under Authenticator app, select Remove authenticator app, then Yes, remove this method (Mass.gov). Then open the entry in Novaz and tap Remove account.

Official MyMassGov help

More guides: Government