USPTO 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app for your USPTO.gov account
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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A USPTO.gov account is how you sign in to the online systems of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO): Patent Center, Trademark Center, MyUSPTO and the fee system, Financial Manager (USPTO). USPTO calls two-factor authentication multifactor authentication (MFA), and you can't skip it on the MyUSPTO account page, although a few USPTO applications don't ask for it (USPTO). Email codes are gone: since November 1, 2025, you need an authenticator app, the Okta Verify app, or a security key (USPTO, USPTO). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the USPTO steps come from USPTO's own account FAQs, its secure authentication page and its illustrated setup PDF, all linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on a USPTO.gov account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Use Chrome or Edge
USPTO's FAQ says Chrome and Edge are the only browsers that work with its multifactor sign-in, and that you should keep them up to date (USPTO). Any other browser, Safari included, may give you sign-in problems.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
USPTO's PDF, Multifactor Authentication With QR Code Functionality, shows the setup as part of signing in (USPTO):
- Go to my.uspto.gov and select Sign in. Type your Email address and select Next.
- On Verify it's you with a security method, choose Select next to Password, type your password, and select Verify.
- In USPTO's example, an email check comes next: select Send me an email, type the Authentication Code from that email under Enter Code, and select Verify.
- On Set up security methods, pick Mobile Authenticator and select Continue. (Okta Verify is a separate app, not the option for Novaz.)
- A QR code appears under Scan QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone. Then select Next.
- Can't scan it? Select Can't scan? to see the Manual entry code. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, and type that code as the Setup key. Novaz needs at least 16 characters; USPTO's example key has 16. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Type the 6-digit code from Novaz and select Verify.
- USPTO confirms that the Mobile Authenticator is enrolled. Select Back to sign in and sign in with the new method.
Labels vary between USPTO's pages: the PDF's text says Sign back in where its screenshot shows Back to sign in, and the FAQ calls the Mobile Authenticator a code generator.
If you're already signed in, the FAQ gives a second route: select your username in the upper-right corner, then Account, and look under Security Settings. It offers only the methods you aren't already using (USPTO).
When USPTO asks for a code
Plan on a code at each sign-in to MyUSPTO. Ticking Keep me signed in skips the extra step for a while, but USPTO asks again once you close the browser, clear its cache or move to another browser (USPTO). Because MFA is required for the account page, there's no switch to turn it off.
USPTO mentions that on an iPhone the code may be in the Passwords app under Codes (USPTO). That's only if you saved the key there; if you used Novaz, the code is in Novaz. See Apple Passwords vs. an authenticator app.
If USPTO rejects your code
USPTO's FAQ says to make sure you're reading the code from your USPTO.gov entry, to use a current Chrome or Edge, and then to call the Contact Center (below) if it still fails (USPTO).
Also 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, but more than one method
USPTO's pages say nothing about backup or recovery codes, and unless you turn on iCloud backup or export a backup file, Novaz keeps its keys only on your iPhone. The account does take more than one method, and USPTO's sign-in screen lists each one with its own Select button (USPTO). So a second method, such as Okta Verify on another device or a FIDO2 security key you buy yourself, gives you another way in (USPTO).
Changing phones or losing your authenticator
USPTO doesn't document how to move or reset the authenticator app. A Novaz iCloud backup or backup file lets you restore your accounts on a new iPhone (see How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone). Without one, if you have a second method, sign in with it. Otherwise, USPTO's route is its Contact Center (USPTO):
- Phone: 800-786-9199 (toll-free) or 571-272-1000. The FAQ says to choose option 3, then option 3 again for USPTO.gov accounts (USPTO).
- Email: usptoinfo@uspto.gov.
- Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, except federal holidays.
The pages don't say what proof the Contact Center asks for or how long a reset takes. If you're replacing a phone, keep the old one until you can sign in on the new one. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
