GOV.UK One Login restored service after a major incident disrupted face-to-face identity proofing through Post Office journeys on May 11.
The government status page said the issue affected users trying to access the in-person Post Office identity proofing route, with technical teams investigating from 10:36 BST. The incident was marked resolved at 12:35 BST, with GOV.UK One Login stating that affected systems were operational and that teams were monitoring performance.
The affected journey is one of the identity proofing options within GOV.UK One Login, the UK government sign-in and identity platform used to access public services. Users who cannot complete remote document or app-based checks may be directed to an in-person route, including Post Office verification, making the channel an important fallback for people who need assistance or lack compatible documents or devices.
The outage came as the UK continues migrating more public services to One Login. HMRC started onboarding new customers to GOV.UK One Login earlier this year, and a House of Commons inquiry has examined the benefits and risks of digital identity use in public services.
The status notice did not identify the technical cause. It did specify that the disruption affected face-to-face Post Office identity proofing journeys, not all One Login functions. By May 12, the service status page showed all systems operational and no incidents reported for the day.
Service incidents are operational rather than policy developments, but they are relevant when governments consolidate identity access around shared platforms. In-person proofing routes can determine whether a digital ID system remains accessible to users who cannot complete remote checks, so resilience in those channels is part of the overall reliability of the national digital identity infrastructure.
The timing also follows scheduled maintenance on May 10 that affected web-based identity proving for four hours but left the One Login app and in-person identity proving available. The May 11 incident affected the face-to-face route instead, showing how different proofing channels can become operational fallbacks for one another.
Sources: GOV.UK One Login, GOV.UK
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By Ali Nassar-Smith
