How to get verified on Instagram: free or paid

There are two ways to get a verified badge on Instagram. The free way is to request one as a notable person, brand or organization, and Instagram decides whether you qualify. The paid way is Meta Verified, a monthly subscription that gives the badge to people who prove who they are with a government ID and meet Meta's account rules. Being famous isn't one of those rules.

For most people the paid route is the realistic one. The free badge is meant for accounts that people already search for by name and that independent news outlets have written about. A large following doesn't qualify you on its own, and nobody outside Meta can sell you a badge, whatever a DM promises.

Instagram's Help Center describes the badge as confirmation that Instagram has authenticated an account as the genuine presence of the person or brand it represents. It used to say more than that. Previously the badge also required the person or brand to be notable and unique, which is how a blue check became a status symbol.

Today some badges belong to notable accounts and others to Meta Verified subscribers. Instagram is direct about what the badge is not: a sign of importance, authority or expertise. It also says it doesn't use the badge to endorse anyone. All the badge tells a visitor is that the account belongs to who it says it does.

Two rules apply whichever way you get it. A badge can't be transferred to another account. And Instagram notes that once verified, some public figures, celebrities and brands can't change their username, so if a rebrand is coming, make the change before you apply.

This is the original verification process, and it costs nothing. Instagram's Help Center lists four requirements, and the account has to meet all of them:

• Authentic: it represents a real person, a registered business or an entity.
• Unique: it's the one presence of that person or business. Only one account each is verified, with exceptions for language-specific accounts.
• Complete: it's public and active, with a bio and a profile photo.
• Notable: it represents a well-known, highly searched-for person, brand or entity.

Notability is the hard part. Instagram has said it looks for accounts featured in several news sources and that it doesn't count paid or sponsored media content. A sponsored article, a paid press release or a “creators to watch” list you paid to join won't help. Independent coverage in outlets people recognize will.

How to send the request

1. In the Instagram app, go to your profile and tap the menu. Under Your insights and tools, tap Professional dashboard, then Settings in the top right, then Request verification. Menus move between versions, so search Settings if you can't see it.
2. Make sure you're on the request for public figures, celebrities and brands. Meta Verified is a separate sign-up with a monthly price.
3. Confirm who you are: enter your full name and provide the identification the form asks for. Instagram's Help Center gives a government-issued photo ID, or official business documents, as examples.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions. Instagram's Help Center doesn't list the form's questions, so have your evidence of notability ready before you open it.
5. Have links to independent coverage ready: articles about you or your brand in outlets you don't control. Your own website and anything you paid for won't show notability.
6. Submit it once. Instagram says applying more than once before you get a decision cancels the application, and that you'll be notified in Activity up to 30 days after you apply.

Tip: If the answer is no, Instagram's Help Center says you can submit a new request after 30 days. Use that time to fix what was missing, such as independent coverage, rather than sending the same request again.

Don't stretch the truth on the form. Instagram says that if a badge is granted on false or misleading information, it removes the badge and may disable the account as well.

Meta Verified is Meta's paid subscription for Instagram and Facebook, first tested in February 2023. It doesn't ask whether you're famous. It checks that you are who you say you are and that your account meets a list of rules.

Who can subscribe

• You're at least 18, or the age of majority where you live.
• You live in a country where Meta Verified is offered; it isn't available everywhere.
• The Instagram account is a personal or creator account. Business accounts are covered by Meta Verified for businesses, a separate product.
• You have a government-issued photo ID, and your profile may need a picture and name that meet Meta Verified's naming standards.
• Your profile name and picture follow Meta's rules, and you haven't gone over its limits on changing your name, picture, username, location or account type before applying.
• A security setting Meta calls Advanced Protection is turned on.
• The account meets Meta's minimum activity requirements and follows Instagram's terms and community rules.

One Meta account can verify two profiles at most: one on Instagram and one on Facebook.

How to sign up

1. Get the profile ready. The Help Center says your profile may need a picture and name that meet Meta Verified's naming standards, and you can confirm or edit both during sign-up.
2. In the Instagram app, tap your profile picture, then Menu, then Meta Verified. You can start on instagram.com, but the Help Center says you finish subscribing in the mobile app. Standard can also be bought on Meta's website.
3. Select the profile you want to verify, choose a plan, then pay. In the app, payment is confirmed through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
4. Turn on two-factor authentication when asked, confirm or edit your profile name and picture, then upload photos of your government-issued ID, front and back.
5. Submit, then wait for the review. Meta says it sends an update within 3 business days, and the badge appears once the application is approved. If you don't finish the steps within 3 days, the subscription is cancelled and you can get a refund.

Tip: Settle your name, username and photo before you subscribe. Meta limits how often you can change them before applying, and going over that limit can make you ineligible.

Meta's Meta Verified page lists four plans for creators, each priced per profile, per month, in US dollars:

Every plan includes the badge, impersonation protection, enhanced support by chat or email around the clock, search optimization, images on links and exclusive stickers. A featured profile and Reel links start at Plus, and personalized content strategy advice is on Max. Meta's plans page lists custom chat themes on Max only, while Instagram's Help Center lists them from Premium, so check the plan screen in your app. Standard can be bought on the web or in the app; Meta says Plus, Premium and Max are sold in the mobile app only. Local prices may differ, so check the price in your own app before you pay.

The line-up is still changing. Meta's page also says Meta Verified features are now available in Meta One, a newer subscription that builds on Meta Verified and adds more AI features to its apps. If your app offers Meta One instead, compare what it includes with the plans above before choosing.

Start with one question: has independent press written about you or your brand, and do people search for you by name? If so, request the free badge first and keep the money. If not, a free request is very likely to be declined, however good your posts are.

Meta Verified can be worth paying for when:

• Someone is impersonating you. Impersonation protection and a support team you can actually reach are what justify the fee.
• Strangers buy from you. On a creator account that sells coaching or digital products, the badge tells buyers they've found the real account and not a copy.
• You've been hacked or locked out before. Enhanced support matters most on the day something goes wrong.

It's probably not worth it if what you want is more views. Meta lists search optimization on every plan and a featured profile from Plus up, which may make you easier to find, but a badge doesn't make anyone watch, like or share your posts. And because anyone eligible can buy one, the badge no longer signals fame the way it once did.

Verification scams work because people want the badge and aren't sure how it's given. Two facts protect you: the notability badge is free, and Meta Verified is sold by Meta, in its apps and on its own website. Nobody else can sell you a badge, speed one up or guarantee one.

• Messages from a “verification team” or “Instagram support” offering a badge. Treat any DM or email like this as a scam.
• Links to forms asking for your password or a login code. Meta's sign-up happens inside the app you're already logged in to, so a page that wants your password is phishing.
• Agencies promising a badge for a fee. They can't make Instagram's decision for you, and the coverage they can buy doesn't count toward notability.
• Look-alike accounts with a check mark emoji in the name. The real badge sits next to the account name and can't be typed.

Tip: Already typed your password into a fake verification page? Change it right away, then check where you're logged in from Accounts Center and turn on two-factor authentication.

• Follow Instagram's rules. A badge doesn't protect an account from penalties or removal.
• Keep the subscription running if your badge came from Meta Verified. The badge is part of what you pay for, so it goes when the subscription ends.
• Stay public, complete and active if your badge came from the free route; those were conditions of getting it.
• Don't plan on moving it. A badge can't be transferred, so a new account starts the process from the beginning.

If your badge dates from the old notability rules, Instagram says accounts verified under the earlier requirements see no immediate changes while it tests the new approach.