Marketplace Identity Verification for 2027: Why You May Need to Approve Your Agent (and Take an ID Check)
In states that use HealthCare.gov, CMS is requiring you to approve your agent yourself before they can work on your 2027 plan. Here's what to expect, who gets ID questions, what to never share, and how to check us out. Leer en español
Questions? Talk to a Licensed Agent ↓Marketplace Identity Verification for 2027, in Plain English
The 30-second version: For 2027, CMS is requiring a new step in HealthCare.gov states. Before an agent can work on your Marketplace application, you approve that agent yourself with a one-time link or code sent to your own phone or email. Some people answer a few ID questions first. It's free. It helps stop other agents from changing your plan without your OK.
This step is there to protect you. CMS (the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) is the federal agency that runs HealthCare.gov. The Marketplace is where you buy a plan and get help paying for it. The rules come from CMS, not from us.
FreedInsure LLC is an independent agency, and our help is free: (844) 788-3733. To share this page, use freedinsure.com/2027-id-check/.
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- Watch for a text, email or call asking you to approve your agent.
- Open it yourself. It expires within 15 minutes.
- You may get a few ID questions. They don't affect your credit score.
- Never share your HealthCare.gov password.
- Didn't ask for help? Don't approve it. Call 1-800-318-2596.
Last updated: October 16, 2026
What You'll Be Asked to Do: 3 Simple Steps
If you work with an agent, expect steps 1 and 2. Some people also get step 3. Sources: CMS's agent approval FAQ and the federal consent rule.
| Step | What It Is | What You Do | How Often |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Your OK to help (consent) | Your permission for an agent to help, recorded before they look anything up. | Give your OK, like a signature or a reply to a message. Then confirm your application is right. | Before help starts, and each time an application is sent. |
| 2. Approve your agent (authorization) | A one-time link or code by text, email or automated call. | Open it yourself and approve your agent. It expires within 15 minutes. | Once per plan year. Most people with an agent will likely need to re-approve for 2027. |
| 3. ID check (identity proofing) | A few multiple-choice questions from your credit file (through Experian) or another CMS-approved ID service. | Answer them before approving your agent. | Only in some cases (see below). |
“Identity proofing” just means checking that you are who you say you are. HealthCare.gov does it so “someone else can't create an account and apply for health coverage in your name”.
Will I Get the ID Check?
CMS requires it if any one of these is true:
- You're new to the Marketplace, including moving here from another state.
- Your current plan costs you $30 a month or less after your tax credit. Dental-only plans don't count.
- You're switching to a new or different agent.
So if your plan costs little or nothing after your tax credit, expect the ID check. CMS calls these cases “high-risk,” but that describes the application, not you. The check is for the main contact on the application, not everyone in your home.
It isn't a credit check. The questions may come from your credit file. But CMS's ID check flyer says this “doesn't affect your credit score.”
What to Expect From the Approval Message
It goes to your own phone or email, never ours. Federal rules say agents may never put their own phone, email or address on your application.
- It may be a text, an email or an automated call from the enrollment website your agent uses. The look varies by website.
- CMS says the link or code must work only once and expire within 15 minutes.
- CMS allows no more than 3 messages in 24 hours for the same agent.
Why is my insurance agent sending me a link?
Your agent can't work on your application until you approve them. So the enrollment website sends the request straight to you.
Is the text from my insurance agent a scam?
It's likely real if you just asked that agent for help. If you didn't ask anyone for help, don't approve it. Only approve the agent you're actually working with. Old phone or email on file? Call the Marketplace Call Center to update it yourself.
What We (and Any Licensed Agent) Will Never Ask For or Offer
No licensed agent should ask for or offer any of these. If someone does, stop and call us or the Marketplace.
- Your HealthCare.gov password. CMS says agents may never log into your account or create one for you.
- To put our phone, email or address on your application. They must be yours.
- An offer of cash, gift cards or other rewards for signing up. CMS bans these.
- A promise of a “guaranteed $0 plan.” CMS bans false promises like this.
- Payment to keep your coverage. You pay your premium directly to your plan.
See the full list of red flags in our guide to health insurance scams.
Why Your Agent Asks for Your Social Security Number
The Marketplace requires a Social Security number (SSN) from every applicant who has one. In September 2026, CMS announced a new rule for applications made with an agent. They must include an SSN or immigration document number CMS can verify. This applies to every applicant except newborns. Learn more in why your insurance agent needs your SSN.
If someone in your home isn't applying, they usually don't have to give an SSN. Some lawfully present people don't have an SSN. They can still apply. See health insurance without an SSN.
If the ID Check Doesn't Work
A failed check isn't the end. You still have options:
- Call the Experian help desk with the reference number the website gives you.
- Use another CMS-approved ID service, if you're offered one.
- Apply on HealthCare.gov and upload a copy of an ID, like a driver's license. HealthCare.gov says this usually takes 7 to 10 days.
The Marketplace Call Center can't do the ID check for applications made through an agent's enrollment website. For step-by-step help, see what to do if HealthCare.gov can't verify your identity.
Why Is This Happening?
To stop people from being signed up or switched without their OK. From 2023 through 2025, CMS got more than 624,000 complaints about this. On August 31, 2026, CMS canceled about 315,000 enrollments covering more than 760,000 people, after confirming they were unauthorized.
About 76% of plan choices in Open Enrollment for 2026 had help from an agent, a broker or a broker's website. So these steps touch most people. The new step is meant to make sure only the agent you approve can work on your application. Learn more in our scam guide.
Check Us Out Yourself
Don't just take our word for it. FreedInsure's licensed agent, Constantino Lardi (NPN 20230457), is licensed in 42 jurisdictions. An NPN, or National Producer Number, is a unique ID number an agent gets when they apply for a license.
Look him up with your state insurance department. Our licenses page links to the lookup for all 42. To confirm an agent is registered with the Marketplace, call the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596.
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Live in a State That Runs Its Own Exchange?
Some states run their own exchange and set their own approval and ID steps. For 2027, that includes California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York and Oregon. In Arkansas and Oklahoma, you enroll through HealthCare.gov, so the federal steps apply. Get Covered New Jersey says it uses outside companies, such as Experian, to check identity. Covered California says enrollment help is “never required, and is always free.” We don't sell Marketplace plans in DC, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, Pennsylvania or Virginia. See open enrollment deadlines by state.
Something Look Wrong?
Got an approval request you didn't expect, or see a change you didn't make? Don't approve it. Call the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596 (TTY 1-855-889-4325). It's open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except holidays.
CMS says the Marketplace can cancel a plan you didn't approve, re-enroll you in one you choose and fix your tax forms. In a state that runs its own exchange, call your exchange. To report an agent, see how to report an agent on our licenses page. More help is in our scam guide and Marketplace phone number guide.
Sources
- CMS, Identity Proofing and Agent/Broker Authorization FAQ (August 3, 2026) — the approval step, the 15-minute link or code, the 3-message limit, who gets the ID check, yearly approval and the 76% figure.
- CMS press release (September 22, 2026) and CMS anti-fraud fact sheet — the August 31, 2026 cancellations and the verified SSN or immigration document rule.
- CMS interim final rule, 91 FR 60317 (September 23, 2026) — more than 624,000 complaints from 2023 through 2025.
- 45 CFR 155.220 (eCFR) — consent, application review, and your own phone, email and address on the application; CMS consent FAQ — agents may never log into your HealthCare.gov account.
- 2027 Payment Notice, 91 FR 29526 (May 20, 2026) and CMS fact sheet — the standard consent form for 2028 coverage and the ban on cash inducements and false $0 promises.
- CMS Marketplace Call Center tip sheet (September 2026) — the Call Center can't do the ID check for enrollment-website applications; dropping an agent.
- CMS, Verifying Your Identity in the Marketplace (Product No. 11778) — credit-file questions that don't affect your credit score.
- HealthCare.gov: verifying your identity, uploading documents (7 to 10 days), documents and deadlines (90 and 95 days), applying without an SSN, fraud and scams, privacy (confirming an agent is registered) and contact us.
- 45 CFR 155.310 (eCFR) — an SSN is required from applicants who have one.
- CMS statement on plan years 2026-2027 (July 27, 2026) — the automatic 60-day extension for income proof is back.
- HealthCare.gov glossary: agent — agents are often paid by insurance companies, and you won't pay anything extra.
- NIPR, look up your NPN — what a National Producer Number is.
- CMS consumer alert on unauthorized agent activity — what the Marketplace can fix.
- CMS, States by Marketplace Type for Plan Year 2027; Get Covered New Jersey privacy notice; Covered California consumer protection.
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