RealMe: New Zealand's Digital Identity for Newcomers and Levels of Assurance
RealMe is the New Zealand government's shared digital-identity service, structured as two distinct components.
The lead operator is the Department of Internal Affairs — Te Tari Taiwhenua. RealMe Login is an authentication credential accepted by Inland Revenue, Immigration New Zealand, Health New Zealand, the Ministry of Social Development, and around two hundred other services; RealMe Verified Identity is an identity-proofing layer linked to a New Zealand-government-held identity record. Both layers are free for individuals.
Estimated time
RealMe Login creation is immediate — the credential is active as soon as the email is verified, typically a single five- to ten-minute session through the relying service. RealMe Verified Identity processing takes up to ten business days from submission, with online photo capture on a camera-equipped device or in-person photo capture at a partner store. The two layers are independent: a new arrival can hold a working RealMe Login on day one and add Verified Identity later, once a New Zealand-government-held identity record becomes available.
Cost
NZ$0
What You Need
Tap to check off items as you gather them
Additional Items
- Two-component model — RealMe Login is an authentication credential offering no identity assurance; RealMe Verified Identity is a separate identity-proofing layer linked to a New Zealand-government-held identity record. The two layers are independent and most New Zealand government services accept Login alone. Verified Identity is additionally required by a narrower set of services that bind a financial relationship, vote, or release a government-issued credential — common examples are opening a New Zealand bank account, enrolling to vote, and applying for a replacement driver licence.
- Levels of Assurance framework — published by the Department of Internal Affairs on digital.govt.nz under the Identification Management Standards. The framework defines four Levels of Assurance (Level 1 weakest through Level 4 strongest) applied to three orthogonal components: Information Assurance (robustness of the entity information), Binding Assurance (robustness of the binding between the entity and the authenticator), and Authentication Assurance (robustness of the authentication event). The level used in any given process is determined by the amount of risk to be mitigated; each level requires all the controls of the relevant standard to be applied at that level or above.
- Federated Logon Tag (FLT) — a 35-character per-agency pseudonymous identifier issued at first login event with each relying agency. The same person appears to different services as different FLTs; agencies cannot correlate a Login across services using the Tag alone. Real-world identity attributes are only released through Verified Identity, with explicit per-event user consent.
- Operator-entity topology — the Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua) is the lead agency; the RealMe service runs across multiple delivery components, each operated by a different entity. The RealMe Login and Assertion Services platform is hosted on Microsoft Azure Active Directory B2C, with technical solution and support contracted by the Department of Internal Affairs to UNIFY Solutions Pty Ltd, an Australian-headquartered identity-platform specialist. The Identity Verification Service component — the system that holds the binding between a RealMe Login and an authoritative identity-document source — is hosted on the Datacom Cloud Service for Government, with data residency inside New Zealand. Authoritative-data sources (the passport register, citizenship register, births-deaths-marriages register, and immigration record) remain operated by their respective owning agencies.
- Verified Identity validity — Verified Identity is valid for ten years from the date it is issued. Renewal is offered online before expiry.
- Service-acceptance scope — the Department of Internal Affairs Digital Identity Services product page lists approximately two hundred government and commercial services that accept RealMe Verified Identity, including financial institutions. RealMe Login is accepted by a broader set, covering Inland Revenue (myIR), Immigration New Zealand, Health New Zealand (My Health Account), the Ministry of Social Development (MyMSD), ACC (My ACC), the Companies Office, StudyLink, ArchivesNZ, the Electoral Commission information services, and most central-government self-service portals.
- Address verification — a separate consent step distinct from identity verification, confirmed via a New Zealand Post check. Required by a small number of relying services, notably some banks and universities; not automatically included with Verified Identity.
- Forward roadmap — the Department of Internal Affairs Digital Identity Services product page lists platform-engineering items on a published forward roadmap including a planned migration of the Login and Assertion Services platform to Microsoft Entra ID. The Identity Verification Service component is not part of this transition and stays on the Datacom Cloud Service for Government. The user-facing experience — username, password, and enrolment flows — is intended to remain stable through any platform transition; any user-facing change would be announced via realme.govt.nz.
Step-by-Step
- 1
Create a RealMe Login from a Relying Service
Expat New Arrival Resident- (Applicant) Navigate to the government service you want to access — for example, the Inland Revenue myIR portal or the Immigration New Zealand visa portal — and select the Login with RealMe option. The relying service redirects to the RealMe authentication page, where a Create a RealMe Login option is presented.
- (Applicant) Enter a working email address, choose a username unique within RealMe, set a strong password, and answer the security questions shown on the creation screen.
- (Applicant) Configure a 5-digit secret PIN as the out-of-band password-recovery path. The PIN does not require email access to use.
- (Department of Internal Affairs / RealMe) Send a confirmation message to the registered email address.
💡 Tip: Begin the Login creation from the relying service you actually want to use, not from realme.govt.nz directly — the official process starts from the service-side Login with RealMe button, which redirects to the RealMe authentication page for account creation.
- 2
Confirm the Email and Configure a Second Factor
Expat New Arrival Resident- (Applicant) Open the confirmation message in the email inbox and follow the activation link. The RealMe Login is then active for use across services that accept RealMe Login.
- (Applicant) In the RealMe account settings, configure a second-factor option — either an SMS code sent to a registered mobile number (overseas numbers are accepted), or a time-based one-time passcode from a standard authenticator app.
- (Applicant) Confirm the second-factor setup by completing one authenticated test login.
💡 Tip: Configure a second factor even for the Login layer. Authentication strength is one of the three components of the Levels of Assurance framework — a Login paired with a second factor sits at a higher Authentication Assurance level than a Login with a password alone, and several relying services will only accept multi-factor authentication.
- 3
(Optional) Set Up RealMe Verified Identity
Expat New Arrival ResidentRequired only for services that bind a financial relationship, vote, or release a government-issued credential — such as opening a New Zealand bank account, enrolling to vote, or applying for a replacement driver licence. RealMe Login alone is sufficient for most central-government services.
- (Applicant) Start the Verified Identity flow from realme.govt.nz directly, or from a relying service that requires Verified Identity. Submit the details from one of the four eligible identity sources: a New Zealand passport (current or expired); a New Zealand birth certificate; a New Zealand citizenship certificate; or a New Zealand immigration record.
- (Applicant) Capture a photo — online on a camera-equipped device through the browser camera interface, or in person at a partner store as the documented fallback.
- (Applicant) Provide identity-referee details where the flow requires them. Referees must be aged sixteen or older.
- (Department of Internal Affairs / RealMe Verified Identity) Process the application — match the identity-document details against the authoritative source, compare the photo, and complete any referee checks. Processing takes up to ten business days from submission.
- (Applicant) Receive the activation notification when the Verified Identity is active.
💡 Tip: RealMe Verified Identity is the easy and secure way for someone to prove who they are online so they can do things like open a bank account and enrol to vote. The official channel describes it as DIA's highest level of identity assurance — the binding is made to an authoritative New Zealand government identity record, with the photo and referee checks completing the proofing.
- 4
Use RealMe Across Services
Expat New Arrival Resident- (Applicant) At any service that accepts RealMe Login, select Login with RealMe at the service's login screen. The service redirects to the RealMe authentication page; enter the username, password, and second-factor code, and the service receives an authenticated session plus the Federated Logon Tag — a 35-character per-agency pseudonymous identifier.
- (Applicant) At any service that additionally requires Verified Identity, consent to the release of specific identity attributes (name, date and place of birth, gender, residential address, photo, as appropriate to the service). The data is pulled in real time from the underlying authoritative source — the passport register, the citizenship register, the births-deaths-marriages register, or the immigration record — with explicit consent for each release event.
- (Relying service) Receive the authenticated session and, for Verified Identity services, the consented identity attributes; complete the transaction.
💡 Tip: The Federated Logon Tag is service-specific — the same RealMe Login appears to myIR, Immigration New Zealand, MyMSD, and other services as distinct Tags, so agencies cannot correlate the user across services using the Tag alone. Real-world attributes flow only through Verified Identity, only with explicit per-event consent.
- 5
Maintain Your RealMe Account
Expat New Arrival Resident- (Applicant) For a forgotten password, enter the username and email to receive a 6-digit code by email or SMS, then reset the password. For a forgotten username, the equivalent flow is keyed off the email address.
- (Applicant) Update the registered mobile number from the RealMe account settings whenever it changes — the helpdesk recommends keeping this current so SMS second-factor remains reachable.
- (Applicant) Renew RealMe Verified Identity before the ten-year validity expires; the renewal flow is online and free of charge.
- (RealMe helpdesk) Handle lost-credential and recovery escalations via 0800 664 774 (within New Zealand) or +64 4 462 0674 (from overseas), operating twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
💡 Tip: Set a calendar reminder for the Verified Identity renewal — the ten-year validity is long enough that the expiry date is easy to overlook, and a lapsed Verified Identity will need to be re-established before the next high-value transaction.
Local Tips from the Community
- A new arrival can create a RealMe Login on day one — eligibility is not tied to New Zealand citizenship or residency, and any working email address is sufficient. Set up the Login first to access myIR, the Immigration New Zealand visa portal, MyMSD, My ACC, and My Health Account; defer Verified Identity until a New Zealand-government-held identity record is available.
- RealMe Login can be created and used from outside New Zealand. The helpdesk advertises the overseas-callable number +64 4 462 0674 alongside the in-country 0800 664 774, both operating 24/7. Creating the Login before arrival means the credential is ready when you first need to claim an IRD number, lodge a visa variation, or pay an immigration fee.
- If your only identity documents are foreign passports, Verified Identity is generally not accessible immediately. Many participating banks accept alternative in-person verification routes (foreign passport plus visa plus proof of address) without requiring RealMe Verified Identity at all — you can hold a working RealMe Login and an in-person bank verification at the same time.
- The Federated Logon Tag (FLT) is a 35-character per-agency pseudonymous identifier. Each relying service sees a different FLT for the same person, so government agencies cannot correlate a Login across services. Real-world attributes are only released through Verified Identity, with explicit per-event user consent.
- If the online photo-capture route fails — for example, because the browser does not support the camera interface — the in-person partner-store route is the documented alternative. The partner may charge a small service fee for photo capture, separately from RealMe itself.
What Could Go Wrong
Create a RealMe Login at a relying service: The chosen username is already taken or the password does not meet the strength rules
Recovery: Choose a different username (the Login flow checks availability in real time) and a password that meets the strength rules shown on the creation screen. The username is unique within RealMe and is not the email address; you can use a different username from the one displayed by other services.
Configure the second factor for the Login: SMS codes do not arrive at the registered mobile number, or the authenticator app cannot be paired
Recovery: Switch to the alternative second-factor route — SMS where the authenticator app failed, or authenticator app where the SMS route failed. Overseas mobile numbers are accepted for SMS. The 5-digit secret PIN is the out-of-band password-recovery path that does not depend on the second factor.
Capture the photo for Verified Identity online: The browser does not support the camera interface or the photo capture fails repeatedly
Recovery: Switch to the in-person partner-store route — the documented fallback when the online capture is not available. The partner may charge a small service fee for the photo capture, separately from RealMe; the official channel does not publish a figure.
Match the identity record for Verified Identity: The applicant is a recent newcomer and has no New Zealand passport, citizenship certificate, birth certificate, or matchable New Zealand immigration record
Recovery: Hold the working RealMe Login for everyday services and defer Verified Identity until a New Zealand-government-held identity record becomes available — typically once residence has been granted and the Immigration New Zealand record can be matched, or after a New Zealand passport is later issued. For services that require Verified Identity in the interim, ask the relying service about their alternative identity-verification routes — many participating banks accept in-person verification of a foreign passport together with the visa and proof of address.
Use RealMe Login for a service that requires Verified Identity: The relying service rejects the Login and prompts for Verified Identity
Recovery: Start the Verified Identity flow from realme.govt.nz or from the relying service's own prompt. Verified Identity processing takes up to ten business days; for time-sensitive transactions, plan ahead. Where Verified Identity is not yet accessible, ask the relying service about alternative identity-verification routes.
Costs
| Item | Amount | Payment | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| RealMe Login creation | NZ$0 | — | Free across all services. No charge to create or maintain a RealMe Login, and no per-login or per-use fee. |
| RealMe Verified Identity application | NZ$0 | — | Free of charge. The official channel states It's free to apply. Online photo capture on a camera-equipped device is at no separate cost. |
| RealMe Verified Identity renewal | NZ$0 | — | Free of charge. Verified Identity is valid for ten years; the renewal flow is online. |
- Notes:
- Free across all services. No charge to create or maintain a RealMe Login, and no per-login or per-use fee.
- Notes:
- Free of charge. The official channel states It's free to apply. Online photo capture on a camera-equipped device is at no separate cost.
- Notes:
- Free of charge. Verified Identity is valid for ten years; the renewal flow is online.
FAQ
General
Is a RealMe Login the same as Verified Identity?
No. RealMe Login is an authentication credential — a username and password (plus optional second factor) that lets the user log in to services that accept RealMe. The official channel describes it as an authentication service that offers no identity assurance; the relying service receives only a Federated Logon Tag, never a real-world identity attribute. RealMe Verified Identity is a separate identity-proofing layer linked to the Login: when the user has Verified Identity and consents to a release event, the relying service receives specific identity attributes (name, date and place of birth, gender, residential address, photo, as appropriate) pulled in real time from the underlying authoritative source. The two layers are independent — most services accept Login on its own.
Do I need a New Zealand passport to create a RealMe Login?
No. Anyone with a working email address can create a RealMe Login — eligibility is not tied to New Zealand citizenship or residency, and the Login can be created from overseas. The Login alone is sufficient to access Inland Revenue (myIR), the Immigration New Zealand visa portal, MyMSD, My ACC, My Health Account, and most central-government self-service portals. Verified Identity is the layer that requires a New Zealand-government-held identity record.
How long does Verified Identity take to process?
Up to ten business days from submission. The processing covers identity-document matching against the authoritative source (the passport register, citizenship register, births-deaths-marriages register, or immigration record as applicable), photo comparison, and referee checks where the flow requires them. The user receives notification when the Verified Identity is active. Submissions made via a partner store may move faster in some cases, but a firm partner-store-only figure is not published.
Is RealMe free?
Yes. Both RealMe Login and RealMe Verified Identity are free for individuals — creation, use, and renewal are all at no charge. The only variable cost is an optional small partner-store service fee for in-person photo capture used as an alternative to online capture; this is charged by the partner, separately from RealMe itself, and is avoided by using the online photo route on a phone or laptop with a camera. Relying services (banks, agencies) pay a separate per-transaction fee to the Department of Internal Affairs that does not pass through to individuals.
What if I do not have a New Zealand identity document yet — how do I open a bank account?
Many participating banks accept alternative identity-verification routes outside the RealMe Verified channel — typically an in-person verification of a foreign passport together with the visa and proof of address. A new arrival can hold a working RealMe Login (created with any email and used at services like myIR and the Immigration New Zealand portal) and complete an in-person bank verification at the same time, without using RealMe Verified Identity at all. Once a New Zealand-government-held identity record becomes available — for instance after residency is granted and an immigration record can be matched, or after a New Zealand passport is later issued — Verified Identity becomes accessible.
Does the relying service see my real name when I use RealMe Login?
No. The relying service receives only a Federated Logon Tag — a 35-character per-agency pseudonymous identifier issued at first login event with that agency. The same person appears to different services as different Tags; the agencies cannot correlate the Login across services using the Tag alone. Real-world identity attributes — name, date and place of birth, gender, residential address, photo — are only released through RealMe Verified Identity, and only with explicit user consent at each release event, for the attributes consented to in that event.
Where can I get help with my RealMe account?
The general-public helpdesk operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week: 0800 664 774 within New Zealand, or +64 4 462 0674 from overseas. The Department of Internal Affairs Digital Identity Services line is 0800 25 78 87, operating within business hours and reaching the [email protected] inbox. For after-hours password or login issues, the 0800 664 774 line is the correct route.
Will RealMe change soon?
The Department of Internal Affairs Digital Identity Services product page lists platform-engineering items on a published forward roadmap, including a planned migration of the Login and Assertion Services platform to Microsoft Entra ID. These are infrastructure changes intended to be invisible to end users — the username, password, second-factor, and Verified Identity enrolment flows are not affected. The Identity Verification Service component stays on the Datacom Cloud Service for Government inside New Zealand and is not part of the platform transition. Any user-facing change would be announced via realme.govt.nz and the relying-service channels.
Does my Verified Identity data go overseas?
The Identity Verification Service component — the system that holds the binding between a RealMe Login and the authoritative identity-document source — is hosted on the Datacom Cloud Service for Government inside New Zealand. The Login and Assertion Services platform is hosted on Microsoft Azure Active Directory B2C, with technical solution and support contracted by the Department of Internal Affairs to UNIFY Solutions Pty Ltd. The Identity Verification Service component is not part of the published platform transition and stays within New Zealand borders.
Some services call Login low-assurance and Verified Identity high-assurance — is that the official framework?
The colloquial labels of low, substantial, and high assurance appear informally in some service descriptions but are not the normative terminology of the New Zealand Identification Management Standards. The framework deliberately uses Levels 1 through 4 (Level 1 weakest, Level 4 strongest) and applies the level to three components: Information Assurance, Binding Assurance, and Authentication Assurance. RealMe Login is described by the developer documentation as offering no identity assurance and operating at the low-strength or moderate-strength authentication-strength labels depending on whether a second factor is configured; RealMe Verified Identity is described by the Department of Internal Affairs as DIA's highest level of identity assurance, with the binding made to an authoritative New Zealand government identity record.
After This Process
- → Activate RealMe Login at the everyday services you will use first — Inland Revenue myIR once you hold an IRD number, Immigration New Zealand for visa management, MyMSD for the Ministry of Social Development, and My Health Account for Health New Zealand.
- → If Verified Identity is not yet accessible because no New Zealand-government-held identity record is available, ask each relying service about its alternative identity-verification routes — most banks accept in-person foreign-passport verification alongside the visa and proof of address.
- → Plan a Verified Identity application once a New Zealand immigration record can be matched (typically after residency is granted), or later after a New Zealand passport is issued.
- → Set a calendar reminder for the Verified Identity ten-year renewal so the credential does not lapse before the next high-value transaction.
Sources
- RealMe — main landing page (realme.govt.nz ↗)
- RealMe Verified Identity (realme.govt.nz ↗)
- RealMe Login overview (realme.govt.nz ↗)
- RealMe — where to use RealMe (service list) (realme.govt.nz ↗)
- RealMe Help — helpdesk and recovery (realme.govt.nz ↗)
- DIA Digital Identity Services — RealMe service page (digitalidentity.dia.govt.nz ↗)
- DIA Digital Identity Services — RealMe Verified service page (digitalidentity.dia.govt.nz ↗)
- digital.govt.nz — Levels of Assurance (digital.govt.nz ↗)
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9 sources cited last accessed 2026-05-21
T1 official portal · T2 embassy/consulate · T3 news · T4 community — higher tier wins on conflict. methodology →
- T1RealMe — Department of Internal Affairs (Verified Identity service page) 2026-05-21
Verified Identity definition and the four eligible source documents — a New Zealand passport (current or expired), a New Zealand birth certificate, a New Zealand citizenship certificate, or a New Zealand immigration record. Photo capture is mandatory and can be online on a camera-equipped device or in person at a partner store. Verified Identity is free to apply. Processing takes up to ten business days from submission. Attributes returned to a relying service with consent are name, date and place of birth, gender, residential address, and photo. Verified Identity remains valid for ten years and renewal is offered online. RealMe Verified Identity is the easy and secure way for someone to prove who they are online so they can do things like open a bank account and enrol to vote.
realme.govt.nz - T1RealMe — Department of Internal Affairs (Login service page) 2026-05-21
Login creation steps — enter an email address, create a username and a strong password, and answer security questions. Second-factor options are an SMS code to a registered mobile number, or a time-based code from an authenticator app. A 5-digit secret PIN is the out-of-band password-recovery factor. Login alone is sufficient for a broad set of services without revealing real-world identity attributes; the relying service receives only a Federated Logon Tag.
realme.govt.nz - T1RealMe — Department of Internal Affairs (services list) 2026-05-21
Services list distinguishes RealMe Login-only services from RealMe Verified Identity services. Login-only services include Inland Revenue (myIR), Immigration New Zealand, Ministry of Social Development (MyMSD), ACC (My ACC), Health New Zealand (My Health Account), Companies Office, StudyLink, ArchivesNZ, and Electoral Commission information services. Verified Identity is additionally required by services that bind a financial relationship, vote, or release a government-issued credential — typical examples include opening a New Zealand bank account, enrolling to vote, and applying for a replacement driver licence.
realme.govt.nz - T1RealMe — Department of Internal Affairs (helpdesk and recovery) 2026-05-21
Helpdesk numbers — 0800 664 774 within New Zealand or +64 4 462 0674 from overseas, both operating twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Recovery flows for a forgotten password and a forgotten username use a 6-digit code delivered by email or SMS. The partner-store route is the documented alternative when the online photo-capture route is not available; the partner may charge a small service fee for the photo capture, separately from RealMe itself.
realme.govt.nz - T1Department of Internal Affairs — Digital Identity Services (RealMe service page) 2026-05-21
RealMe Login is described as an authentication service offering no identity assurance — the relying service receives only a Federated Logon Tag, never a real-world identity attribute. The forward roadmap lists platform-engineering items including a planned migration of the Login and Assertion Services platform to Microsoft Entra ID. The Identity Verification Service component is not part of this transition and stays on the Datacom Cloud Service for Government.
digitalidentity.dia.govt.nz - T1Department of Internal Affairs — Digital Identity Services (RealMe Verified service page) 2026-05-21
Verified Identity is described as DIA's highest level of identity assurance. Verified Identity is valid for ten years from issuance, with online renewal. Approximately two hundred government and commercial services accept RealMe Verified Identity, including financial institutions. The accepted source documents include a New Zealand passport or a citizenship certificate issued within the most recent twelve-year window, or a New Zealand birth certificate, or a New Zealand immigration record.
digitalidentity.dia.govt.nz - T1Department of Internal Affairs — digital.govt.nz (Identification Management Standards, Levels of Assurance) 2026-05-21
Levels of Assurance framework defines four levels (Level 1 weakest through Level 4 strongest) applied to three components: Information Assurance (robustness of the entity information), Binding Assurance (robustness of the binding between entity and authenticator), and Authentication Assurance (robustness of the authentication event). The level used is determined by the amount of risk to be mitigated; each level requires all the controls of the relevant standard at that level or above. The framework uses level numbers (1 through 4) and does not use the colloquial labels of low, substantial, and high.
digital.govt.nz - T1Department of Internal Affairs — digital.govt.nz (RealMe product page) 2026-05-21
The Department of Internal Affairs is the lead agency for RealMe. The RealMe Login and Assertion Services platform is hosted on Microsoft Azure Active Directory B2C, with technical solution and support contracted by the Department of Internal Affairs to UNIFY Solutions Pty Ltd. The Identity Verification Service component is hosted on the Datacom Cloud Service for Government inside New Zealand.
digital.govt.nz - T1RealMe Developers — Department of Internal Affairs (Login service technical reference) 2026-05-21
RealMe Login returns a Federated Logon Tag, a 35-character per-agency pseudonymous identifier issued at first login event with each relying agency. The same person appears to different services as different Tags; agencies cannot correlate the Login across services using the Tag alone. The developer documentation refers to two operating modes as low-strength (single factor) and moderate-strength (multi-factor) authentication.
developers.realme.govt.nz