This is a reminder that by midnight on Friday 31 July 2026. you must request a multi-factor authentication (MFA) activation for 19 August 2026.
About MFA
HMRC will be activating MFA on all agent accounts. The introduction of MFA brings agent accounts in line with the protection already in place for individual and organisation Government Gateway accounts and is part of HMRC’s ongoing work to protect agents and their clients from the evolving threat to online security.
How to request 19 August 2026 activation
To do this you must complete a short online form when you sign in to either your agent services account or your HMRC online services for agents account. The form will not appear if MFA has already been activated on your account.
Once activated, MFA will be applied to all accounts held under the agent ID(s) you provide. If you have multiple IDs, you can choose which ones to activate for this deadline. Please pay attention to the guidance within the form to ensure you provide the correct ID. We will not be able to activate MFA on 19 August if an incorrect ID is provided.
Remaining activation dates
If you do not choose to activate MFA on 19 August 2026, or provide an incorrect ID on your request form, any remaining IDs will automatically be included in the final activation window between 28 September 2026 and 15 October 2026.
How to prepare
Please prepare in advance for your activation by selecting your preferred future settings and checking for any existing MFA settings that may be outdated. Full guidance on how to prepare is available in the Tax Agent Handbook on GOV.UK.
