LinkedIn Account Recovery: Every Way Back Into Your Account
By Muhammad Amir, Searcora Digital Ltd · Updated 7 November 2026
Being locked out of LinkedIn is stressful, especially when your network, job search or Sales Navigator lists live there. The right recovery route depends on why you are locked out. This page shows each situation — a forgotten password, no access to your email, a lost phone, a hacked account, a restriction or an old account — and the steps that work for each one.
Which LinkedIn account recovery route do you need?
| Your situation | Recovery route |
|---|---|
| Forgot your password, still have the email or phone | Reset the password from the sign-in page |
| No access to the email address on the account | Identity verification, then update the email |
| Lost the phone used for two-step verification | Backup codes, or identity verification |
| Someone else changed your password or email | Hacked account recovery |
| LinkedIn says the account is restricted | Restricted account steps |
| An account you made years ago | Old account recovery |
Recover a LinkedIn account with your email or phone
- 1. On the sign-in page, choose Forgot password.
- 2. Enter any email address or phone number that is on the account.
- 3. Open the code or link LinkedIn sends and choose a new, unique password.
- 4. Tick the option to sign out of other devices if it is offered, then sign in again.
- 5. Check spam and promotions folders if the email does not arrive within a few minutes.
Recover your LinkedIn account without email access
If the email on the account belongs to a job you left or an inbox you can no longer open, try every other address and phone number you may have added first — LinkedIn accepts any confirmed one. If none work, the route is identity verification. LinkedIn uses Persona as its verification provider: on a computer you scan a QR code with your phone, photograph a valid government ID and take a short selfie. LinkedIn’s help pages also describe alternatives for people who cannot use an ID or photo, such as an affidavit of identity. Once verified, add an email you control and remove the old one.
Recover LinkedIn after losing your two-step verification phone
- Use a backup code if you saved them when you turned on two-step verification.
- Sign in from a device you already use; trusted devices sometimes skip the code.
- Use your email to reset access if the account lets you choose email instead of phone.
- Verify your identity through LinkedIn’s help center if none of the above work, then set up two-step verification again with a new number or an authenticator app.
The LinkedIn account recovery form and support
When the automatic routes fail, LinkedIn’s help center has forms for account access problems, including hacked accounts. Use one form, describe the problem in two or three sentences, include every email and phone number you may have used, and reply only within that ticket. Several tickets for the same account slow the review down. Reviews that need identity checks can take from a day to more than a week.
After recovering your LinkedIn account
- Add a personal email and a current phone number, and remove ones you no longer control.
- Turn on two-step verification and save the backup codes somewhere safe.
- Change the password to one you use nowhere else.
- Review active sessions and sign out of devices you do not recognise.
- Check that your Premium or Sales Navigator plan is still active; if it was activated through Searcora, message us and we will check it with you.
LinkedIn account recovery help from Searcora
Send us what you see when you try to sign in. We tell you which route applies, help you prepare the verification or the form, and once you are back in we set the account up securely — with account management, a refreshed profile or Premium and Sales Navigator if you need them. LinkedIn makes the final decision on every recovery, so we never promise an outcome, and we quote before you pay.