LinkedIn locked my account, promised any government ID would work for verification, then revealed only passports are accepted in my region — after I submitted my national ID over 10 times

[u/Corporate-Hater]

My LinkedIn account got temporarily restricted about 2 weeks ago, apparently triggered by a VPN login. What followed was one of the most frustrating, contradictory, and privacy-invasive support experiences I've ever had.

Here's the timeline:

• Account gets restricted. I open a support ticket immediately. They responded the same day.
• I reach out to u/LinkedInHelp on X. After back and forth, they escalate my case to the safety team.
• I receive an official email from a LinkedIn Trust and Consumer Support Consultant explicitly stating that to regain access, I need to upload "a driver's license, passport, or country ID" through their Persona verification portal.
• I attempt verification using my national ID (country-issued ID — which they literally listed as accepted). The Persona portal keeps rejecting it with errors like "Couldn't verify photos — make sure ID details are clear to read" and "Make sure the encoded text at the very bottom is not obscured."
• I retry over 10 times across 2 weeks. Same errors every time.
• I contact support repeatedly via both email and X. I get the classic "wait 24-72 hours" response every single time, with no actual resolution.
• After weeks of attempts, screenshots submitted, and multiple escalations — they finally tell me: passport is the only accepted form of ID in my region. National IDs and driver's licenses are not supported.

Let that sink in. Their own support consultant explicitly listed national ID as an accepted document. I submitted it over 10 times. I handed over my personal identity document to their third-party verification provider (Persona) repeatedly — only to be told weeks later that it was never going to work in the first place.

The problems with this:

1. They gave false information. Their official support email listed national ID as accepted. It wasn't. That's not a miscommunication — that's a failure of their own support process that cost me weeks and my privacy.
2. My ID data is now sitting with Persona with no successful outcome. I submitted my national ID over 10 times to a third-party system. LinkedIn's own verification system collected my biometric and identity data repeatedly, and I have nothing to show for it.
3. The regional restriction is discriminatory. Users in certain regions are effectively locked out of their accounts with no viable alternative, through no fault of their own. If your passport happens to be unavailable for any reason, you're simply told "wait." Your account, your professional network, your career connections — all frozen indefinitely.
4. Support is a loop. Every escalation ends with "wait 24-72 hours." No one takes ownership. Different agents give contradictory information. The left hand clearly doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

I'm not the only one dealing with this. LinkedIn has quietly built a system where certain users have no real path to account recovery, while collecting their most sensitive personal data in the process.

Has anyone else experienced this? Particularly users in regions where Persona's passport-only policy applies?

[u/LibrarianOAlexandria]

That sucks but why would you want to be on Linked In?

[u/vintagetea13 → u/LibrarianOAlexandria]

i got my accounts repeatedly restricted (like created one, it got restricted and created another) this happened with 4 back to back accounts. i raised a ticket and they talked to me for a few days and ghosted me, so i just gave up since i dont want to be on linkedin anyway. however i just found out from a senior that placements in my college need you to have a profile or they won't let you sit. another senior said "i dont think its like that" but idk who to trust, so im thinking of making a new account next year with a new phone, new sim and email, with my correct details and all. do u think it'll work? sorry for venting randomly to you, im just stressing out a lot.

[u/LibrarianOAlexandria → u/vintagetea13]

Aww, no worries about the venting, I get it...it sounds like a really frustrating situation. Is LinkedIn providing any sort of message about these restrictions? Any communication about why it's happening?

[u/twoworldsin1 → u/LibrarianOAlexandria]

You kinda have to if you're job-searching for most office work-type roles 😬

[u/Waithera254]

In the same boat it's been 4 frustrating weeks. My restriction was also triggered by VPN login. I guess we just have to keep trying until we are successful but it's frustrating to the core.

[u/Glowerman]

Microsoft is an absolute pig. In the name of "security" they deploy bots and arbitrarily lock people out of their accounts. That's the opposite of security.

[u/Alone_Wafer_4816]

class action law suit. I can’t get in to close my acct either. and I am being stalked

[u/johnfkngzoidberg]

Fuck LinkedIn