This guide is for individuals going through a Persona-powered identity verification flow. While we’ve included helpful tips, the verification was set up by the business, service, or organization that asked you to verify. They use Persona as a tool, and they ultimately decide what’s required and can assist with your specific situation, if you’re having trouble.
What happened
Your sitting ran out of time. That happens when a verification is left open without being finished, for example because you closed the browser, went to find your passport, took a call, or simply put the phone down for a while.
The wording sounds like a fault, and it is not one. Nothing failed, nothing was rejected, and nothing has been recorded against you.
This is a deadline the business set
The length of that window is a setting in the verification flow the business built, not a fixed Persona rule. Different businesses pick different windows, and a business can change theirs. It is one of several clocks that can be running:
- The sitting, which is what expired here.
- The link, which has its own separate deadline. See My verification link has expired.
- A handoff code, if you moved from a computer to your phone, which is usually the shortest of the three.
How long I have to finish verifying covers all three and how they interact.
Because it is the business’s setting, Persona cannot extend it for you, and neither can the support team of the business, in most cases. What they can do is send you a fresh start.
Why a window exists at all
A verification left open on a screen is a verification someone else can walk up to and finish. The whole point of the exercise is confirming that the person doing it is you, and an open session with no time limit undermines that.
The same reasoning is why the window is often shorter than people expect.
What to do now
- Open the original link again from the email, text, or page the business sent you.
- If the link no longer works, ask the business that asked you to verify for a new one. See How do I get a new verification link?.
- Get everything ready before you start. Your document, good light, and a few uninterrupted minutes.
- Finish in one go. Do not switch away to another app mid flow if you can avoid it, because on some phones that is enough to end the sitting.
Will I have to redo everything
Usually yes, from the beginning. Some flows are set up to pick up where you left off, and if yours is one of them you will land back on the step you were on. That, too, is the business’s choice rather than something you can turn on. See Can I pause and resume verification?.
Starting over does not count against you, and it is not the same as a failed attempt. If you are worried about the number of tries you have used, see I see a “Too many attempts” message.
If it expires again immediately
If the session ends the moment you open it, or within seconds, something else is going on. Look at Verification is stuck on loading and My connection dropped during verification, then contact the business that asked you to verify if neither helps.