Recover your LinkedIn account

A LinkedIn password reset, an identity check, and a restriction appeal are different processes. Start by reading the message on your own account. If an old work email is the problem, the account may still have another recovery address or phone attached. Do not create a replacement profile before checking those options.

These instructions cover your personal LinkedIn account. An employer may control the mailbox you once used, but that does not automatically make its IT team the administrator of your LinkedIn identity. If your personal email is inaccessible, recover it with its provider; Apple and Google recovery covers those accounts.

1. Try an existing secondary email or phone

LinkedIn's no-access-to-email guidance recommends using a previously added recovery method. A secondary email address or phone number associated with the account may let you sign in when the primary work address is gone. Use a method already attached to the profile, not a new one you want to add.

Check your own saved account records and any device still signed in. A profile URL helps identify the account, but it is public and does not itself prove ownership. If you have more than one LinkedIn profile, establish which one holds the history you want to recover before requesting a reset.

Use the forgotten-password option from LinkedIn's official sign-in. Follow the verification sent to the available destination, then test access to the intended profile. Keep a working session open until the replacement credential has been confirmed.

2. Follow LinkedIn's identity route when contacts are unavailable

When you cannot recover the password or reach an associated email, LinkedIn's official guidance directs you through its account-recovery identity checks. Follow the instructions presented for your case. The available evidence and verification options can vary.

If an identity-verification partner is used, reach it through LinkedIn's own flow and read what is being requested. Do not send documents to a person in a direct message who offers to accelerate the case. A real recovery process can involve sensitive evidence, which makes the destination especially important.

Supply accurate information and use a contact address you can actually monitor. Keep the case confirmation and respond through the official channel. A public résumé, company logo, or list of connections may help describe the profile but does not replace the checks LinkedIn requires to establish ownership.

3. Report an account that appears compromised

LinkedIn's compromised-account article provides the official reporting route. Use it when the password, email, profile, or activity changed without your permission. Explain the changes you observed and whether you still have access anywhere.

Secure the email address that can receive LinkedIn recovery messages. If an attacker controls that mailbox, a LinkedIn password change alone may leave another path back in. Use a trusted device and avoid following instructions supplied by the person who appears to control the compromised profile.

If a connection's account is the one sending suspicious messages, do not attempt to recover it yourself. Contact the person through another trusted route and use LinkedIn's reporting options. Ownership checks exist so that someone who merely recognizes a profile cannot take it over.

When someone offers “priority” recovery

Keep support inside LinkedIn's Help Center. Do not send a password, one-time code, identity document, or account-export file to a stranger who claims to know an employee. A profile that looks professional can still be used to impersonate support.

Read any document request in the context of the case you initiated. Verify the destination before uploading and provide only what the official flow asks for. You should not need to publish private evidence in a public post to show that you own the account.

After you regain access

Review the account's email addresses, phone number, sessions, and available security controls. Remove unfamiliar changes and secure a secondary contact that will remain yours if you change jobs. Keep account ownership independent of an employer-controlled mailbox where LinkedIn's options allow it.

Login.com's LinkedIn sign-in guide helps you return to ordinary access after recovery. Check your profile and messages for unauthorized activity, and tell affected contacts through a reliable channel if necessary. Test a backup verification method while you still have a working session so a future phone or job change is easier to handle.

Instructions checked against vendor guidance on 24 September 2026.