How To Get Verified on Instagram in 6 Steps

Instagram has unveiled how to become verified on the platform, removing the mystery from the days you would log on and hope to find a coveted blue check by your name. In fact, there was no way for accounts — business or creator — to even apply for verification. The badge was reserved for those that Instagram itself recognized as deserving — high-profile users with a risk of being impersonated (like celebrities), notable companies and figureheads, and popular creators with large audiences.

However, it’s not as simple as just requesting a checkmark —  there are some essential tips to keep in mind to increase the chance that your account becomes verified. 

Learn how to be verified on Instagram, what verification means and more. This blog explores: 

• What is Instagram verification?
• Who can be verified on Instagram? 
• How to become verified on Instagram.

What Is Instagram Verification? 

Instagram verification is a process that confirms the authenticity of certain accounts — when an account is verified, its handle features a blue checkmark. 

The blue checkmark, also referred to as an Instagram verified badge, is a small icon that appears next to the account name, both on the profile and in search results. This badge is Instagram's way of indicating that the platform is from an authentic presence of the public figure, celebrity, brand or entity it represents. 

Who Can Be Verified on Instagram?

Anyone with a public account can apply to be verified on Instagram. However, the account must belong to a real brand, person, business, organization or other entity. In addition to this, there are some additional requirements brands should follow to be verified on Instagram. These requirements include: 

• One account per person, brand or entity can be verified — exceptions are made for language-specific accounts.
• Your account must represent a well-known or highly-searched-for individual, brand or organization.
• The account must be the only account for that individual. However, other notable entities related to the individual or brand can be verified — for example, Taylor Swift has a verified personal account (@taylorswift), while her official management team, Taylor Nation has their own, separate account (@taylornation).  
• Accounts must be featured in multiple news sources. Instagram does not consider paid or promotional content as news sources — however, they’ve recently expanded their list of sources to include diverse outlets that focus on Black, Latinx and LGBTQ+ media. 

How Do You Get Verified on Instagram?

Before 2018, applying to get verified on Instagram was not an option. The only way to be one of its lucky recipients was to be approached by the Facebook-owned company, and it was a pain point for many businesses seeking to proudly display their recognized authority.

Cut to data breaches, social cyberbullying, security concerns and computer science accountability. Because of issues of impersonation, recognition and more, Instagram now lets you apply for verification — also known as a blue checkmark — on Instagram. Instagram’s primary concern is keeping its space safe and increasing responsibility. 

Instagram has removed the veil of mystery around the verification process, simultaneously fulfilling many marketers' dreams of being able to verify their brand. Getting a verified Instagram account is possible directly through the app in a few simple steps.

If you’re wondering how to get verified on Instagram, here are four steps to verify your brand on Instagram.

Step 1: Start The Verification Process 

Head to your Instagram profile, swipe right and tap the ‘Settings’ wheel at the bottom of the screen.

Step 2: Requesting Verification

Scroll down to the 'Account' section and tap on 'Request Verification'.

Step 3: Fill Out The Forms

Fill out all the required fields. These fields are essentially your name, any other monikers you or your brand is known as and business type. You must also upload a picture of your government-issued ID so they can officially validate your person.

Step 4: Wait For your Blue Check Mark Approval

Verification isn’t instant — it typically takes about 30 days to be verified, although this sometimes happens before the 30-day period. Monitor your inbox for the approval or denial. If you've been verified, your badge should appear as soon as the application goes through. You must wait 30 days to resubmit if you're denied.

Instagram is undoubtedly sticking to strict standards, stating: "We look at a number of factors when evaluating Instagram accounts to determine if they're in the public interest and meet our verification criteria." 

So, while anyone can apply for a blue checkmark, verified accounts must be: 

• Authentic: Represent a real person or business. 
• Unique: Be the only account representing your person or business. 
• Complete: Your profile must be public and contain a profile picture and bio.
• Notable: Your account must be well-known, highly searched for and/or featured in the the media. 

Tips To Become Verified on Instagram

Now that you understand how to verify an Instagram account, how can you ensure your application is accepted? Here are some tips to get verified on Instagram. 

Optimize Your Profile 

Having a fully completed Instagram profile is vital to Instagram verification. Brands should take this a step further and use social media SEO best practices to optimize their profile — to optimize your profile: 

• Use popular and relevant keywords and hashtags in your bio and captions. 
• Add alt text to any posts. 
• Use trending songs in Reels content. 
• Use the right Instagram picture size.
• Avoid images and video with watermarks or other obstructions. 

Report Impersonators 

Despite Instagram’s rigorous application process to be verified, impersonators can exist on the network. To combat these accounts and improve your own chances of being verified, report these imitators. 

Show Up In Search

One of Instagram’s criteria for verification is a brand, person or organization must be easily-searched. Just like you should use social media SEO best practices in your profile, incorporate SEO tactics to all of your digital marketing content to increase your chances of appearing in Google’s search results. Google prioritizes content that demonstrates expertise, experience, authoritativeness and trustworthiness, commonly called ‘EEAT’. Ensure your site is healthy and its content reflects Google’s EEAT factors. 

Another way to increase your searchability is to increase your earned media. This might involve sharing press releases, publishing content to aggregators like Medium, partnering with other brands or other tactics that help Google understand your brand.

Don’t Buy Followers

While some brands might be tempted to buy Instagram followers, this ultimately harms your engagement and credibility. While Instagram doesn’t explicitly say they penalize verified accounts with purchased followers, these accounts are often bots and won’t interact with your content, harming your Instagram engagement rate and your credibility among your real followers. 

Maximize Instagram Impact With Dash Hudson

Brands can use Instagram Insights to create custom reports, integrate e-commerce and find and source influencers. Teams can use Scheduler to plan and post content and Social Analytics and Insights for both posts and Reels, so you can understand which creative drives the most engagement. 

Plan and scale influencer partnerships with Relationships, which helps teams source the best influencers and creators and measure ROI when your campaign is underway. Use Social Listening to determine what your followers — and competitors — are talking about on social so you never miss a beat.   

FAQs

Who was the first person verified on Instagram? 

The first person to be verified on Instagram was Shaq (@shaq). 

What are the benefits of being verified on Instagram?

Being verified on Instagram has many benefits for brands — some verification benefits include: 

• Combat impersonation: Verification means your online presence is authentically you. 
• Build brand awareness: Build trust with your audience. 
• Stand out in search: When users search for your brand or terms close to your brand, your name appearing with a blue checkmark in search results creates legitimacy for new users.

What is the lowest followers you need to be verified on Instagram?

Instagram doesn’t state a minimum — or maximum — amount of followers for an account to be verified on Instagram. It’s more about the authenticity of your account, so new, notable accounts can apply to be verified without building a following.