What to do if Your CRA Account Becomes Locked
- insync10
- Oct 3, 2025
- 2 min read
Recover a locked account
Your account will become locked if you enter the wrong information too many times for any of the following:
CRA user ID or password
One-time passcode for multi-factor authentication (MFA)You do not need to call if you are only temporarily locked out
If your account becomes locked due to entering the wrong passcode too many times, you will be temporarily locked out for 30 minutes. After that period, you can try again. If this happens 3 times, you will be permanently locked out and will need to contact CRA.
Security questions
CRA security code
The document verification service
To have your account unlocked, contact CRA.
Avoid getting locked out
Use the following strategies to avoid getting locked out of your account.
Create a strong CRA user ID and password
When you create your CRA user ID and password, we recommend that you:
Make them easy for you to remember and hard for others to guess
Avoid using personal information such as your name, social insurance number (SIN), mailing or email address
Always use unique passwords rather than reusing the same password for different accounts or systems
Keep this information secure and do not share it with anyone
Enroll in multiple multi-factor authentication (MFA) options
We recommend that you enroll in more than one option, although only one option is required. Enrolling in multiple MFA options will help ensure that you can still access your CRA account if you change your phone number, misplace your passcode grid, or delete the third-party authenticator app.
Choose memorable security questions
You will be asked to choose 5 security questions that we will use to validate your identity in different situations, for example, if you forget your CRA user ID or password.
Your answers should be easy for you to remember but hard for others to guess. Answers that can change over time or questions that have more than one answer can be hard to remember.
CRA security code
Enter your security code carefully before it expires.
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