Manage your identity

Last updated: September 8, 2023

You and your identity are core to how you connect and communicate at the UW. This page describes how to manage your identity through self-identification and the use of IDs issued by the UW and others. Identity is more than simply about connecting to services: it also frames how others address you, enables accountability, and ensures the attribution of your work to you.

Manage your identity (names, pronouns, etc.)

Manage your names at the UW

Legal name(s)
Use Identity.UW to view your current “official” (legal) name. If you have more than one relationship with the UW, your current employee legal name takes precedence over your student legal name, followed by other affiliations. Your legal name is obtained by the UW for identification purposes as you create relationships with the UW: from students through the application and admissions processes into UW student information systems, from employees through the job application and hire processes into Workday, etc.
Preferred name
Use Identity.UW to self-identify the name you use on an everyday basis at the UW. Your preferred name is used in contexts that don’t require a legal name, including the UW Directory and your Husky Card. NOTE: Shared and admin UW NetIDs should use the UW NetID Manage page to update their name.
Learn more
Preferred name improvements were announced in 2016 in alignment with preferred name guidelines. Students can refer to the Office of the University Registrar pages on preferred names and legal name change policy; employees can refer to managing your personal and work information in Workday, legal name change in Workday, and transgender resources for UW employees.

Manage your pronouns at the UW

Please refer to the guidance on Sharing Pronouns at the UW for a complete understanding of how and where to best manage your pronouns at the UW. 

Verify your identity

Use IDs and other credentials to verify your identity

Identity verification enables you to connect to and access services.

Photo ID
The UW uses various forms of government issued photo ID (e.g. driver’s license, ID card, passport) to verify your identity. For example, you might use your photo ID at the Husky Card Office as identification to obtain your Husky Card, and employees present photo ID to complete Form I-9 requirements.
Husky Card
Husky Card is the official identification card for members of the UW community. It’s used for identity verification and with card readers to enable access to some services and buildings.
UW NetID
UW NetID is online identification for members of the UW community. The UW uses your UW NetID credentials (identifier, password, 2FA device) to verify your identity for single sign-on (SSO) on the web, as well as eduroam, Hyak, lab computers, and much, much more.
Digital wallet
In the future, you might share verifiable credentials from a digital wallet that you control in order to provide proof of identity.

Share your identity

Use identifiers issued by the UW

UW NetID
UW NetID is an everyday identifier used for access to IT services. This identifier is also the basis for other unique identifiers, such as your everyday UW email address, UW Google ID, UW Microsoft ID, and eduPerson identifiers.
Example: alice
UW Student ID number
A student ID number is issued to students for identification purposes through the Enrollment Confirmation System.
Example: 1234567
UW Employee ID number
An employee identification (EID) number is issued to employees for identification purposes through Workday.
Example: 123456789
UW email address
Your everyday email address at the UW is based on your UW NetID. It is a globally unique identifier used for Internet email.
Example: alice@uw.edu
UW Google ID
Your UW Google ID is issued by the UW to eligible members; it’s based on your UW NetID and is the same identifier as your UW email address. It enables SSO and sharing in the Google cloud, including UW Google.
Example: alice@uw.edu
UW Microsoft ID
Your UW Microsoft ID is issued by the UW to eligible members; it’s based on your UW NetID and is the same identifier as your UW email address. It enables SSO and sharing in the Microsoft cloud, including UW Office 365.
Example: alice@uw.edu
UW eduPerson ID
Your eduPersonPrincipalName is based on your UW NetID. It is a globally unique identifier designed for trusted exchange of identity information in the research and education community. UW researchers and scholars are often identified by their eduPersonPrincipalName when they sign in to services such as nature.com, American Chemical Society, ScienceDirect, and others that rely on infrastructure like InCommon, eduGAINCILogonSeamlessAccess, and REFEDS Research & Scholarship entity category.
Example: alice@washington.edu
Other IDs
Other identifiers issued by the UW include Central ID (UW Medicine) and Registry ID (UW Information Technology).

Use identifiers issued by others

Personal email address
Email addresses (not issued by the UW) are used by the UW for identification purposes, as well as email notifications and other communications. For example, you can use an email address for self-service account recovery, members can use an email address for UW Alerts, and students can use an email address for Notify.UW course notifications.
Example: alice@gmail.com
Personal phone number
Phone numbers (not managed by the UW) are used by the UW for identification purposes, text messaging, and other communications. Phone numbers are globally unique within telephone networks. Example uses include text messaging to connect with and support students, orient students and families, answer questions, and build relationships with donors. Other examples include the same notifications as email, for self-service account recovery, UW Alerts, and Notify.UW course notifications.
Example: (206) 555-1212
Social IDs
Social identities such as Facebook, Google, and Apple IDs provide sign-in and external IDs for access to some UW services. For example, prospective students can sign in with Facebook and Google IDs to access the MyPlan academic planner.
Example: 123456789123456789123 (Google)
ORCID ID
ORCID ID is a persistent identifier used to connect researchers with their work. Learn more about uses of ORCID IDs from Research Data Services and UW Research.
Example: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097