How to Recover Access When Your OKX Identity is Bound to an Old Account
When you see the "identity is already in use" prompt during OKX registration or identity verification, it means your ID document is already linked to another account. The entry to recover this old account is not on the registration page; it is hidden inside the identity verification process. By completing a new KYC verification, the system will notify you that your ID is already bound and then guide you to recover the original account.
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Below are the specific steps to recover your old account.
1. Prerequisite: Confirm whether you still remember the old account's login information
The path to resolving this issue depends on how much control you still have over the old account.
Scenario A: You still remember the old account's password and can receive verification codes on the bound mobile/email — Simply log into the old account directly. You do not need to follow the recovery process below.
Scenario B: You do not remember the password, or you cannot receive verification codes for the old account — Keep reading. This is the most common scenario. The system will use the ID document you submit to confirm that you are the account owner.
2. Use a new account to trigger identity verification and find the old account entry
The prerequisite is that you have an OKX account that you can currently log into (registering a new one is fine; it does not need to be verified) to complete the procedure. The entry for the entire process is triggered through the identity verification page of the new account.
Step 1: Enter the identity verification page with the new account Log into your currently accessible OKX account (App or web version both work). Go to [Profile] - [Identity Verification] or [KYC Verification], and click "Verify Now".
Step 2: Fill in your ID information to trigger the system detection Follow the on-screen instructions, select your nationality (e.g., "China"), enter your name and ID number, then submit. The platform will automatically detect it. If the system prompts "This document has already been verified on another account", it means the old account has been located.
Step 3: Choose "View verified account" and confirm your identity Click "View verified account" or a similar button. The system will ask you to complete facial recognition to confirm that you are the holder of that ID document. After passing facial recognition, the platform will display partial information of the old account linked to that ID (such as the first and last few digits of the phone number/email). At this step, you have found the entry to the old account.
3. Confirm ownership and choose recovery method
After seeing the old account information, the page will ask whether you are the owner of that account.
Scenario A: The old account displayed by the system indeed belongs to you — Click "It belongs to me". The system will then guide you to "migrate" the phone number or email of that old account to your currently logged-in new account. After the migration is complete, the old account will be automatically closed. You can log in using the new account (now with the original phone number/email). All assets in the old account must be transferred out beforehand.
Scenario B: The old account displayed by the system does not belong to you — This means your identity information may have been used by someone else to register. Do not click to confirm. Immediately contact OKX official customer support for handling.
Key prerequisites and risk reminders
The account to be merged must be empty: Before starting the migration, be sure to log into the old account and transfer out all assets (crypto, fiat), and cancel all pending orders. After the migration, the old account will be automatically closed. Any remaining assets will be irrecoverable.
Verified accounts cannot be migrated: If the old account has already completed identity verification, the phone number/email of the old account cannot be migrated to the new account. In this case, you can only regain access by recovering the old account's password.
Email and phone both bound: If the old account has both a phone number and an email bound, that account cannot be migrated and merged. If you encounter this situation and have forgotten the password, you need to go through the customer service appeal channel to recover it.
Common reasons for failure
Facial recognition fails: Facial recognition must be performed by the person whose name is on the account. Insufficient lighting, a significant difference between the ID photo and the current appearance, or using someone else's information to register can all cause failure.
The "document already used" prompt does not appear on the page: If your ID is not bound to any old account, you naturally will not see this prompt, which means that the ID has never been registered with OKX.
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Confirmation and next steps
After submitting the migration or recovery application, the system will review it. The review usually takes 1-3 business days. During this period, keep your phone and email accessible, and look out for in-app messages or email notifications from OKX. Once you receive the approval notice, log in with your current new account (which now has the old phone number/email). If you can log in normally, it means the login entry for the old account has been successfully recovered.
