How to get a LinkedIn-verified badge for free

With all social media platforms rolling out some form of the verification badge, Microsoft-owned LinkedIn is rolling out its own system that will allow users to prove their identity and where they work. The verification options include the ability to use CLEAR to prove your identity, verification of your workplace through an email address, and Microsoft’s Entra-verified ID platform to obtain digital workplace IDs for free.

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Unlike Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, you won’t need to pay to get verifications that will show up on your LinkedIn profile. You can verify your workplace just by using a company-issued email address or through Microsoft Entra if your organization already uses Entra.

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If you want to verify your own identity, then LinkedIn has partnered with CLEAR to allow you to securely confirm your identity. If you use CLEAR, then you’ll be able to display that your identity is verified on your LinkedIn profile, but this works for US government-issued ID and US phone number. This means this option is strictly for US citizens.

How to verify your work email on LinkedIn.Image: LinkedIn

LinkedIn will highlight verifications with a green and blue check on profiles, but it doesn’t appear to be going beyond that to offer a badge that appears next to your name throughout LinkedIn.

If you are not a USA citizen, you can opt for the verification through company email. There is a catch, however, the company you work with should be among the more than 4,000 companies that are supported. The Microsoft Entra verification is rolling out at the end of April initially to 2 million LinkedIn members.

To verify your work email on Desktop, iOS, or Android: 

1. Click on the Me tab at the top right of your screen.
2. Click View Profile.
3. Click the More at the top of your profile.
4. Click About this profile.
5. Click Verify your work email.
6. Enter your work email for your current company and click Send code.
7. Access your verification code in your work email account. If you do not receive a code, click Resend code. Try their additional troubleshooting tips, if needed.
8. Enter the code and click Confirm. The code will expire after 15 minutes of receipt. Your work email is now verified.

As more organizations make use of cloud technology and hiring has often taken place remotely over the past few pandemic years, the need for online verification of credentials is clear. Microsoft has been working on its own Entra Verified ID system that’s now being used by LinkedIn, and it’s all based on open standards, so it can work across a variety of HR and identity systems.