Other Site Policies Github Account Recovery Policy (GitHub)
Updated 17 October 2025
This policy outlines GitHub's stance on account recovery, especially for users who have enabled two-factor authentication. It clarifies that if automated recovery methods fail, access to the account is permanently lost, and GitHub Support will not restore access for security reasons. Users may still be able to unlink email addresses or access public content from a locked account.
GitHub Account Recovery Policy
GitHub provides a number of account recovery methods including an automated recovery process if you have lost access to your GitHub.com account. If you cannot use any of the provided recovery methods, you have permanently lost access to your account.
You can, however, unlink email addresses from a locked account in order to create a new account or use the email on another existing account.
Can I open a support ticket to recover my account?
For security reasons, GitHub Support will not restore access to accounts with two-factor authentication enabled if you lose your two-factor authentication credentials or lose access to your account recovery methods. You must use existing account recovery methods.
GitHub does not support any other means of account recovery, including social or ID verification, by members of GitHub’s staff. This policy is in place to protect your account from unauthorized access through social engineering.
How can I retrieve my email from a locked account?
See Unlinking your email address from a locked account.
How can I remove a payment method from a locked account?
Please contact Support to request removal of a payment method from a locked out account. Remember, GitHub Support will not restore your account if you lose access to your account recovery methods.
Can I recover the contents of a user or organization account I lost access to?
If you have lost access to a user account, you may clone or fork any content that is public.
If you have lost access to an organization account, you may clone or fork any content that is public and you may be able to request that remaining members of the organization clone or fork any private content.
GitHub Support will not recover the contents of a user or organization account that is locked.
About this template
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