---
title: Configuring self-service user name recovery
description: Use PingFederate's self-service user name recovery feature to enable users to recover their lost user names through their email addresses.
component: pingfederate
version: 13.1
page_id: pingfederate:administrators_reference_guide:pf_config_self_service_user_name_recov
canonical_url: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingfederate/13.1/administrators_reference_guide/pf_config_self_service_user_name_recov.html
llms_txt: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingfederate/llms.txt
docs_for_agents: https://developer.pingidentity.com/build-with-ai/docs-for-agents.md
revdate: July 5, 2022
section_ids:
  about-this-task: About this task
  steps: Steps
  example: Example:
  result: Result
  related-links: Related links
---

# Configuring self-service user name recovery

Use PingFederate's self-service user name recovery feature to enable users to recover their lost user names through their email addresses.

## About this task

PingFederate offers self-service user name recovery for users to recover their accounts through email if they forget their user names.

This optional capability is integrated into the HTML Form Adapter and the LDAP Username Password Credential Validator (PCV). PingFederate supports PingDirectory, Microsoft Active Directory, Oracle Unified Directory, and Oracle Directory Server out-of-the-box. Custom PCV implementations can also be developed to offer the same capability for users stored in non-LDAP data sources. Learn more about the `RecoverableUsername` interface in the PingFederate Javadoc.

|   |                                                                                               |
| - | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|   | The Javadoc for PingFederate is located in the `<pf_install>/pingfederate/sdk/doc` directory. |

## Steps

1. Go to **Authentication > Integration**. On the **IdP Adapters** page, create a new HTML Form Adapter instance.

   You can also reuse an existing HTML Form Adapter instance. If you do, skip to [step 1c](#pf_substep_enableUsernameRecovery) to configure your adapter instance to enable the self-service user name recovery capability.

   1. Select the HTML Form Adapter instance as the credential validator.

   2. (Optional) Update any default values or options.

   3. []()Select the **Enable Username Recovery** checkbox.

   4. Select a notification publisher instance from the list.

      |   |                                                                                                                       |
      | - | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
      |   | If you have not yet configured the desired notification publisher instance, click **Manage Notification Publishers**. |

   5. Click **Show Advanced Fields** to review or modify default values related to self-service user name recovery.

      ### Example:

      Select the **Require Verified Email** checkbox if you want PingFederate to only send user name recovery email messages to users who have proven ownership of their email addresses.

2. (Optional) Customize and localize the on-page messages and notification messages.

## Result

You successfully created a new instance or modified an existing instance of the HTML Form Adapter with the self-service user name recovery capability.

When a user signs on through this adapter instance, the user can optionally recover the user name using the **Trouble Signing On** link.

You can also provide your users the per-adapter username recovery endpoint `/ext/idrecovery/Recover`, which allows them to recover their user name through this HTML Form Adapter instance without submitting single sign-on (SSO) requests.

## Related links

* [Managing notification publisher instances](help_notificationsendertasklet_notificationsendermanagementstate.html)

* [Configuring an LDAP connection](help_datasourcetasklet_ldapconfigstate.html)

* [Configuring the LDAP Username Password Credential Validator](pf_configure_ldap_username_pcv.html)

* [Configuring an HTML Form Adapter instance](pf_config_html_form_adapt_instance.html)

* [Customizable email notifications](pf_customiz_email_notificat.html)

* [Localizing messages for end users](pf_local_message_end_users.html)

* [Customizable user-facing pages](pf_custom_user_facing_pages.html)

* [IdP endpoints](../developers_reference_guide/pf_idp_endpoints.html)