Troubleshooting the Care Identity Service
Information on issues related to the Care Identity Service, how to fix them and how to get more help.
Live service issues
Retirement of older Identity Agent versions
We have taken steps to permanently block the use of retired Identity Agent versions from the NHS estate.
Older versions of Identity Agent were permanently blocked at 8:00am on 7 May 2026. See which versions are affected.
Service vulnerability in NHS Identity Agent - mandatory update required
We've identified a medium-severity service vulnerability with all previous versions of the NHS Identity Agent, including v2.4.5.0 and v2.4.6.0.
Organisations are required to move to v2.4.10.0 as soon as possible, within your regular patching schedule, and no later than 12 October 2025, as this version resolves this vulnerability. All previous versions of the Identity Agent client are retired with immediate effect.
You can:
Troubleshooting specific applications and services
Care Identity Management
Apply for Care ID
Self-service smartcard unlock
NHS Identity Agent
NHS Credential Management and NHS Smartcard Connect
Electronic Staff Record (ESR)
Troubleshooting smartcard management
Some users may have issues when trying to issue, print, unlock, cancel, renew or repair smartcards.
An example of this is:
- Error: INF1014:Scanning for Smartcard ERR5022: Operation cannot be completed
Read detailed guidance on how to fix smartcard management issues.
Common issues across applications and services
Find out what to do if you see this error, which is caused by Credential Management being unable to communicate with Identity Agent.
What to do if you're unable to authenticate and you suspect it's due to issues relating to the NHS Chrome extension.
What to do if you experience issues when trying to use NHSmail to authenticate.
What to do if you get the error 'There was a problem reading your Smartcard. Please restart the Identity Agent. If this fails to rectify the problem, please contact your Registration Authority service.'
What to do if you get a blank screen, 'Page not found' or similar error when trying to log in to Care Identity Management, Apply for Care ID or smartcard self-management services.
What to do if you see Error 1000 when you're trying to authenticate into Care Identity services.
What to do if you see Error 1002 when you're trying to authenticate into Care Identity services.
What to do if you see this error when trying to access Care Identity Management, self-service smartcard unlock or another service.
What to do if you get this error when trying to service a user's smartcard in Care Identity Management.
What to do if you get this error when trying to use Care Identity Management to repair smartcard certificates.
What to do if you get this error when trying to service a user's smartcard in Care Identity Management.
What to do if you see this error as a Registration Authority user trying to perform card management services on a second smartcard.
What to do if you get this error when trying to issue or print a smartcard, reset a passcode or renew smartcard certificates.
What to do if you get the error "PR Service returned with following exception code PR20002 and message Port redirection service is unavailable".
You may see this error if you are logging in to an environment that conflicts with your Windows registry settings, or if the user profile has been closed.
Incompatible smartcard readers or incorrect drivers are a common cause of failing Spine authentications or card management operations.
How to fix the most common issues with Magicard printers.
What to do if you see 'Smartcard Authentication Failure' (error code 400_xxx or 500_xxx) when trying to log in.
NHS England does not provide support for Isosec virtual smartcards and you must contact Isosec directly if you have issues with these smartcards.
NHS England does not provide support for Imprivata virtual smartcards and you must contact Imprivata directly if you have issues with these smartcards.
How to understand registration validation errors shown by the iPad app and how to reset your iPad authenticator registration.
Report an issue
To report a bug or issue, go to the NHS Digital Customer Portal or email [email protected]
Last edited: 7 May 2026 8:29 am