Government portal not working: what to do (Canada)

Is the portal down, or is it your login?

Try the portal on another device using a different connection. This tells you whether the problem follows your device and network or stays with the portal.

Check this site's service page for that portal. The status reflects problem reports from the past 24 hours. If reports spike, others are hitting the same issue. But remember: a service that answers our tests does not prove it works, and a service that blocks our tests is not necessarily down.

If you have lost your sign-in details, your financial institution may be the place to check first. Some portals also let you recover your login online.

• Try another device; check the portal's help page; contact your financial institution about sign-in issues.

What to check before you call

The service page here has an hour-by-hour chart for the past day and a map showing where the reports were sent from. A spike in your region may mean the problem is not only yours. Many reports in one place and time may be a local network problem instead.

Find the portal's official help page and contact information. Many questions are answered there already. You may find the information you need online. Some portals let you make changes using your account online.

When you do call, the department may direct your call to an automated service line because of call volume.

Who can confirm a problem, and how to reach the department

Only the government department running the portal can confirm whether there is a problem. Find their official contact page or status page. This site links to them when we have found them.

Government departments publish help and contact pages for their services. Use those official channels to reach the department that runs the portal.

Examples of how departments help

On its contact page, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) says that if you have trouble with your sign-in information, you should contact your financial institution. It also notes that, because of the volume of calls, your call may be directed to an automated service line, and that you may find the information you need online.

The CRA adds that some changes to your information can be made online, in your CRA account. Other departments publish their own contact pages, so look for the one that runs the service you need.

• For the CRA, check the online options first: call volume can send you to an automated line.