Unable to verify account due to incorrect email address – can I update it and keep my username?

[vibhuti019]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

Body

Hi npm team,

I accidentally entered the wrong email address while creating my npm account. As a result, I can't receive the OTP/verification email, so I'm unable to complete the registration.

The username I chose is now reserved by this incomplete account, and I'd like to keep using that username.

Is there a way to:

1. Update the email address associated with the pending account, or
2. Delete the unverified account so I can register again using the same username?

I have not been able to verify the account because I don't have access to the incorrect email address.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[dhruv-techdev]

Yes—you should be able to keep the username by recovering the existing npm account and asking npm Support to reset its email address.

Since the OTP is being sent to the incorrect email, you cannot change the email yourself from the account settings. On the OTP/Login Verification screen:

Select Try recovering your account.
Select Start Account Recovery.
Enter an email address you can currently access.
Under How can we help?, select Reset my email.
Submit the support ticket with the username and explain that the account was created using an incorrect email address.

If a GitHub account was linked during registration, use the Connect to GitHub option in the recovery form because it can help npm Support verify account ownership.

Do not request account deletion unless recovery fails. Deleting an npm account normally requires signing in, and according to npm’s documentation, a deleted username becomes available for others to claim only after 30 days—so deletion would not let you immediately register the same username again.

The best path is therefore:

Recover the existing account → have npm Support reset the email → verify the new email → continue using the same username.

Do not post the full incorrect email address, password or any OTP publicly. The masked screenshot is safe, but it is more useful when attached privately to the npm Support ticket.

[36-wissam]

Unfortunately, if you don't have access to the email address you used during signup, you won't be able to verify or change it yourself. Your best option is to contact npm Support and explain the situation. They can usually help either update the email address or free up the username if the account was never verified. Make sure to include the username you registered and the correct email address you intended to use.

[v-ember]

Hi @vibhuti019 ,

This community is managed by GitHub employees, but it is not a support forum. The only place to go for answers to account-specific questions like this one is opening a ticket on our Support page.

This is a public forum, and the community is unable to assist with nor escalate your ticket, but we can assure you it is in the right place. There are an extremely high volume of Support tickets right now, yours will be answered in the order it was received based on the amount of tickets ahead of yours. Please open only one ticket per request.

As no other Community Discussions team members will be able to provide additional help with account related questions I am going to close this discussion. We appreciate your understanding and patience while Support works through your request!