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Forgot Password: Recover Your Account

Access Level

Public (before authentication)

Overview

If you forget your password, you can reset it through a secure recovery process using your email address and a secret question.

How to Access: On the sign in page, click Forgot my password

How to Reset Your Password

The password recovery process has three steps:

Step 1: Enter Your Email or Username

  1. On the sign-in page, click Forgot my password
  2. Enter your email address or username
  3. Click Next

Field:

  • Email Address or Username (required): Enter the email or username associated with your account

Validation:

  • Must match an account in the system
  • Email must be in valid format (name@domain.com)
  • Case-insensitive

Errors:

  • "Account not found": Check for typos; try your email or username (whichever you didn't use); contact your administrator if your account doesn't exist

Step 2: Answer Your Secret Question

  1. Your saved secret question appears on the screen
  2. Enter the secret answer you provided during account setup
  3. Click Submit

Field:

  • Secret Answer (required): The answer to your security question

Validation:

  • Answers are case-sensitive; match your original capitalisation
  • Remove extra spaces and leading/trailing whitespace
  • Must match exactly what you entered when you created your account

Tips:

  • ✅ Think carefully about how you originally answered
  • ✅ If you have alternate spellings in mind, try each one
  • ✅ Note: "Fluffy" ≠ "fluffy" - case matters!

Common Issues:

  • "Incorrect answer": The answer doesn't match your saved answer. Try alternate spellings or capitalisation. If unsure, contact your administrator.
  • "No secret question set": Your account may not have security question set up. Contact your association administrator for password reset.
  • "Self-service password recovery is currently disabled": Password recovery was disabled when your name was changed. Contact your administrator to reset your password.

Step 3: Receive Your New Temporary Password

  1. A new temporary password is generated
  2. The password is sent to your registered email address
  3. Check your email for a message from Match Official System
  4. Your email will contain your new temporary password
  5. Copy the temporary password from the email
  6. Return to the sign in page
  7. Sign in with your email and the temporary password
  8. Result: You'll be prompted to change your password on first sign-in

Password Requirements:

When you sign in and change from your temporary password, your new password must meet these criteria:

  • Minimum 8 characters
  • At least one uppercase letter (A-Z)
  • At least one lowercase letter (a-z)
  • At least one number (0-9)
  • Symbols recommended (!@#$%)

Creating a Strong Password:

  • ✅ Use a unique password for this system
  • ✅ Mix uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols
  • ✅ Avoid personal information (name, birthday, etc.)
  • ✅ Don't reuse passwords from other sites
  • ✅ Use a password manager to generate and store passwords

Avoid:

  • ❌ Common words or phrases ("password", "welcome")
  • ❌ Sequential numbers (123456)
  • ❌ Keyboard patterns (qwerty)
  • ❌ Your name or personal information
  • ❌ Words found in a dictionary

If You Don't Receive the Reset Email

Check Spam/Junk Folder:

  • MOS emails may be filtered as spam
  • Search for sender: Match Official System
  • Check all tabs (Primary, Promotions, Social, etc.)
  • Move email to inbox and mark as "Not Spam"

Email Hasn't Arrived:

  1. Wait 5-10 minutes for delivery
  2. Ask your IT to allowlist the domain
  3. Check that you entered your correct email address
  4. Try the password recovery process again

Contact Your Administrator:

If emails still don't arrive, contact your association administrator:

  1. Explain that password reset emails aren't reaching you
  2. Ask them to manually reset your password
  3. They may:
    • Reset your password to a temporary one
    • Send you a temporary password via another method
    • Help you update your email address if it's incorrect

When Password Recovery is Disabled

In some situations, self-service password recovery is not available.

Why Password Recovery Gets Disabled:

Password recovery is disabled if:

  • Your name was changed by an administrator
  • An administrator manually disabled it for security reasons
  • Your account has unusual activity

If Password Recovery is Disabled

You'll See:

"Self-service password recovery is currently disabled for your account"

How to Reset Your Password:

  1. Contact your association administrator
  2. Tell them your password recovery is disabled
  3. They can:
    • Manually reset your password
    • Send you a temporary password
    • Re-enable password recovery
  4. Sign in with the temporary password your administrator provides
  5. Change your password immediately: My Account → Change Password

Why This Happens:

When your name changes (even if you do it yourself):

  • Your username may change
  • Your security settings are re-verified to protect your account
  • Self-service recovery is temporarily disabled

This is a security feature to prevent unauthorised account access.

Troubleshooting

Account Not Found

Problem: "Account not found" message

What this means:

  • No account matches the email or username you entered
  • You may have:
    • Entered a typo
    • Used a different email than registered
    • Not registered yet

Solutions:

  1. Double-Check Entry:

    • Try your email address (if you used username)
    • Try your username (if you used email)
    • Check for typos

  2. Try Email Recovery:

    • Go to your email provider
    • Search for emails from "Match Official System"
    • Check any password reset or confirmation emails
    • The email in those messages is your registered email

  3. Contact Administrator:

    • Tell them you can't find your account
    • Ask them to search for you in their user list
    • They can verify if an account exists
    • They can manually reset your password

Wrong Secret Answer

Problem: "Incorrect answer" - you know your answer but it doesn't work

Common Causes:

  • Capitalisation: Answers are case-sensitive. "Red" ≠ "red"
  • Extra spaces: Even one extra space means it won't match
  • Different spelling: You may have typed it differently originally
  • Memory: You may have misremembered how you answered

What to Try:

  1. Try Different Capitalisation:

    • Original: "Boston" → Try: "boston" or "BOSTON"
    • Original: "French Bulldog" → Try: "french bulldog"

  2. Try Without Spaces:

    • Original: "New York" → Try: "newyork"

  3. Try Alternate Spellings:

    • Original: "Fluffy" → Try: "Fluffy" (if you type with extra letters)

  4. Contact Administrator:

    • If multiple attempts fail
    • They can reset your password without needing the secret answer
    • They may help you update your secret question

Email Address No Longer Valid

Problem: Password reset emails aren't reaching you; your email changed

Solutions:

  1. Update Your Email:

    • If you can still sign in, go to My Account → Update Email
    • Change to a current email address
    • Then password recovery will work

  2. Contact Administrator:

    • Tell them your email is outdated
    • Ask them to:
      • Update your email address in the system
      • Manually reset your password
    • Once updated, password recovery will work normally

Tips for Password Recovery Success

  • ✅ Use a unique, strong password
  • ✅ Write your secret question and answer in a secure password manager
  • ✅ Keep your registered email address active and monitored
  • ✅ Update your email if it changes
  • ✅ Change your password every 90 days
  • ✅ Never share your password with anyone