Sign-in email address

We are committed to assuring the highest security standards in our software products. Boards requires you to use an email address as your username to sign in. You can no longer use customized usernames, such as John Doe or jdoe.

This measure ensures unique user identities within the platform and provides you with the following benefits:

  1. Enhanced user experience — no more forgotten username; if you know your email address, you know your sign in credentials.

  2. Easier password resets — no need to contact admins or Support to reset passwords. You can reset them yourself using the Forgot your Password? option on the Sign-in screen.

  3. Enhanced security — sign-in emails are the new standard in security practice and have proven to be more resistant to security threats.

This process does not have any effect on accessing sites or content. You can access your accounts and materials as before. The only change is during the sign-in process: instead of a username, you must enter your email address.

If you have different username and password combinations for multiple sites, you can continue to maintain distinct accounts. You must designate a different email address as your sign-in email for each distinct account. For more information about email types, go to The different email types.

If you have a common username and password for all your sites, but your notifications go to different email addresses, depending on which company they are for, we recommend updating your username to a common email address and retaining the same password. We also recommend using a personal email, rather than one that’s tied to an organization that you support. However, regardless of the email address you use to sign in, you can continue to receive notifications to the existing emails you have on file for each site. Notifications are still sent to an email address that you use to update to a sign-in email.

User notifications

There are two types of user notifications:

  • Security notifications: Informs you about events that impact their account, such as your password expiring, or your account being locked. Security notification emails are sent to your account email on file. Notification emails about the self-service recovery processes are also sent to your account email. These emails deliver verification codes or recover site names and sign-in emails.

  • Content notifications: Updates you about changes to the materials within your sites, including new book content, approvals, or questionnaires. Content notification emails are sent to your board email (also known as contact email) on file.