How to Find Your Class Member ID for a Settlement

To find your Class Member ID for a settlement, look near the top of the settlement notice you received by mail or email, usually next to your name and address. If you no longer have the notice, the settlement administrator’s website almost always has a lookup tool that will return your ID when you enter your name and mailing address. If that doesn’t work, call or email the administrator directly.

Start With the Notice You Received

The Class Member ID is a string of letters and numbers printed on the notice the settlement administrator sent you. On paper notices, it usually sits in a highlighted box or right beside your printed name and address. On emailed notices, look near the top of the message, often above or below the greeting.

Notices go out by U.S. mail, by email, or sometimes both. Federal rules require administrators to send the best notice practicable, including individual notice to everyone who can be identified through reasonable effort.¹ That means if you qualify and the defendant had your contact information, a notice was almost certainly sent. Check your inbox’s spam and promotions folders, and search your email for the company name or the words “settlement” and “notice.” Physical notices often look like junk mail, so it’s worth checking any recent envelopes you set aside.

Use the Settlement Website’s Lookup Tool

If the notice is gone, the fastest fix is the official settlement website. Most sites include a lookup feature where you enter your name and current mailing address, and the system pulls your ID from the class member database.

Finding the right website is the tricky part, because scam sites imitate real ones. A few reliable ways to locate the official URL:

Search for the defendant’s company name plus the word “settlement” and the current year. Legitimate cases are covered by established news outlets, and the coverage usually links to or names the official site.
Check the court docket for the case if you know it. Court filings reference the administrator and the settlement website.
For cases the Federal Trade Commission was involved in, check ftc.gov/refunds. The FTC lists its active refund programs and the specific administrators handling them, including Epiq Systems, JND Legal Administration, and Rust Consulting, among others.²

Once you’re on the site, the lookup tool is usually labeled something like “Look up your claim,” “Find your ID,” or “Class member lookup.” Enter the name and address that would have been on file during the period the lawsuit covers. If you’ve moved recently, try the old address too.

What to Have Ready if the Lookup Fails

Address changes, misspellings, and old email accounts all cause lookups to come back empty. Before you give up, try variations: your maiden name, a nickname the account might have used, a prior address, or an old email you had during the class period.

If nothing works, you’ll need to contact the administrator directly. Their phone number and email are posted on the settlement website, and most have toll-free lines set up specifically for people who can’t find their ID. Have this ready when you call:

Your full legal name, plus any other name you may have used (maiden name, prior last name)
Your current mailing address
Every previous address you can remember from the period the lawsuit covers
Any account number, customer number, or email address you used with the defendant company

The administrator can search the class member database on their end and either give you your ID or explain an alternative way to file. Some settlements accept claims without an ID as long as you can prove you were part of the class.

Do this well before the claim deadline. Administrators handle these calls routinely, but the court sets the deadline as part of the settlement approval, and administrators have little room to grant extensions after it passes. Miss the deadline and you usually get nothing, and in many cases the settlement’s release still binds you, meaning you also lose the right to sue on your own.

What the ID Lets You Do Once You Have It

The ID is how the administrator connects any claim form you submit to the record they already have on you. When you type it into the claim form on the settlement site, the system recognizes you as an eligible class member and often pre-fills your name and address, which cuts down on typos and duplicate submissions. It also acts as a fraud filter, since each code is unique to a verified class member.

The same ID lets you log back into the portal later to check whether your claim has been received, is under review, has been approved, or needs more documentation. Administrators sometimes request additional paperwork without sending a follow-up notice, so it’s worth checking in every few weeks until you’re paid.

Use the portal to update your mailing address, email, or phone number if anything changes between filing and payment. Checks and digital payments go to whatever address is on file, and a stale address is one of the most common reasons people never see their money.

Make Sure the Notice Is Real Before You Type Anything

Scammers send fake settlement notices because they know real ones arrive by the millions. Before you enter your Class Member ID, or any personal information, into a website or a form, run through a few checks.

Legitimate settlements never charge a fee to file a claim or receive a payment. The FTC is explicit that no legitimate administrator or government agency will ask you to pay money upfront. Any request for payment is a scam.²
Claim forms won’t ask for your full Social Security number or your bank login credentials. Some ask for a mailing address or the last four digits of an account number, but nothing beyond that.²
Verify the case independently through a news search or the court docket before clicking any link in the notice itself. Type the settlement URL into your browser rather than following an email link.
Check the domain. It won’t always end in .gov, but it should match what news coverage and court filings reference, not a lookalike URL with extra characters or unusual endings.

If the notice claims to be from the FTC but names an administrator that isn’t on the FTC’s list of contracted refund companies, treat that as a warning sign and confirm through ftc.gov/refunds before doing anything else.²

Once you’ve confirmed the notice and the site are legitimate and you have your ID in hand, filing usually takes a few minutes. The ID does most of the work for you.

1
Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell Law School. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 23 – Class Actions
2
Federal Trade Commission. Refund Programs Frequently Asked Questions