diff --git a/lms/static/js/verify_student/views/reverify_view.js b/lms/static/js/verify_student/views/reverify_view.js
index 43257138b3..b61ca2f1b5 100644
--- a/lms/static/js/verify_student/views/reverify_view.js
+++ b/lms/static/js/verify_student/views/reverify_view.js
@@ -83,7 +83,10 @@
             // Get or create the step container
              $stepEl = $('#current-step-container');
              if (!$stepEl.length) {
-                 $stepEl = $('<div id="current-step-container"></div>').appendTo(this.el);
+                 $stepEl = edx.HtmlUtils.append(
+                   $(this.el),
+                   edx.HtmlUtils.HTML('<div id="current-step-container"></div>').toString()
+                 );
              }
 
             // Render the step subview