Document check

ID verification documents are official papers issued by the government to confirm a person’s identity and personal information. Common examples are passports, national ID cards, driver’s licenses, residence permits, and sometimes birth certificates. For address verification, utility bills or bank statements may be used. The specific documents required depend on the country, industry, and the user’s risk profile.

A standard document check process involves several steps. First, the user provides a photo or scan of their ID, often with a selfie for biometric comparison. Key details such as name, date of birth, and document number are extracted using optical character recognition (OCR). The system checks security features like holograms, fonts, or MRZ codes to spot any signs of forgery or tampering. The photo on the ID is then compared to the selfie to confirm the person’s identity. Finally, the information is checked against sanctions lists, PEP databases, or internal watchlists if needed. Advanced systems may also use NFC chip scanning or liveness detection for extra security.

Banks verify documents during onboarding and compliance checks. This can be done manually by a compliance officer or automatically with identity verification software. Main steps include checking if the document is genuine using advanced tools, cross-checking details with internal or government databases, comparing the ID photo to a live image or selfie, and screening the customer against AML, sanctions, and PEP lists. These checks are required by regulations to prevent fraud and ensure customers are who they claim to be.