Document Check
ID document verification for KYC. Authenticate passports and national IDs. Extract OCR, MRZ, barcode, and RFID data.
About service
A Document Check is an advanced ID document verification service designed for KYC onboarding and digital identity verification.
It allows businesses to verify passports, driving licences, and national identity cards while detecting document fraud and extracting structured identity data for compliance and downstream processing.
ComplyCube supports verification of over 13,000 document types across 250+ countries, enabling global identity coverage. Supported documents include:
Passports
Driving licenses
National identity cards
Residence permits
Tax identification documents
Other region-specific IDs, including voter, refugee, and health cards
While this check can be run entirely through our API, we highly recommend using the Hosted Solution, Web SDK, or Mobile SDKs. These SDKs guide your customers through the capture process, reducing friction, improving completion rates, and minimizing false positive outcomes.
Common use cases
Document Checks enable businesses to verify identities securely, reduce onboarding fraud, and meet global AML and compliance requirements at scale. They're typically used for:
Digital KYC onboarding: Authenticate passports and government-issued IDs during remote customer acquisition.
Cross-border identity verification: Validate identity documents across multiple countries and jurisdictions with broad global coverage.
Age-gated onboarding and access control: Confirm age eligibility for regulated products and services.
Fraud prevention: Detect fake, tampered, or manipulated ID documents during customer registration.
Regulated industry compliance: Extract structured ID data and generate audit-ready verification records for regulated industries such as fintech, telcos, crypto, and marketplaces.
How document check works
It combines advanced document authentication, fraud detection, and structured data extraction:
Document authenticity verification: Performs forensic analysis of built-in security features such as holograms, print patterns, layout consistency, and embedded protections to confirm the document is genuine.
Fraud detection: Detects tampering, manipulation, camera injections, photocopies, and screen replays.
Lost and stolen document screening: Screens documents against global blacklists and lost/stolen databases.
OCR and MRZ extraction: Extracts available data, signatures, and images from a document’s Visual Inspection Zone (VIZ) using OCR, and parses Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) data in ICAO-compliant format with checksum validation to ensure integrity and accuracy.
Barcode and RFID/NFC chip authentication: Extracts data from 1D and 2D barcodes (where present) and verifies the integrity of embedded RFID/NFC chips on compatible ePassports and identity cards to confirm authenticity.
Privacy-first redaction: Automatically redacts sensitive data fields in images and extracted data to support data minimisation and compliance requirements.
RFID chip data extraction and analysis are available exclusively through our Mobile SDKs.
Analysis performed
The Document Check runs multiple layers of analysis to validate the authenticity, integrity, and consistency of identity documents. Each analysis type focuses on a specific set of verifications.
The diagram below outlines the key analysis categories.
Detailed verification checks
Forensic Analysis
Security elements check: Confirms embedded features (e.g., holograms, UV marks) are genuine.
Tamper or manipulation detection: Identifies alterations or forgeries.
Document liveness analysis: Ensures the document is physically present, not a static copy.
Photo location analysis: Detects mismatched or swapped photos.
MRZ classification and placement: Checks MRZ data is structured correctly and in the right place.
Format Analysis
Country and document model validation: Confirms the ID matches official country formats.
Photocopy detection: Flags photocopied or re-printed documents.
Content Analysis
Expiry and issuance: Validates ID is current and correctly issued.
Data integrity: Ensures consistency across fields.
Specimen analysis: Compares against genuine sample IDs.
Blacklist check: Detects IDs reported lost, stolen, or compromised.
MRZ Analysis
Checksum validation: Confirms MRZ codes are valid.
Format validation: Ensures compliance with ICAO standards.
RFID Analysis
Basic and chip authentication: Confirms RFID chip is original and untampered.
Passive and active authentication: Validates chip data integrity.
PACE (Password Authenticated Connection Establishment): Ensures the RFID chip is genuine and has not been tampered with.
Facial similarity check: Compares the chip-stored biometric photo with the document’s visible portrait.
Front & Back Analysis
Format and consistency: Ensures details match across both sides of the document.
Consistency Analysis
Cross-validation: Compares OCR data from VIZ, MRZ, barcodes, and RFID for alignment.
Client Validation
Age verification: Confirms whether the customer is older than the defined threshold.
Client data consistency: Ensures submitted customer info matches extracted document data.
Check duration
A Document Check takes an average of 8 seconds to complete.
Related checks
You’ll typically run a Document Check alongside:
Identity Check for liveness and selfie verification.
Multi-Bureau Check for identity and address verification via authoritative sources.
Proof of Address Check to validate address documents when required.
AML Screening Check for sanctions, PEP, and adverse media screening.
Related topics
Use these when running or configuring Document Checks:
RFID authentication for chip-based document integrity checks (mobile).
Autofill for structured data extraction from identity documents.
Workflows to bundle Document Check into an end-to-end KYC journey.
Policies to apply rule-based pass/fail logic and regulatory requirements.