Last updated
Last updated
Only available where we are integrated into the document's issuing authorities' database
Enhanced Document Verification is a powerful extension of our Document Verification product, providing an additional layer of security and validation for identity documents. This check verifies that a document is authentic and cross-references the information on the document with a government database in a single call.
This dual check makes it extremely difficult for fraudsters to onboard and allows you to comply with document storage requirements.
To run an Enhanced Document Verification job, we require:
A selfie of the user
An image of the document
The country of issuance
The ID type of the document (this must be one of our supported documents)
Document Authentication: Like Document Verification, Enhanced Document Verification allows you to verify the authenticity of identity documents by checking security features, MRZ and barcodes.
User Authentication: Next, it confirms that the submitted ID document belongs to the user by comparing their submitted selfie with the photo on the document. This step ensures that the person presenting the document is its rightful owner.
Issuer Data Cross-Check: Enhanced Document Verification cross-references the document data with official government database records. This step double-checks the document's legitimacy by comparing the OCR information extracted from the document to a record on a government ID registry.
These are only the documents supported by Enhanced Document Verification. Please refer to the for the complete list of documents supported on our Document Verification product.
*Only supports Ghana Voter IDs issued from 2020
Please ensure that the orientation of your document images matches the way information is printed on the document. For example, if the document is meant to be read vertically(portrait) like a passport, do not rotate the image to a horizontal (landscape) orientation.
To check the authenticity of the document, we require high-resolution images. The image should be cropped to include the entire document with minimal background.
The following are the minimum specifications we require for the document image:
The minimum resolution on the horizontal (longer) side of credit card-sized ID cards should be 1500 pixels.
Minimum resolution on the horizontal (longer) side of passports should be 2200 pixels.
The total Image size should be at least 600KB but no more than 10MB.
To get the best results on document verification, we recommend the document image meets the following criteria:
Ensure the image is not tightly cropped. All edges of the ID document should be visible.
The face in the ID photo should be visible.
The document should be placed on a flat, non-white surface for the capture.
If the document contains an MRZ code, ensure no part of the code is covered by a finger or is cut off in the image.
Avoid fingers covering any part of the document.
Ensure no glare or bright light (flash) obstructs information on the document.
All text on the document must be readable after capture.
You need to perform two steps to use this product:
Make a request to Smile ID for a job to be performed
Upload the job payload
NOTE: The value of the job_type for this product is 11
Request Type: POST
At the end of the request, you will receive a job number for tracking and a url where you will be uploading your images.
In the response body to the prep upload request, you will receive an AWS s3 bucket link. You will upload the images for face and identity document verification to this link. The URL is structured like:
"https://smile-uploads-test.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/videos/
<partner_id>/<partner_id>-<smile_job_id>-<random hash>/attachments.zip
?AWSAccessKeyId=<>
&Content-Type=application%2Fzip
&Expires=1598449184&Signature=<>
&x-amz-security-token=<>&x-amz-server-side-encryption=AES256"
200: OK
A record has now been created waiting for the job to be processed once the required data has been uploaded
400: Bad Request
Trying to use a job_id in partner_params that has already been used
To perform a job, Smile ID requires a Zip file that contains the following information:
images - images are ID document photos (bearer's face must be visible), selfie and liveness images (optional)
Info.json file - the structure of the info.json file is detailed below
The Zip file must have the same name as the file_name specified while making a job request (prep upload). In the case of the example request above, the filename will be attachments.zip.
Request Type: PUT
The request body will be of type binary (the zip file)
The info.json file contains the selfie and ID card images required to process the document verification job. The images can either be parsed inline as a base64 encoded string, or the image files themselves can be zipped with the info.json file. Only .jpg file type is supported.
The structure of the info.json file is detailed below
The zip file contains the info.json file only (if images are inline i.e. supplied as base64 encoded strings) or both an info.json file and image files (if the image files themselves are uploaded).
Example zip file and info.json when images are inline (i.e. base64 encoded strings)
The content of the info.json file below:
Example zip file and info.json when images are uploaded as files
The content of the info.json file below:
The full list of keys and possible return values are highlighted below:
*Only returned if information is on the physical ID card
** If a single selfie image is provided, the system will only perform a photo of photo check
Actions performed on the product are not completed at the same time, so we send results to your callback endpoint when they are ready. Also, if the Smile ID system can not automatically make a decision on an action, it is passed to our human reviewers, and the system decision is sent via callback once the reviewers make a final decision.
The Document Verification can fail for multiple reasons:
A spoof was detected on the submitted selfie - if we believe the selfie has been tampered with or is a picture of a picture, the document verification will fail.
The submitted selfie does not match the face on the document - if the selfie and face on the document do not match, the document verification job will fail.
The OCR extracted information, and the decoded MRZ information do not match, e.g., the name encoded in the MRZ does not match the name that can be seen on the document.
The document image or selfie is blurry.
Some known visible security features on the document are missing, e.g. the coat of arms on a Nigerian driver’s license.
The ID type specified by the user does not match our system’s classification of the document type.
The data on the document does not match the issuer's records
The ID number on the document was not found in the issuer's database
Result codes detail what the current (or final) result of a job is. Result Codes for all jobs fall into one of two categories:
Approved (or Pass) This means that all applicable Actions passed and the overall job was approved.
Rejected (or Fail) This means that one or more of the applicable Actions for the job failed, and thus, the overall job was rejected according to Smile ID standards.
This means no further processing is possible on the job. General failures occur when a job cannot be submitted due to a logical/technical issue. These jobs do not appear in the portal or have a Smile Job ID.
Document verification can be tested in our sandbox environment. However, you will get a simulated response. In the sandbox, the document verification job is processed as described below:
The selfie is compared to the photo on the identity document, if both images do not match, the document verification job fails
The authenticity of the document is not confirmed, and we will always return the document as being valid
The values you parse in id_type and country are not checked with the supported countries and IDs
Available via the
* Read more on how to troubleshoot this error