Identity Verification Guide
Fast, secure and automated verification
Properly verifying official documents is key to complying with KYC (Know your customer) / AML (anti-money laundering) regulations, preventing fraud, and building trust in digital transactions.
With Verifik, you can validate official documents in seconds by cross-checking the information captured from the document against local and international government sources.
In the digital age, this data is essential for:
- User authentication.
- Digital onboarding.
- Fraud prevention.
- Regulatory compliance.
- Electronic signatures and contracts.
- Access to financial services, insurance, education, telecommunications, and more.
Types of official documents
Each country has a set of official documents. Among the most common are:
- Identity document (national ID card): primary identification in most Latin American and European countries, but less common where the legal system follows common law. It includes a photo, signature, unique number, personal data, and sometimes fingerprints.
- Passport: international travel document issued by the competent authority of the country.
- Identity cards for minors: official identification for people under legal age.
- Driver license: in some countries, especially the United States and Canada, it is widely used as a primary identification document.
What is an identity document?
An identity document is an official record issued by a governmental authority (Latin American or European) that uniquely identifies a person or citizen of that country. In most Ibero-American and European countries the national ID is mandatory and is the main mechanism for validating identity or confirming citizenship—whereas in jurisdictions rooted in Anglo-American legal traditions it tends to play a smaller everyday role.
The document typically includes information such as name, date of birth, identification number, photograph, and signature. Each country uses its own terminology; the following guide summarizes the usual identifiers.
Identity Document Guide
Different countries use different citizen identification systems with their respective terms. Verifik unifies these under a single search parameter.
Identifiers by country:
- CI (Cédula de Identidad) or Identity Card: Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Uruguay, Venezuela.
- DNI (Documento Nacional de Identidad) or National Identity Document: Argentina, Spain, Honduras, Peru.
- CC (Cédula de Ciudadanía) or Citizen Card: Colombia.
- CURP (Clave Única de Registro de Población) or Unique Population Registry Code: Mexico.
- DPI (Documento Personal de Identificación) or Personal Identification Document: Guatemala.
- DUI (Documento Único de Identidad) or Unique Identity Document: El Salvador.
- CIE (Cédula de Identidad y Electoral) or Identity and Electoral Card: Dominican Republic.
- CIC (Cédula de Identidad Civil) or Civil Identity Card: Paraguay.
- CID (Cédula de Identidad Personal) or Personal ID Card: Panama.
- Carné de Identidad or Identity Card: Cuba.
Which identity documents can be validated with Verifik?
Verifik supports official identity document verification for 20 countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
How We Do It
Industries We Serve
Benefits for your company
Proper document validation allows our clients to:
- Reduce onboarding fraud
- Meet KYC and AML regulatory requirements
- Automate processes and lower operating costs
- Improve user registration time
- Simple and secure API integration
- Verification in seconds