The national identity card is used to prove identity, generally in the issuing country. It can be used as a travel document if agreed between countries, as it is the case among European nations.
In order to ensure uniformity, the majority of national identity cards comply with the 9303 standard, which is defined by the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization). The trend is to issue ID cards in a format similar to credit cards, which comply with the standard. This is the case for the ID cards from France, Spain, Romania, etc. However, several countries continue to issue ID cards that do not comply with this standard.
In Europe, there is a standard identity card respected by many countries. But there are a few exceptions, such as Denmark and United Kingdom. In Portugal for example, a single card serves as an identity card, social security card, taxpayer card and polling card.
In the USA, an optional identity card exists: the US passport card, which is not widely used. As a driving licence is widely used as proof of identity in North America, some states have opted to issue identity cards for non-drivers that have the same characteristics as a driving licence.
Securing identity card is a common concern for all countries in the world. Arguments put forward to justify reinforcing it revolve mostly around security concerns: population movements, terrorism, identity document fraud, identity theft, etc. Thus ID verification is becoming a real issue.
As there are different models of ID cards around the world, there is no verification standard. However, one of the main security criteria is the ID number check. Depending on the model, there are different security features to verify the authenticity of a national ID card :
Many European identity cards are based on these security standards, such as the French identity card, for example. The purpose of these features is to discourage document fraud. An identity card verification then automatically recognizes in real time that all items are correct and have not been falsified.
Despite these security features, some fraudsters manage to reproduce very similar false identity card. It is not always possible to detect ID card fraud with the naked eye. That is why an automated ID verification service is essential. Especially for companies that onboard their customers remotely.
Thanks to our identity card verification service, you can be sure that the ID is genuine. Our solution covers a growing number of types of identity documents (ID card, passport, driver license, residence permit…etc) in more than 208 countries and organizations.