Age verification
Age verification software that checks the real ID — and the real person
Confirm a customer’s age with their government ID and a live selfie, completed on their own phone in about three minutes. Your team sees the date of birth read from the ID, the face match and the fraud checks in one place before you approve.
20 verifications free for 7 days. No card required.
Securely VerifyHow it works
How age verification works
An age check is only as good as the ID behind it. Securely Verify reads the ID, flags fraud signals and matches a live selfie to the ID photo, so your team can see whether the person holding the ID is the person on it. See the full flow on How it works.
Send a secure link
You send your customer a secure link. They open it in their phone’s browser — no app to download.
Scan the ID and take a live selfie
The customer photographs their government ID (front and back, or the photo page of a passport), then takes a live selfie with a few random head movements. It takes about three minutes.
Review the date of birth and decide
Your reviewer sees the date of birth read from the ID, the face match score and any fraud signals side by side, then approves or rejects. A PDF report is saved for every verification.
What’s checked
What’s checked in every online age verification
Each verification gives your reviewer the date of birth and the evidence that the ID belongs to the person in front of the camera. Learn more about identity verification.
Date of birth from the ID
Name, date of birth, document number and expiry are read from the card. On U.S. driver’s licenses, they’re also read from the barcode on the back.
Government ID capture
U.S. driver’s licenses, state ID cards and national ID cards (front and back) and passports (photo page), captured automatically from the phone camera.
Live selfie face match
The selfie is compared with the ID portrait and scored, so your reviewer can see when someone is using an ID that isn’t theirs.
Active liveness
Random head movements that change every time help confirm a real person is in front of the camera, not a recording.
Anti-spoofing
Frames are checked for screens, printouts and masks held up to the camera.
Fraud signals
Flags for duplicate faces and documents, risky devices and networks such as VPNs, and edited or old photos.
Built for
Age verification for business
Use the same ID age verification wherever you need to know a customer is old enough — and is who they say they are.
- Age-restricted sales and deliveries. Check a customer’s ID and selfie before an order for an age-restricted product is approved or handed over.
- Rentals. Confirm a renter’s identity and date of birth before you hand over keys or equipment that has an age requirement.
- Online marketplaces. Verify buyers or sellers before they can list, buy or access age-restricted categories.
- Financial accounts. Confirm identity and date of birth at account opening. Every identity verification is also screened against sanctions lists.
Age rules vary by state and by industry. Securely Verify gives your team the verified ID data to make the decision; confirm what your business is required to do with your compliance team or counsel.
Privacy built into every age check
- Consent first. Consent is captured before any ID or selfie is collected.
- Deleted on a schedule. By default, liveness frames are deleted 30 days after a decision, and selfies and ID images after 90 days.
- Never sold. Biometric data is never sold.
- Encrypted and logged. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, two-factor sign-in is required for your team, and every view, download and decision is recorded in an audit log.
Read more on our Security page.
Related guides
ID and age check guides
Plain-English guides with links to the official sources. Browse all guides.
What does DD mean on a driver’s license?
What the document discriminator is and how it differs from the license number.
What is liveness detection?
How a live check tells a real person from a photo, mask, screen or deepfake.
9 deepfake red flags at account opening
The red flags in FinCEN’s deepfake alert, and how to catch them at onboarding.
Document fraud detection: how to spot a fake ID
How to tell if an ID is fake from a photo, and what to do when one looks off.
FAQ
Age verification FAQ
How does online age verification with Securely Verify work?
Your customer opens a secure link on their phone, scans a government ID and takes a live selfie. The date of birth is read from the ID, the selfie is matched to the ID photo, and your reviewer approves or rejects with everything in one view.
Does it automatically decide if someone is over 18 or 21?
No. Securely Verify reads the date of birth from the ID — and from the barcode on U.S. driver’s licenses — and shows it to your reviewer next to the face match and fraud checks. Your reviewer confirms the customer meets your age requirement before approving.
Can you verify age without storing the ID?
The ID and selfie have to be captured to check them, but they aren’t kept forever. By default, selfies and ID images are deleted 90 days after a decision and liveness frames after 30 days, and on the Business plan you can set a shorter period. Biometric data is never sold.
Which IDs are accepted?
U.S. driver’s licenses and state ID cards, national ID cards and passports. The customer photographs the front and back of a card, or the photo page of a passport, and the image is captured automatically.
Can I connect age verification to my website or app?
Yes, on the Growth plan and higher (and during the free trial) you can start verifications through the REST API. Signed webhooks tell your system when a decision is made. See the developer docs.
Start checking age with a real ID and a real face
Try it on your own customers with 20 free verifications over 7 days. No card required. Plans start at $79 a month — see pricing.
