NFC chip verification
Modern passports (every country) and some national ID cards carry an eMRTD chip following the ICAO 9303 standard. On NFC-capable phones, the mobile SDKs read the chip over its secure channel and submit the data with the verification. The server then runs passive authentication: it re-computes each data group's hash against the chip's signed security object and verifies the issuing state's Document Signer signature. The client never decides authenticity; a chip that positively fails authentication is proven tampered and the verification fails with chip_not_authentic.
A chip-verified document earns the strongest assurance level, chip.
Native SDKs only. Reading a chip requires low-level NFC access (ISO-DEP) that only native apps get, so chip verification is available in the React Native and Flutter SDKs and is not supported in the web SDK: no browser API can talk to a passport chip. Web integrations that want
chipassurance should route users through one of the mobile SDKs. Phones without an NFC radio skip the step automatically, and skipping never fails a verification.
Supported documents
Chip capability is a property of the document, not the country: a passport reads everywhere, while national identity cards depend on whether that country issues an ICAO-compliant chip card. Driver's licences never carry a readable chip. The authoritative list for your account is GET /config, whose ID types each carry supportsNfc.
Chip readable Chip readableNo chip No chip
| Country | Passport | National ID | Driver's licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | |||
AlgeriaDZCNIBE, biometric since 2016 | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
AngolaAO | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
BeninBJ | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
BotswanaBW | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Burkina FasoBF | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
BurundiBI | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
CameroonCM | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Cape VerdeCV | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Central African RepublicCF | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
ChadTD | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
ComorosKM | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Congo - BrazzavilleCG | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Congo - KinshasaCD | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Côte d’IvoireCI2019+ biometric CNI; residence-card also reads | Chip readable | Chip readablecni | No chip |
DjiboutiDJ | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
EgyptEGID card carries no ICAO chip | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Equatorial GuineaGQ | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
EritreaER | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
EswatiniSZ | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
EthiopiaET | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
GabonGA | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
GambiaGM | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
GhanaGHGhana Card, ICAO-compliant ECOWAS eID | Chip readable | Chip readableghana-card | No chip |
GuineaGN | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Guinea-BissauGW | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
KenyaKEMaisha Card since 2023; earlier cards are chipless | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
LesothoLS | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
LiberiaLR | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
LibyaLY | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
MadagascarMG | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
MalawiMW | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
MaliML | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
MauritaniaMR | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
MauritiusMU | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
MayotteYT | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
MoroccoMACNIE, 2020 generation | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
MozambiqueMZ | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
NamibiaNA | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
NigerNE | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
NigeriaNGNo chip on the national ID card | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
RéunionRE | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
RwandaRW | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
São Tomé & PríncipeST | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
SenegalSNECOWAS identity card | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
SeychellesSC | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Sierra LeoneSL | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
SomaliaSO | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
South AfricaZASmart ID chip is proprietary, not an ICAO eMRTD | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
South SudanSS | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
St. HelenaSH | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
SudanSD | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
TanzaniaTZ | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
TogoTG | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
TunisiaTN | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
UgandaUG | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Western SaharaEH | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
ZambiaZM | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
ZimbabweZW | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
| Europe | |||
Åland IslandsAX | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
AlbaniaALLetërnjoftim | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
AndorraAD | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
AustriaATPersonalausweis | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
BelarusBYBiometric ID cards since 2021 | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
BelgiumBEeID | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
Bosnia & HerzegovinaBALična karta | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
BulgariaBGFirst chip generation 2024 | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
CroatiaHROsobna iskaznica | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
CyprusCY | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
CzechiaCZObčanský průkaz | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
DenmarkDKIssues no identity card; Danish users verify by passport | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
EstoniaEEID-kaart | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
Faroe IslandsFO | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
FinlandFI | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
FranceFRCNIe, 2021 card format | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
GermanyDEPersonalausweis, ICAO chip since Aug 2021 | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
GibraltarGI | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
GreeceGRNew card since Sept 2023 | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
GuernseyGG | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
HungaryHUeSzemélyi | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
IcelandISFirst chip generation 2024 | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
IrelandIEPassport Card (Ireland issues no ID card) | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
Isle of ManIM | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
ItalyITCIE | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
JerseyJE | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
KosovoXK | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
LatviaLVeID karte | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
LiechtensteinLIFirst chip generation 2024 | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
LithuaniaLT | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
LuxembourgLU | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
MaltaMT | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
MoldovaMD | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
MonacoMC | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
MontenegroMELična karta | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
NetherlandsNLIdentiteitskaart | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
North MacedoniaMK | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
NorwayNO | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
PolandPLe-Dowód | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
PortugalPTCartão de Cidadão, ICAO chip 2024 | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
RomaniaRO | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
RussiaRU | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
San MarinoSM | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
SerbiaRS | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
SlovakiaSKObčiansky preukaz, chip cards since 2022 | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
SloveniaSIOsebna izkaznica | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
SpainESDNIe | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
Svalbard & Jan MayenSJ | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
SwedenSE | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
SwitzerlandCH | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
UkraineUAID-картка, chip cards since 2016 | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
United KingdomGB | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Vatican CityVA | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
| Americas | |||
AnguillaAI | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Antigua & BarbudaAG | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
ArgentinaAR | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
ArubaAW | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
BahamasBS | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
BarbadosBB | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
BelizeBZ | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
BermudaBM | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
BoliviaBO | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
BrazilBR | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
British Virgin IslandsVG | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
CanadaCA | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Caribbean NetherlandsBQ | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Cayman IslandsKY | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
ChileCLCédula de identidad | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
ColombiaCO | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Costa RicaCR | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
CubaCU | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
CuraçaoCW | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
DominicaDM | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Dominican RepublicDO | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
EcuadorECCédula de identidad | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
El SalvadorSV | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Falkland IslandsFK | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
French GuianaGF | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
GreenlandGL | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
GrenadaGD | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
GuadeloupeGP | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
GuatemalaGT | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
GuyanaGY | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
HaitiHT | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
HondurasHN | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
JamaicaJM | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
MartiniqueMQ | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
MexicoMX | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
MontserratMS | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
NicaraguaNI | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
PanamaPA | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
ParaguayPY | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
PeruPEDNIe | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
Puerto RicoPR | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Sint MaartenSX | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
St. BarthélemyBL | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
St. Kitts & NevisKN | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
St. LuciaLC | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
St. MartinMF | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
St. Pierre & MiquelonPM | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
St. Vincent & GrenadinesVC | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
SurinameSR | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
Trinidad & TobagoTT | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Turks & Caicos IslandsTC | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
U.S. Virgin IslandsVI | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
United StatesUS | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
UruguayUYCédula de identidad | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
VenezuelaVE | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
| Middle East | |||
BahrainBH | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
IranIR | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
IraqIQNational Card | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
IsraelIL | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
JordanJO | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
KuwaitKW | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
LebanonLB | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
OmanOM | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Palestinian TerritoriesPS | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
QatarQA | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Saudi ArabiaSA | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
SyriaSY | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
TürkiyeTRT.C. Kimlik Kartı, chip cards since 2017 | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
United Arab EmiratesAEEmirates ID chip is proprietary, not an ICAO eMRTD | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
YemenYE | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
| Asia & Pacific | |||
AfghanistanAF | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
American SamoaAS | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
ArmeniaAM | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
AustraliaAU | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
AzerbaijanAZ | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
BangladeshBD | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
BhutanBT | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
BruneiBN | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
CambodiaKH | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
ChinaCN | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Cook IslandsCK | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
FijiFJ | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
French PolynesiaPF | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
GeorgiaGE | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
GuamGU | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Hong Kong SAR ChinaHK | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
IndiaIN | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
IndonesiaID | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
JapanJP | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
KazakhstanKZ | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
KiribatiKI | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
KyrgyzstanKG | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
LaosLA | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Macao SAR ChinaMO | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
MalaysiaMYMyKad chip is proprietary, not an ICAO eMRTD | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
MaldivesMV | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Marshall IslandsMH | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
MicronesiaFM | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
MongoliaMN | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Myanmar (Burma)MM | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
NauruNR | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
NepalNP | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
New CaledoniaNC | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
New ZealandNZ | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
NiueNU | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Norfolk IslandNF | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
North KoreaKP | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Northern Mariana IslandsMP | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
PakistanPK | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
PalauPW | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Papua New GuineaPG | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
PhilippinesPHPhilID | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
Pitcairn IslandsPN | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
SamoaWS | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
SingaporeSG | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Solomon IslandsSB | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
South KoreaKR | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Sri LankaLK | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
TaiwanTW | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
TajikistanTJ | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
ThailandTH | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Timor-LesteTL | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
TokelauTK | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
TongaTO | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
TurkmenistanTM | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
TuvaluTV | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
UzbekistanUZ | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
VanuatuVU | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
VietnamVNCCCD, chip cards since 2021 | Chip readable | Chip readable | No chip |
Wallis & FutunaWF | Chip readable | No chip | No chip |
Passports carry a chip in every country listed; 66 countries also issue a chip-readable national identity card. Send the country code with idType: "national-id" unless the row shows its own key. A document whose generation predates its country's chip rollout simply reads nothing and falls back to the document checks.
Some well-known ID cards carry chips that are not ICAO eMRTDs and cannot be read this way, by any vendor: the South African smart ID card, the Emirates ID, Malaysia's MyKad, and the smart cards of Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and China all use proprietary chip applications. Those documents still verify through Document Intelligence; they simply cannot reach chip assurance.
Three things to know:
- The chip's secure channel is unlocked with a key derived from the document's MRZ (BAC or PACE), so the chip step always runs after the document scan that reads it.
- Chip capability follows each document's current issuance generation. Older chipless generations still in circulation pass through unaffected: chip presence is a bonus signal, and a chipless card simply completes on the document checks at the assurance tier it can reach.
- Which chip-capable IDs actually offer the step, whether users may skip it manually, and whether the chip portrait is face-matched are all configured per workflow in the builder's NFC panel.
Data extraction
The system reads and verifies the following data groups:
| Data group | Contents | What we do |
|---|---|---|
SOD | Document Security Object | Read in full and verified server-side: the signed hash of every data group plus the Document Signer signature, optionally chained to the issuing state's CSCA certificate. This is what makes everything else trustworthy. |
DG1 | Personal data (MRZ) | Name, document number, nationality, birth date, expiry date. Hash-verified against the SOD, every ICAO check digit validated, and cross-checked against the details submitted with the verification. |
DG2 | Facial image | The government-issued portrait stored on the chip. Hash-verified against the SOD and, on document-only verifications, face-matched against the live selfie. |
DG7 | Signature | The holder's displayed signature image. Read when the chip carries one and hash-verified against the SOD. |
DG11 | Additional personal details | Full name, personal number, full date of birth, place of birth, address, telephone and profession, where the issuer populated them. Hash-verified against the SOD. |
DG12 | Additional document details | Issuing authority and date of issue. Hash-verified against the SOD. |
Two honesty notes, because chip capabilities are widely overstated:
- DG3 (fingerprints) and DG4 (iris) cannot be read by any commercial system. They sit behind Extended Access Control: only government inspection systems holding terminal-authentication certificates issued by each state can decrypt them. A vendor claiming to extract fingerprints or iris scans from a passport chip is describing something the standard does not permit them to do.
- DG7, DG11 and DG12 are optional by standard. Many issuers do not write them at all, so their absence is normal and never a risk signal. The SDK checks the chip's own table of contents (EF.COM) and reads only the groups the document declares.
Where the results surface
The full result lands on the verification record and the webhook payload as data.nfc:
status(verified/not_authentic/data_mismatch/inconclusive/unreadable),chipAuthentic,dataMatch,checkDigitsValidand the parsedmrz.sod,dg2,dg7,dg11,dg12sub-objects, each carryinghashValid: whether that group's bytes match the signed hash in the SOD. Parsed DG11/DG12 fields are included alongside, withhashValidtelling you how much to trust them.- On document-only verifications,
dg2.faceMatchanddg2.faceMatchConfidencereport the live selfie against the authenticated chip portrait.
In workflow decisioning you can branch on verification.nfcStatus, verification.nfcAuthentic, verification.nfcDataMatch, verification.nfcFacialMatch and verification.assuranceLevel.
Behaviour and availability
- A missing, unreadable or inconclusive chip never fails a verification; it simply falls back to the document checks. Only a proven-tampered chip (
not_authentic) hard-fails. - The optional detail groups (DG7/DG11/DG12) are read by the React Native SDK today, with Flutter following; the core groups (DG1, DG2, SOD) are read by both mobile SDKs.
- On sandbox keys, a chip payload on a test ID returns a canned authentic result, so you can exercise the full contract at no cost.