"Verify an ID number" can mean three things
People use the phrase for three different checks. Choosing the right one saves money and stops you relying on a result that does not answer your question.
- Is the number well formed? A South African ID number has 13 digits that encode a date of birth, a gender sequence, a citizenship indicator and a check digit. Structural validation tests all of that. It catches typos and invented numbers, and it is free on the ID number checker.
- Does the number go with this name? A Home Affairs record check compares the ID number and the name you were given with the population register. This is the check that shows a borrowed or mismatched ID.
- Is the document genuine, and is the person holding it the owner? That needs the physical card or book, a photo comparison and, for high-risk decisions, biometric or liveness checks. See verifying a physical ID document.
Why a valid number is not proof of identity
The structure of an ID number is public. Anyone can write down a number that passes the checksum, and a real person's number can be copied by someone else. A structurally valid result therefore tells you the number is well formed, not that Home Affairs issued it or that it belongs to the person who gave it to you.
How to check an ID number against Home Affairs records
Home Affairs holds the population register. Organisations that query it directly generally need a formal agreement with the department. Most businesses instead use a verification provider that already has access and returns an answer for each check.
CheckID's Home Affairs ID verification works this way. You enter the ID number and the person's first name and surname, and pay R39.90. We check them through our provider, VerifyNow. If the name matches, the details come back to you as a PDF by email. If it does not, you are refunded in full and see nothing from the record.
Before you run the check
- Have a lawful reason, such as preventing or detecting identity fraud, and use the result only for that purpose.
- Tell the person their details are being checked. POPIA expects the people you process information about to be told.
- Use the surname as Home Affairs holds it. For some married women the register still shows a maiden name, so a record can fail to match a current surname even when the ID is genuine. CheckID lets you add an optional maiden name for female ID numbers for this reason.
- Keep only what you need and delete the result when you no longer need it.
What a match does and does not prove
A match shows that the ID number and the name you were given are consistent with a Home Affairs record. It does not prove the person in front of you is the holder, that a physical document is genuine, or anything about their credit or criminal history. For those, compare the document and a photo in person, or use a check designed for them.
Ready to check one? Verify an ID against Home Affairs records, or validate the number for free first.