Age check
Check that an applicant is old enough using a selfie age estimate, with an automatic fall back to the date of birth on their ID when the estimate is too close to call.
The age check answers one question: is this applicant at least as old as your minimum age? It looks at the selfie first, and only asks for more when the selfie cannot settle it.
The age taken from a selfie is an estimate of how old the face looks. It is not a verified age and Certivant never presents it as one. Close to your limit the check does not rely on it: it uses the date of birth on the identity document instead.
How a decision is made
You choose a minimum age and a buffer (in years). Certivant estimates the age from the selfie and compares:
| Estimated age | Result |
|---|---|
| At or above minimum age plus buffer | Pass — far enough above the limit that the estimate is enough |
| Below minimum age minus buffer | Fail — clearly too young |
| Anywhere in between, or the model is unsure, or no face could be read | ID check — the date of birth read from the identity document decides |
With the defaults (minimum 18, buffer 5), an estimate of 23 or more passes, an estimate under 13 fails, and 13 to 23 is decided by the ID.
When the ID decides:
- the date of birth on the document gives an exact age, and that result is final (
PassorFail); - if the selfie and the ID clearly disagree it is marked as a mismatch, since that can mean the document belongs to someone else. A face that looks clearly old enough next to an ID showing someone under the minimum age fails. A face that looks clearly too young next to an adult ID goes to a reviewer as inconclusive;
- with no readable date of birth, the result is inconclusive and a reviewer decides.
The same fall back applies when the model is not confident in its estimate (for example a partly hidden face), whatever the number.
Turning it on for a form
In Forms, open a form and use the Age check section of the options. Switch it on and set:
- Minimum age and Buffer — leave empty to use your organization defaults;
- Reject when under the minimum age — off by default. Off means a clear fail goes to a reviewer, because an estimate alone is not proof of age. On rejects the verification automatically.
The form needs a selfie and an identity document step for the full check. Without a document the ID fall back cannot run and a close call goes to a reviewer.
Organization defaults
Settings → Fraud prevention → Rules holds the default Minimum age and Buffer used by every form that does not set its own and by the age check API.
What reviewers see
The verification's detail page shows an Age check card: the result, whether it came from the selfie estimate or the ID document, the estimated age (labelled as an estimate), why the ID was needed, and a mismatch note when the selfie and the ID disagree. The card always states that the age is an estimate from a photo.
The decision carries these codes, which you can use in policies and workflows:
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
age_requirement_not_met | The applicant is under the minimum age. A reviewer decides, or the verification is rejected if the form is set to reject |
age_check_inconclusive | Neither the selfie nor the ID settled it. A reviewer decides |
Policy and workflow facts
| Fact | Meaning |
|---|---|
age.checked | An age check ran on this verification |
age.result | pass, fail or inconclusive |
age.method | estimate (the selfie decided), id_document (the ID decided) or none |
age.estimatedAge | The estimate in years. Only present when a selfie estimate was made. Not proof of age |
age.minimum | The minimum age that was applied |
age.meetsMinimum | True when the result is pass |
age.mismatch | The selfie and the ID disagree |
For example, a workflow condition age.checked = true AND age.meetsMinimum = false can notify your compliance team.
Privacy
The age check itself keeps no extra copy of the selfie. What it stores with the verification is the result, the method and the estimated number. (The selfie remains part of the verification like any other capture, under your data retention settings.)
Pricing and plans
Age estimation is a plan feature with an included monthly number of checks, then a pay-as-you-go price per check from your credit balance (see Settings → Credits). Your plan decides whether the feature is available; without it, forms with the age check on fall back to the ID date of birth only. When the balance cannot cover a check, the selfie estimate is skipped and the ID decides.
Related
- Age check API — run the check from your own system.
- Blocklist and duplicate detection — the other Fraud prevention settings.
- Policy designer — use the
age.*facts in your own rules.
Blocklist and duplicate detection
Block faces, document numbers, phone numbers, email addresses, IP addresses and devices for your organization, and choose what happens when a different person reuses a phone number, email address, device or IP address.
The applicant experience
Walk through every step an applicant sees in Certivant — from the KYC invitation email to the verified confirmation — so you can help them when they get stuck.