Document Verification

curl --request POST \
  --url https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification \
  --header 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' \
  --header 'x-access-token: <api-key>' \
  --form document_type=passport \
  --form country=nigeria \
  --form document_front='@example-file' \
  --form document_back='@example-file'

import requests

url = "https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification"

files = {
    "document_front": ("example-file", open("example-file", "rb")),
    "document_back": ("example-file", open("example-file", "rb"))
}
payload = {
    "document_type": "passport",
    "country": "nigeria"
}
headers = {"x-access-token": "<api-key>"}

response = requests.post(url, data=payload, files=files, headers=headers)

print(response.text)

const form = new FormData();
form.append('document_type', 'passport');
form.append('country', 'nigeria');
form.append('document_front', '<string>');
form.append('document_back', '<string>');

const options = {method: 'POST', headers: {'x-access-token': '<api-key>'}};

options.body = form;

fetch('https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

<?php

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
  CURLOPT_URL => "https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification",
  CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
  CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
  CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
  CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
  CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
  CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "POST",
  CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => "-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_type\"\r\n\r\npassport\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"country\"\r\n\r\nnigeria\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_front\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_back\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001--",
  CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
    "Content-Type: multipart/form-data",
    "x-access-token: <api-key>"
  ],
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
  echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
  echo $response;
}

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"strings"
	"net/http"
	"io"
)

func main() {

	url := "https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification"

	payload := strings.NewReader("-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_type\"\r\n\r\npassport\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"country\"\r\n\r\nnigeria\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_front\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_back\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001--")

	req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", url, payload)

	req.Header.Add("x-access-token", "<api-key>")

	res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)

	defer res.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)

	fmt.Println(string(body))

}

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post("https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification")
  .header("x-access-token", "<api-key>")
  .body("-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_type\"\r\n\r\npassport\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"country\"\r\n\r\nnigeria\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_front\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_back\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001--")
  .asString();

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification")

http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(url)
request["x-access-token"] = '<api-key>'
request.body = "-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_type\"\r\n\r\npassport\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"country\"\r\n\r\nnigeria\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_front\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_back\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001--"

response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body

{
  "status": "failed",
  "data": [
    "<unknown>"
  ],
  "message": "<string>"
}

{
  "status": "failed",
  "message": "Authentication credentials were not provided."
}

POST

api

onboarding

document_verification

Document Verification

curl --request POST \
  --url https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification \
  --header 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' \
  --header 'x-access-token: <api-key>' \
  --form document_type=passport \
  --form country=nigeria \
  --form document_front='@example-file' \
  --form document_back='@example-file'

import requests

url = "https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification"

files = {
    "document_front": ("example-file", open("example-file", "rb")),
    "document_back": ("example-file", open("example-file", "rb"))
}
payload = {
    "document_type": "passport",
    "country": "nigeria"
}
headers = {"x-access-token": "<api-key>"}

response = requests.post(url, data=payload, files=files, headers=headers)

print(response.text)

const form = new FormData();
form.append('document_type', 'passport');
form.append('country', 'nigeria');
form.append('document_front', '<string>');
form.append('document_back', '<string>');

const options = {method: 'POST', headers: {'x-access-token': '<api-key>'}};

options.body = form;

fetch('https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

<?php

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
  CURLOPT_URL => "https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification",
  CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
  CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
  CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
  CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
  CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
  CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "POST",
  CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => "-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_type\"\r\n\r\npassport\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"country\"\r\n\r\nnigeria\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_front\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_back\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001--",
  CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
    "Content-Type: multipart/form-data",
    "x-access-token: <api-key>"
  ],
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
  echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
  echo $response;
}

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"strings"
	"net/http"
	"io"
)

func main() {

	url := "https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification"

	payload := strings.NewReader("-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_type\"\r\n\r\npassport\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"country\"\r\n\r\nnigeria\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_front\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_back\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001--")

	req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", url, payload)

	req.Header.Add("x-access-token", "<api-key>")

	res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)

	defer res.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)

	fmt.Println(string(body))

}

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post("https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification")
  .header("x-access-token", "<api-key>")
  .body("-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_type\"\r\n\r\npassport\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"country\"\r\n\r\nnigeria\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_front\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_back\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001--")
  .asString();

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

url = URI("https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification")

http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(url)
request["x-access-token"] = '<api-key>'
request.body = "-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_type\"\r\n\r\npassport\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"country\"\r\n\r\nnigeria\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_front\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001\r\nContent-Disposition: form-data; name=\"document_back\"; filename=\"example-file\"\r\nContent-Type: application/octet-stream\r\n\r\n<string>\r\n-----011000010111000001101001--"

response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body

{
  "status": "failed",
  "data": [
    "<unknown>"
  ],
  "message": "<string>"
}

{
  "status": "failed",
  "message": "Authentication credentials were not provided."
}

The Document Verification endpoint extracts identity details from a photo of a document using OCR. Unlike the checks under Data Verification, which look up an ID number against a government database, this endpoint reads the details directly off an uploaded image — useful as a fallback when a number-lookup check is unavailable, or when your flow already collects a document photo. No face match, no liveness check — this endpoint only performs OCR extraction.

Supported Documents

Which document_type values are valid depends on the document’s country.

Country	Supported `document_type` values
Nigeria	`national_id`, `passport`, `drivers_license`, `voters_card`, `cac_certificate`, `utility_bill`
Kenya	`kenya_id`, `passport`
Ghana	`passport`
Canada	`passport`
USA	`passport`
Côte d’Ivoire	`passport`

passport is the only type valid across every supported country. All other types are specific to the country listed. Kenya’s national ID uses its own value, kenya_id — it is not interchangeable with national_id, which is Nigeria’s NIN slip/card.

document_front and document_back are optional per document type — recommended for two-sided documents (national_id, kenya_id, drivers_license), where extraction may be less complete with only the front supplied.

Endpoint

POST /api/onboarding/document_verification

Request

Headers

Header	Value	Required
`x-access-token`	Your API secret key	Yes
`Content-Type`	`multipart/form-data`	Yes

Body Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`document_type`	string	Yes	The kind of document being submitted — see Supported Documents above
`country`	string	Yes	Country the document was issued in — see Supported Documents above
`document_front`	file	Yes	Front of the document. JPG or PNG, max 5MB
`document_back`	file	No	Back of the document. JPG or PNG, max 5MB

Example

curl -X POST "https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification" \
  -H "x-access-token: YOUR_SECRET_KEY" \
  -F "document_type=passport" \
  -F "country=nigeria" \
  -F "document_front=@/path/to/passport.jpg"

const formData = new FormData();
formData.append("document_type", "passport");
formData.append("country", "nigeria");
formData.append("document_front", fs.createReadStream("/path/to/passport.jpg"));

const response = await fetch(
  "https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification",
  {
    method: "POST",
    headers: { "x-access-token": "YOUR_SECRET_KEY" },
    body: formData,
  }
);
const data = await response.json();

import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification",
    headers={"x-access-token": "YOUR_SECRET_KEY"},
    data={"document_type": "passport", "country": "nigeria"},
    files={"document_front": open("/path/to/passport.jpg", "rb")},
)
data = response.json()

Response

200 OK

Field	Type	Description
`status`	string	`"success"` on a successful extraction
`data.full_name`	string	Extracted full name
`data.first_name`	string	Extracted first name
`data.last_name`	string	Extracted last name
`data.date_of_birth`	string	Date of birth in `YYYY-MM-DD` format
`data.gender`	string	Extracted gender, where present on the document
`data.id_number`	string	The document’s own number (passport number, NIN, license number, etc.)
`data.document_type`	string	Echoes the `document_type` that was submitted
`data.expiry_date`	string	Document expiry date, where the document carries one
`data.is_expired`	boolean	Whether `expiry_date` has already passed
`data.photo`	string	Base64-encoded face photo extracted from the document. `null` for `cac_certificate` and `utility_bill`, which don’t carry a face
`message`	string	Human-readable result summary

{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "valid": true,
    "first_name": "TUNDE",
    "last_name": "AYODELE",
    "full_name": "AYODELE TUNDE",
    "date_of_birth": "2002-02-16",
    "id_number": "A12345678",
    "id_type": "passport",
    "document_type": "passport",
    "expiry_date": "2030-01-01",
    "is_expired": false,
    "photo": "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD..."
  },
  "message": "Document details retrieved successfully"
}

Not every field is present on every document type — cac_certificate and utility_bill never populate photo, and fields that genuinely aren’t visible or present on the document (e.g. gender on some documents) come back absent rather than guessed.

400 Bad Request

Returned for invalid input (unsupported document_type/country, wrong file type, file too large) or when the document itself fails OCR’s own quality checks (blurry, wrong document type, glare, etc.) — message carries the specific reason in either case.

{
  "status": "failed",
  "data": [],
  "message": "ID photo is too blurry — please retake in good lighting with a steady hand"
}

401 Unauthorized

Returned when the x-access-token header is missing or invalid.

{
  "status": "failed",
  "message": "Authentication credentials were not provided."
}

For a full list of error codes, see the Error Codes reference.

Authorizations

x-access-token

string

header

required

Your Adhere API secret key

Body

multipart/form-data

document_type

enum<string>

required

The kind of document being submitted. Which values are valid depends on country — passport works for every supported country; the rest are country-specific.

Available options:

national_id,

passport,

drivers_license,

voters_card,

kenya_id,

cac_certificate,

utility_bill

Example:

"passport"

country

enum<string>

required

Country the document was issued in.

Available options:

nigeria,

kenya,

ghana,

canada,

usa,

cote d'ivoire

Example:

"nigeria"

document_front

file

required

Front of the document. JPG or PNG, max 5MB.

document_back

file

Back of the document. Optional for every type, but recommended for two-sided documents (national_id, kenya_id, drivers_license) — extraction may be less complete without it.

Response

Document details extracted successfully

​Supported Documents

​Endpoint

​Request

​Headers

​Body Parameters

​Example

​Response

​200 OK

​400 Bad Request

​401 Unauthorized

Authorizations

Body

Response

Supported Documents

Endpoint

Request

Headers

Body Parameters

Example

Response

200 OK

400 Bad Request

401 Unauthorized