Checking an Algerian biometric driver’s license: 4 checkpoints

Introduced in 2019, the Algerian biometric driver’s license is a document that is commonly used as proof of identity in a multitude of common contexts such as opening a bank account or certain administrative procedures.

Therefore, how to verify an Algerian biometric driver’s license and ensure that the document presented is authentic? Find out in this article!

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The first step in verifying an Algerian biometric driver’s license when you can have access to the original document is the overall aspect of the document: it must not show any trace of cutting, take-off, modification/rectification of any kind.

Pay particular attention to the level and around the photo.

The new biometric permit is in ID-1 format, which is the size of a bank card, similar to the new biometric identification cards.

Second step to verify an Algerian biometric driver’s license online: check the consistency of the information on the document.

The document number can be found in two different places: on the upper part of the front, and in the first line of the MRZ strip.

Both must be identical:

The lower part of the new CNI is made up of three lines which repeat the information on the card, with validation keys to prevent misreading or falsification.

1. Document Type: 2 characters, code indicating the type of document, represented by the letters “DL”.
2. Issuing country: 3 characters, the ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code of the issuing country, for Algeria it is “DZA”.
3. Card number: 9 characters, unique card number.
4. Control key: 1 character, control key of the card’s unique number.
5. End of line: 15 characters, ” < ” to complete the line.

1. Date of birth: 6 characters, year, month and day of birth in YYMMDD format.
2. Control key: 1 character, date of birth control key.
3. Gender: 1 character, “M” for a man, “F” for a woman.
4. Expiration date: 6 digits, expiration date of the card in YYMMDD format.
5. Control key: 1 character, expiration date control key.
6. Country code: 3 characters, ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code of the holder’s nationality (in this case DZA).
7. End of line: 11 characters, chevrons to complete the line.
8. Control key: 1 character, character concatenation control key line 1 6-15, line 2 1-7, line 2 9-15.

1. Name and first names of the holder : the holder’s surname and first names, starting with the last name followed by the first name. The surname and the first name are separated by two characters <.
   En cas de nom de famille composé, de prénom composé ou de plusieurs prénoms, ils sont séparés par le caractère <.
   Les espaces et apostrophes sont remplacées par le caractère < and the name is truncated to 30 characters if necessary, and any accents on the letters are removed.
   The line is then completed with the <.

An Algerian biometric driver’s license has 4 control keys (or security keys) that allow you to validate the information that precedes them.

They help avoid transcription errors or changes, whether intentional or not.

The algorithm used to create and validate control keys is common to all IDs:the characters have a weight, which is multiplied by a factor based on their position in the string (7, 3 and 1).

The numbers have their own value (“0” is 0, “1” is 1 etc up to “9” which is 9), thechevron ” < ” also has a value of 0 while theweight of the letters starts at 10 for the letter “A”, 11 for the letter “B” up to 35 for the letter “Z”.

Let’s take the specimen’s date of birth control key above as an example.

The string to be validated is “730212″.

To calculate the control key, we will proceed as follows:

– “7” has a weight of 7 and is placed in first position, so it must be multiplied by 7: 7 * 7 = 49

– “3” has a weight of 3 and is placed in second position, so we must multiply it by 3: 3 * 3 = 9, which we add to the previous 49, i.e. 9 + 49 = 58.

– 0 has a weight of 0 and is located in the third position, so we must multiply it by 1 : 0 * 1 = 0, which we add to the previous 58, i.e. 0 + 58 = 58.

– 2 * 7 = 14 and 14 + 58 = 72

– 1 * 3 = 3 and 3 + 72 = 75

– 2 * 1 = 2 and 2 + 75 = 77

We therefore get a total of 77, from which we will extract the modulo 10 (the remainder of the Euclidean division by 10), which is equivalent to keeping only the last digit, i.e. “7”.

Our control key is therefore valid because it is indeed 7 that appears on the document!

The document has various security features to validate its authenticity.

This is the last step to verify an Algerian biometric driver’s license, as it is the longest.

A new-generation holographic device is used to protect the cardholder’s photograph.

It changes color according to orientation:

An electronic chip is implanted in the card, enabling contactless reading of the information on the document.

The photo and expiry date of the document are shown on a glossy background.

The image changes according to the orientation of the map.

The device is shown on the reverse side, top right of the card:

Some elements are visible only under ultraviolet rays, but this requires specialized equipment (so not suitable for checking an Algerian biometric driver’s license online).

You now have all the keys to verify an Algerian biometric driver’s license online and make sure it is authentic!

There’s no need for specialized equipment: just a little vigilance and time, and you’ll be able to avoid most of the frauds you encounter on a daily basis!