The MRZ stripe is an important element of ID card security: it contains the most critical information, and enables in-depth control of the authenticity of this information, preventing it from being falsified.
In this article, we’ll look at the most common cases of fraud and how to avoid them.
We’re off!
Professionals, do you need to integrate proof of identity validation into one of your business processes, including all European identity cards and global passports? Discover our API with web application to validate the authenticity of an identity document in less than 10s!
Small structures and individuals, do you simply need to verify one or more proof of identity via a web application? Discover our identity web suite!
What information does an MRZ ID card strip contain?
We have written a comprehensive article on the information contained in the MRZ strip of a 1995 version of a French identity card, which you can find at the following address: Check the MRZ strip on an ID card.
Enjoy your reading!
Fraud on the first MRZ cni line
The first 5 characters are always the same: IDFRA.
This is followed by the holder’s surname, which must obviously correspond to the name indicated on the card itself and completed at the end by chevrons (“<“).
Finally, the 6 digits at the end of the line correspond to the department on two or three digits (from February 2017 the department is coded on 3 digits with a prefix “0” if necessary, before this date the department represents the first 2 digits while the last represents the administration department), and finally the position number of the agent on three digits, again internal to the administration.
We can therefore check that the department corresponds to the one shown on the map and on the second line of the MRZ strip (see below).
Fraud on the second line
The second line begins with the 4-digit date of issue of the identity card, in AAMM format: you must therefore ensure that this date is consistent with the expiry date of the document indicated on the reverse (10 years later).
The next three digits correspond to the department + number for the administration department, and are therefore identical to the department found at the end of line 1 or on the card itself. In the case of a card issued after February 2017, only the two digits of the department are carried forward, without the “0”.
The next 5 digits are internal to the administration and therefore cannot be verified, or 6 digits if the card was issued after February 2017.
The next digit is a check digit for the first 12 characters of the 2nd line, which can be verified with a specialized service such as ours.
The following characters are the holder’s first names separated by a chevron “<“, and two chevrons at the end.
You can then find the date of birth in YYMMDD format, which can of course be cross-referenced with the date on the card.
Then a control key, again verifiable with our service.
Then the gender, “H” or “F”.
Then the global control key for both lines of the MRZ band.
Practical work: MRZ identity card
Case n°1
Can you detect the problem(s) on the map above?
Answer
Everything seems to be in order, but there are two things wrong!
– the document issue date, “2022”: the year may be correct, but not the month, as there are only 12 months in a year!
– the document’s global validation key is not correct (is equal to 7 but should be equal to 8), but you need to use a specialized service like ours to detect this.
Case n°2
Can you detect the problem(s) on the map above?
Answer
Everything seems to be in order compared to the errors reported in case 1, but there are still three errors!
– the departments on line 2 (characters 5 and 6) do not match those on line 1!
– the card number (“202244110987”, indicated after “Carte d’identité N°”) does not correspond to the first 12 digits of line 2!
– line 2 control keys are invalid
Case n°3
Can you detect the problem(s) on the map above?
Answer
Everything seems to be in order compared to the errors reported in case n°2, but there’s still an error!
– the number of characters in the MRZ band is invalid (70 instead of 72)!
Conclusion
You are now able to detect the main changes observed on a French identity card!
We advise you to use our service, which will check your parts completely in just a few minutes!
