Check the validity of a Mexican passport online : 4 checkpoints

Verifying a person’s identity is necessary in many sectors to prevent fraud and identity theft.

Passports are widely used documents in this context and contain several security features: so, how to verify a Mexican passport online and ensure that the presented document is authentic? Find the answer in this article!

The first step to verify a Mexican passport online, when having access to the original document, is the overall appearance: it should show no signs of cutting, peeling, or any modification/correction.

Pay particular attention to the level and area around the photo.

The second step to verify a Mexican passport online is to ensure the consistency of the information on the document.

The document number can be found in two different places: top right on the front and at the start of the second line of the MRZ band.

Both must be identical:

The holder’s date of birth can also be found in two distinct places: in the middle of the front and in the middle of the second MRZ line in YYMMDD format:

The same applies to names and surnames, which can be found on the document and in the first line of the MRZ strip:

The holder’s gender is indicated by “M” for male and “F” for female. This information can be found on the front and in the second line of the MRZ band:

Another element present twice on the document is the expiry date, found on the front and in the second MRZ line in YYMMDD format:

The issuing country can be found in two places on the document: at the top of the front and at the beginning of the first line of the MRZ band.

The holder’s nationality can be found in the second line of the MRZ in ISO 3166-1 format:

The lower part of the Mexican passport consists of two lines that summarize the information on the passport, with validation keys that prevent reading errors or forgery.

1. Document Type: 2 characters, code indicating the type of document, represented by the letters “P<”.
2. Issuing Country: 3 characters, the ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code of the issuing country.
3. Name(s): holder’s surname(s), separated by a chevron “<”.
4. Given Name(s): holder’s given name(s) separated from the surname by two chevrons, and separated between themselves by a chevron “<”.

1. Document Number: 9 characters, the passport number printed on the document.
2. Check Digit: 1 character, check digit for the document number.
3. Nationality: 3 characters, holder’s nationality.
4. Date of Birth: 6 digits, holder’s birth date in YYMMDD format.
5. Check Digit: 1 character, check digit for the birth date.
6. Sex: 1 character, holder’s sex (“M” or “F”).
7. Expiration Date: 6 digits, passport expiration date in YYMMDD format.
8. Check Digit: 1 character, check digit for the concatenation of characters line 2 positions 44-54, line 2 positions 57-64, line 2 positions 65-87.

A Mexican passport has 5 control keys (or security keys) that allow the validation of the information that precedes them.

They help prevent transcription errors or modifications, intentional or not.

The algorithm used to create and validate the check digits is common to all identity documents: characters have a weight, multiplied by a factor depending on their position in the string (7, 3, and 1).

Digits have their own value (“0” equals 0, “1” equals 1, up to “9” equals 9), the chevron “<” also has a value of 0, while letters start at 10 for “A”, 11 for “B” up to 35 for “Z”.

Let’s take as an example the check digit for the date of birth from the specimen above.

The string to validate is: “810117”.

To calculate the check digit, we proceed as follows:

– “8” has a value of 8 and is in the first position, so multiply by 7: 8 * 7 = 56

– “1” has a value of 1 and is in the second position, multiply by 3: 1 * 3 = 3, add to 56: 3 + 56 = 59.

– “0” has a value of 0 in the third position, multiply by 1: 0 * 1 = 0, add to 59: 0 + 59 = 59.

– 1 * 7 = 7 and 7 + 59 = 66

– 1 * 3 = 3 and 3 + 66 = 69

– 7 * 1 = 7 and 7 + 69 = 76

We get a total of 76, from which we take modulo 10 (the remainder of division by 10), which is the last digit, “6”.

Our check digit is therefore valid as “6” appears on the document!

An identity document has various features that help validate its authenticity.

This is the final and longest step to verify a Mexican passport online: we will review the different security features present on the pages of the Mexican passport.

Protects vital information (photo, MRZ); the laminate secures the photo and reveals any scraping attempts.

National pictograms & microletters visible at different angles.

You now have all the keys to verify a Mexican passport online and make sure it is authentic!

No need for specialized equipment: just a bit of vigilance, time, and you will avoid most of the frauds you may encounter every day!