Checking a French passport online : 4 checkpoints

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

Passports are widely used documents in this context and include several security features: so how to verify a French passport online and ensure the presented document is authentic? The answer is in this article!

The first step to verify a French passport online when you have access to the original document is to check its overall appearance: it must show no signs of cutting, peeling, modification, or any kind of alteration.

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

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

The document type can be found in two different places: at the top left and at the beginning of the first line of the MRZ (Machine Readable Zone).

Both must be identical:

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

Both must be identical:

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

Similarly for the names and surnames, which can be found at the top left of the document and in the first line of the MRZ band:

The holder’s gender is symbolized by “M” for males and “F” for females. This information can be found in the middle of the document and in the second line of the MRZ band:

Another element present twice on the passport: the expiration date, which can be found at the bottom of the document and in the second MRZ line in the format YYMMDD:

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

Nationality can be found in two places on the document: at the top left of the document and in the middle of the second MRZ line:

The lower part of the French passport is composed of two lines that include the information present on the passport, with validation keys that prevent reading errors or forgery.

1. Document Type: 2 characters, code indicating the document type, 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 last name(s), separated by a chevron “<”.
4. Given Name(s): holder’s given name(s) separated from the last name by two chevrons, and separated among themselves by a single chevron “<”.

1. Document Number: 9 characters, 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 date of birth.
6. Gender: 1 character, holder’s gender (“M” or “F”).
7. Expiration Date: 6 digits, passport expiration date in YYMMDD format.
8. Check Digit: 1 character, check digit of the concatenation of characters from line 2 positions 44-54, 57-64, and 65-87.

A French passport includes 5 check digits (or security keys) that validate the information preceding them.

They help avoid transcription errors or intentional/unintentional modifications.

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

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

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

The character string to validate is: “730712”.

To calculate the check digit, we proceed as follows:

– “7” has a value of 7 and is in the first position, so multiply by 7: 7 * 7 = 49.

– “3” has a value of 3 and is in the second position, so multiply by 3: 3 * 3 = 9, added to the previous 49 gives 58.

– “0” has a value of 0 and is in the third position, so multiply by 1: 0 * 1 = 0, added to the previous 58 gives 58.

– 7 * 7 = 49 and 49 + 58 = 107

– 1 * 3 = 3 and 3 + 107 = 110

– 2 * 1 = 2 and 2 + 110 = 112

We get a total of 112, then we take modulo 10 (the remainder of the Euclidean division by 10), which keeps only the last digit, i.e. “2”.

Our check digit is therefore valid because it matches the 2 shown on the document!

An identity document presents various elements that help validate its authenticity.

This is the final and longest step to verify a French passport online.

A next-generation holographic device is used to protect the hexagon stamped “RF” at the top right of the document.

It changes color depending on the viewing angle:

A security film is applied on the page and helps protect certain elements.

It changes color depending on the viewing angle:

A secondary or “ghost” photo in black and white is visible right next to the original photo:

Information appears as a watermark on the first page of the document:

Some elements are only visible under ultraviolet light, but this requires specialized equipment (so it is not suitable for verifying a French passport online):

You now have all the keys to verify a French passport online and ensure its authenticity!

No specialized equipment is needed: a bit of vigilance and time will help you avoid most of the frauds that can occur daily!

You can also use our service that performs the verifications in seconds via our web application: results are available directly in the app and as PDF reports!