Check the validity of an Argentine passport online : 4 checkpoints

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

Passports are documents widely used in this context and are equipped with several security features. So, how do you verify an Argentine passport online and ensure the presented document is authentic? The answer is in this article!

The first step to verify an Argentine passport online when you have access to the original document is to check its overall appearance: it should show no signs of cutting, peeling, modification, or any corrections.

Pay particular attention around and on the photo.

The second step to verify an Argentine passport online is to ensure the consistency of the information present on the document.

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

Both must be identical:

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

Similarly for surnames and given names, which can be found on the document and in the first line of the MRZ band:

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

Another item duplicated on the document is the expiration date, which can be found on the front side and in the second MRZ line in the format YYMMDD:

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

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

The lower part of the Argentine passport consists of two lines that repeat 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): name(s) of the holder, separated by a “<” character.
4. Given name(s): given name(s) of the holder, separated from the surname by two “<” characters, and separated among themselves by a “<” character.

1. Document Number: 9 characters, the passport number printed on the document.
2. Check Digit: 1 character, check digit of the document number.
3. Nationality: 3 characters, holder’s nationality.
4. Date of Birth: 6 digits, date of birth of the passport holder in YYMMDD format.
5. Check Digit: 1 character, check digit of 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. Personal Number: 8 digits, holder’s personal number.
9. Check Digit: 1 character, check digit of the concatenation of characters from line 2 positions 44-54, 57-64, 65-87.

An Argentine passport includes 5 check digits (or security keys) that validate the preceding information.

They help prevent transcription errors or intentional/unintentional modifications.

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

Digits have their value (“0” equals 0, “1” equals 1, up to “9” 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 string to validate is: “691101”.

To calculate the check digit, we proceed as follows:

– “6” has a value of 6 and is in the first position, so multiply by 7: 6 * 7 = 42

– “9” has a value of 9 and is in the second position, multiply by 3: 9 * 3 = 27, add to previous 42: 27 + 42 = 69.

– “1” has a value of 1 and is in the third position, multiply by 1: 1 * 1 = 1, add to previous 69: 1 + 69 = 70.

– 1 * 7 = 7 and 7 + 70 = 77

– 0 * 3 = 0 and 0 + 77 = 77

– 1 * 1 = 1 and 1 + 77 = 78

We get a total of 78, from which we extract modulo 10 (remainder of Euclidean division by 10), keeping only the last digit, which is “8”.

Our check digit is therefore valid because 8 appears on the document!

An identity document has various elements that validate its authenticity.

This is the final and longest step to verify an Argentine passport online: we will review the various security features present on the pages of the Argentine passport.

Protects vital information (photo, MRZ); the film fixes the photo and reveals any attempt to scrape it off.

You now have all the keys to verify an Argentine passport online and ensure its authenticity!

No specialized equipment is needed: a little vigilance and time will help you avoid most of the frauds encountered daily.

You can also use our service which will perform the verifications in seconds via our web application, with results available directly in the app and as a PDF report!