Common Identity Verification Failures and How to Resolve Them

Introduction

Identity verification failures are a normal part of any verification workflow. Understanding the most common causes — and how to resolve them quickly — helps your business maintain a smooth onboarding process while ensuring compliance. This article covers the most frequent failure types, their causes, and the recommended resolution steps.

Common Failures and Resolutions

1. Blurry or low-quality document image

   • Cause: The client photographed the document in poor lighting, at an angle, or with a dirty camera lens.
   • Resolution: Ask the client to retry in a well-lit area, place the document on a flat, dark surface, and hold the camera steady directly above the document. Ensure the entire document is visible with no edges cropped.

2. Glare or reflection on the document

   • Cause: Overhead lighting or flash reflected off the laminated surface of the ID.
   • Resolution: Instruct the client to move to a location without direct overhead lighting, turn off the camera flash, and tilt the document slightly to eliminate reflections.

3. Expired identity document

   • Cause: The document has passed its expiry date.
   • Resolution: The client must provide a valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID. Expired documents are not acceptable for identity verification under FINTRAC guidance.

4. Biometric mismatch

   • Cause: The live selfie does not match the document photo closely enough. This can occur due to significant changes in appearance (weight change, aging, facial hair), poor selfie lighting, or accessories obscuring the face.
   • Resolution: Ask the client to remove glasses, hats, or face coverings, ensure even lighting on their face, and take the selfie against a plain background. If the mismatch persists, escalate for manual review.

5. Liveness detection failure

   • Cause: The client did not follow on-screen prompts (e.g., did not turn their head when asked), the camera quality was insufficient, or the client attempted to use a static image.
   • Resolution: Provide clear guidance on the liveness check process. Ask the client to use a device with a front-facing camera in a well-lit environment. If repeated failures occur, investigate for potential fraud.

6. Unsupported document type

   • Cause: The client submitted a document that is not accepted — such as a health card (not a photo ID in all provinces), student ID, or foreign document not recognized by the system.
   • Resolution: Inform the client of the accepted document types (passport, driver’s licence, provincial photo ID card) and ask them to resubmit with an appropriate document.

7. Network or technical timeout

   • Cause: The client’s internet connection was interrupted during the verification process, or the session expired before completion.
   • Resolution: Send a new verification link and ask the client to complete the process on a stable internet connection.

When to Escalate

Not all failures are benign. Escalate to your compliance team when:

• A client fails biometric matching or liveness detection on multiple attempts
• The document shows signs of digital manipulation or inconsistency
• The client becomes evasive or refuses to use an acceptable document type
• The failure pattern is inconsistent with legitimate user behaviour

How Athenty Can Help

Athenty, a verification intelligence company, provides Smart IDV and KYC services with built-in guidance that minimizes common verification failures.

1. Real-time capture feedback: Smart IDV provides on-screen quality indicators that guide clients to capture clear, usable document images on the first attempt.

2. Detailed failure codes: When a verification fails, the platform provides specific reason codes that enable your team to give targeted guidance to the client.

3. Fraud signal detection: Repeated liveness failures, document manipulation indicators, and other fraud signals are flagged automatically for compliance team review.

4. Seamless retry: Clients can re-attempt verification through a new link without re-entering information already captured.

Conclusion

Most identity verification failures have straightforward causes and simple resolutions. By understanding the common patterns and providing clear guidance to clients, businesses can resolve the majority of failures quickly. Athenty’s Smart IDV platform is designed to minimize failure rates while flagging the cases that warrant closer scrutiny.