Identity Verification Technical Reference Guide

August 26, 2026 17:20

Identity Verification (IDV) analyzes physical and digital transaction data to provide individual trust scores for each component of a consumer's identity.

Identity Components Framework

The following table maps the fundamental identity components to their corresponding core input fields required for cross-reference evaluation:

Identity Component	Required Input Fields for Component Evaluation
Identity	First Name, Last Name, Physical Address, Date of Birth (DOB), and Social Security Number (SSN)
Phone	10-digit United States phone number
Email	Request for Comments (RFC)-compliant email address
Device	Unique identifier generated via the active device profiling session

Note

The explicit Trust components populated in the API response vary dynamically based on the input attributes provided in the payload and the specific rules engine configurations established during your organization's deployment.

To optimize accuracy and resolve trust indications efficiently, data verification payloads must be as complete as possible. Identity Verification runs sequential real-time data investigations across the Identity, Address, Phone, and Email blocks using these evaluations:

Verification: Asserts that the element is structurally valid, actively exists in data repositories, or both.
Affiliation: Evaluates and scores data link relationships established between distinct individual attributes.
Insights: Surfaced risk signals, transactional behaviors, or contextual histories tied directly to a specific transaction component.

Identity Verification system outcomes

The Identity Verification (IDV) scoring infrastructure offers an agile architecture designed to accommodate diverse business verification workflows. However, its primary design focus is deterministic identity verification. Your custom orchestration layout dictates how these granular attributes are utilized for internal automation flags.

Risk assessment model recommendations

Each transaction evaluation generates a high-level recommendation vector.

Note

This risk recommendation serves as an analytical component inside Policy Management and does not substitute for the final transaction decision logic.

Key	Value	Description Logic
riskAssessment	Approve	Requires verified trust on both the Identity and Address components, in addition to successful validation on at least one complementary component, Social Security Number (SSN), Email, or Phone. Date of Birth (DOB) matching provides foundational identity verification but does not satisfy secondary asset requirements on its own.
riskAssessment	Deny	Triggered if either the underlying Identity or Address data elements fail baseline validation, independent of secondary signal performance. Fraud prevention managers might proceed with processing "Deny" statuses depending on internal risk tolerance.
riskAssessment	Review	Generated when basic validation criteria are met for either the Identity or Address attributes (or both), but no supporting contextual trust anchors (such as Phone or Email) can be successfully verified.

Standard risk assessment logic matrix

The system natively checks data tables for deceased indicators. If an identity matches public death registers, the engine automatically defaults to a Deny outcome.

Pass (Approve): Identity Trust = Y AND Address Trust = Y AND (SSN Trust = Y OR Email Trust = Y OR Phone Trust = Y)
Deny: Automatic trigger if consumer is identified as deceased, or if core Personally Identifiable Information (PII) elements fail basic verification thresholds.
Review: Applies to all remaining data profiles that exhibit mixed or unconfirmed trust across core and secondary identity pillars.

Identity Verification API schema and response

Address API response

Evaluating address data requires submitting complete name and location values. Providing the corresponding social security number (SSN) or date of birth (DOB) alongside the location object sharpens cross-network affiliation scoring. The primary data evaluation delivers a definitive boolean indicator (Y/N) influenced by the following operational response codes.

sidebar. Address API response table

Key	Value	Description	Output (boolean)
addressAffiliationReason	AddressNameFullMatch	Address, first name, and last name fully matched.	Y/N
	AddressNamePartialMatch	Address and name values partially matched.	Y/N
	AddressNameNoMatch	Address and name values were not matched.	Y/N
	Affiliated	Positive indicator linking the input name to the address.	Y/N
	AffiliationNotConfirmed	Unable to definitively anchor the name to the physical address.	Y/N
	addressAffiliatedFromMoreThanTwoPIIs	Strong multi-source link confirmed across diverse vectors.	Y/N
	addressEmailMatch	Supplied email address resolves directly to the location.	Y/N
	addressEmailNoMatch	No active cross-reference records link the email and address.	Y/N
	addressPhoneMatch	Supplied phone number is associated with this physical address.	Y/N
	addressPhoneMatchWithHighConfidence	High-integrity data source maps the phone line to the address.	Y/N
	addressPhoneMatchWithMediumConfidence	Moderate association established between phone and address.	Y/N
	addressPhoneNoMatch	No data records corroborate a phone-to-address association.	Y/N
addressInsightsReason	AddressUseRisk	High-velocity flag: location linked to multiple distinct identities.	Y/N
addressInsightsReason	NoInsightsReturned	No negative structural or usage risk profiles encountered.	Y/N
addressVerificationReason	AddressNotSupported	Physical address is outside coverage or unrecognized.	Y/N
	AddressTypeNotResidential	Location maps to commercial property, PO Box, or CMRA.	Y/N
	AddressValid	Physical address is fully deliverable and verified.	Y/N
	Unverifiable	System unable to cleanly parse or verify location data.	Y/N
	CannotBeConfirmed	Conflicting or mixed entries returned from reference datasets.	Y/N

Date of Birth API response

Date of Birth (DOB) evaluation requires inputting name and address attributes. Including the consumer's social security number (SSN) optimizes profile consolidation and verification reliability.

sidebar. Date of birth API response table

Key	Value	Description	Output (boolean)
dobAffiliationReason	DOBAffiliated	DOB and identity were cleanly affiliated.	Y/N
	DOBNotAffiliated	DOB and identity were not affiliated.	Y/N
	NoDataFound	No reference records found for the given DOB parameter.	Y/N
	Affiliated	Attribute is affiliated with at least one core PII element.	Y/N
	AffiliationNotConfirmed	Unable to resolve an affiliation between DOB and the individual.	Y/N
dobInsightsReason	DOB_Under_16	Calculated age is under 16 years.	Y/N
	DOB_Under_18	Calculated age is under 18 years.	Y/N
	DOB_Under_21	Calculated age is under 21 years.	Y/N
	DOB_Over_20	Calculated age is over 20 years.	Y/N
	DOB_In_Future	Submitted date evaluates to a future calendar date.	Y/N
dobVerificationReason	DOBVerified	DOB matches identity parameters within data registries.	Y/N
	DOBNotVerified	DOB mismatch identified against reference records.	Y/N
	Unverifiable	Data sources could not cleanly verify the age asset.	Y/N

Email API response

The system evaluates standalone email strings. Inclusion of the consumer's name parameters allows for cross-element affiliation verification. The engine incorporates domain governance classifications into its scoring calculations, treating authoritative corporate (@equifax.com) or government (.gov) records with higher base trust weights than disposable or standard consumer email domains.

sidebar. Email API response table

Key	Value	Description	Output (boolean)
emailAffiliationReason	AccountNameFullMatch	Email address correlates cleanly with the submitted name records.	Y/N
	AccountNamePartialMatch	Name criteria partially matches (for example, account handle maps to domain).	Y/N
	AccountNameNoMatch	Email address and name records failed cross-affiliation.	Y/N
emailInsightsReason	AccountAgeRisk	High-risk flag: account string recently observed or generated.	Y/N
	AccountDomainRisk	Domain presents risk flags (for example, recent or high-risk TLD).	Y/N
	EmailUseRisk	Anomalous usage patterns detected on the email identity.	Y/N
	NoInsightsReturned	No negative domain or account insights surfaced.	Y/N
emailVerificationReason	EmailExists	Email inbox structure verified as active and available.	Y/N
	EmailDoesNotExist	Target mailbox is invalid or missing from the hosting domain.	Y/N
	EmailUnknown	Operational status cannot be cleanly validated by the host.	Y/N
	Unverifiable	Structural or protocol errors prevented standard verification.	Y/N
	CannotBeConfirmed	Conflicting information encountered from network responders.	Y/N

Identity API response

Evaluating Identity attributes requires a baseline payload containing First Name, Last Name, and Address fields. Submitting the social security number (SSN) and date of birth (DOB) enhances multi-source verification. Identity components yield the highest baseline validation weight due to extensive asset corroboration. We recommend contextualizing the global identity trust score alongside individual secondary component parameters.

sidebar. Identity API response table

Key	Value	Description	Output (boolean)
identityRiskReason	IdentityRiskLow	No actionable risk signals detected for the submitted identity.	Y/N
	IdentityRiskMedium	Elevated risk parameters identified on the target profile.	Y/N
	IdentityRiskHigh	Critical volumes of risk indicators linked to the user.	Y/N
	RiskDetected	At least one structural fraud indicator was flagged by the system.	Y/N
	NoRiskDetected	Identity profile is clean of identified risk patterns.	Y/N
identityVerificationReason	IdentityMatchAndAffiliation	Identity verified in source datasets with correlated PII records.	Y/N
	IdentityNoMatch	Input credentials missing entirely from registry files.	Y/N
	IdentityMultipleMatch	Attributes resolve to multiple distinct entries.	Y/N
	Unverifiable	System unable to cleanly verify the identity.	Y/N
	CannotBeConfirmed	Data source collision prevents verification confirmation.	Y/N
	IdentityVerified	Core consumer profile successfully resolved in reference data.	Y/N
	LastNameExactMatch	Submitted last name matches reference files exactly.	Y/N
	LastNameFuzzyMatch	High-similarity match (accounts for common typographical shifts).	Y/N
	LastNameNoMatch	Last name conflicts with records matching other PII elements.	Y/N
	LastNamePartialMatch	Resolves portion of entry (for example, matching a single hyphenated token).	Y/N

Phone API response

The system evaluates standalone 10-digit US phone numbers; appending name and address fields enables multi-source cross-referencing.

sidebar. Phone API response table

Key	Value	Description	Output (boolean)
phoneAffiliationReason	AccountNameFullMatch	Subscriber account name perfectly matches the transaction profile.	Y/N
	AccountNamePartialMatch	Subscriber parameters match components of the name.	Y/N
	AccountNameNoMatch	Line registry ownership points to a different consumer profile.	Y/N
	Affiliated	Phone account matches at least one provided transaction parameter.	Y/N
	AffiliationNotConfirmed	Ownership connection cannot be confirmed through line details.	Y/N
phoneInsightsReason	AccountAgeRisk	High-risk flag: phone contract line activation is under 30 days old.	Y/N
	AccountChangeRisk	Recent high-risk SIM swap, carrier port, or hardware event observed.	Y/N
	PhoneUseRisk	Line exhibits anomalous network behaviors or fraud flags.	Y/N
	NoInsightsReturned	No negative usage or velocity indicators surfaced.	Y/N
phoneVerificationReason	PhoneNotValid	Phone number string is structurally invalid or not allocated.	Y/N
	PhoneTypeMobile	Line verified as an active mobile cellular connection.	Y/N
	PhoneTypeNotMobile	Line verified as fixed landline, VoIP, or alternative type.	Y/N
	PhoneTypeUnknown	Network routing records could not resolve line technology type.	Y/N
	PhoneExists	Target routing number exists actively on carrier routing tables.	Y/N
	Unverifiable	Carrier query infrastructure failed to complete validation.	Y/N
	CannotBeConfirmed	Telemetry records returned ambiguous line condition responses.	Y/N

Social Security Number API response

Social Security Number (SSN) tracking requires accompanying Name and Address attributes. Supplying Date of Birth (DOB) values refines the identity resolution process.

sidebar. Social Security Number API response table

Key	Value	Description	Output (boolean)
ssnAffiliationReason	StrongSSNAffiliation	SSN maps directly to individual identity records.	Y/N
	NoSSNAffiliation	SSN is active but registers to a different identity signature.	Y/N
	NoDataFound	No commercial or public data records map to this SSN.	Y/N
	Affiliated	The SSN possesses an active link to at least one PII token.	Y/N
	AffiliationNotConfirmed	System cannot confirm or deny identity correlation parameters.	Y/N
ssnInsightsReason	MultipleIdentitySSNAffiliation	Critical flag: single SSN resolving to multiple distinct names.	Y/N
	SSNFraudWarning	SSN identifier is actively associated with alert indices.	Y/N
	SSNDeathIndicator	SSN is recorded within the Social Security Death Master File.	Y/N
	NoInsightsReturned	No negative history or anomalies linked to this SSN registry.	Y/N
ssnVerificationReason	SSNNotValid	Identifier fails validation checks (for example, area or serial sequences).	Y/N
	SSNFound	SSN string matches valid administrative credit files.	Y/N
	SSNNotFound	Identifier is absent from standard identity frameworks.	Y/N
	Unverifiable	Data access constraints prevent definitive validation.	Y/N
	CannotBeConfirmed	Conflicting registry logs generated during matching sweeps.	Y/N

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