NFC verification
Also known as: NFC · Chip reading · ePassport · eID · NFC ePassport · Document chip
Reading, by tap, the chip embedded in passports and electronic ID documents to obtain the digitally signed official data, instead of relying only on a photo of the page.
Legal basis
ICAO Doc 9303 — Machine Readable Travel Documents (eMRTD/LDS)
Passports and electronic ID cards carry a contactless chip, read over NFC with the phone itself. Inside it are the holder's data and photo, written by the issuing authority and digitally signed — the structure defined by ICAO Doc 9303. Reading the chip proves the data comes from the issuer and has not been altered, something a photo of the page can never guarantee.
This closes the door on document tampering: editing the image is pointless if the verifier compares against the signed contents of the chip. US passports have carried this chip since 2007, and NFC reading tends to become the highest-assurance step in an identity verification flow, above OCR of the image — provided the device and the app can read the issuer's security objects.
Frequently asked questions
What does NFC verification add to reading the document?
It reads the chip digitally signed by the issuer, proving the data and photo are official and untampered. OCR of a photo only reads what is printed and can be fooled by an edited image; NFC checks the document's cryptographic signature.