Taking and submitting high-quality photos of your identity document(s) is a key step in the verification process. We’ll match your document(s) with the personal information you enter during verification. This way, we can make sure it’s you who is verifying. This article includes tips for taking photos of your documents and how to upload them.
Document you’ll need
The documents you’ll submit depend on the partner you verify for and whether you’re verifying using Self-Service or on a video call.
- Self-Service: You typically only need a driver’s license, state ID, passport, or passport card
- Video call: You need primary and secondary documents
When verifying for a community, you’ll upload photos of documents that are specific to your community. For example, nurses can upload a valid nursing license.
Document photo tips
When taking photos of your documents, follow the tips below:
Do
- Take your photo straight on, and not at an angle
- Place your document on a dark surface
- Match the orientation of the document
- Make sure there are no objects in the photo
Don’t
- Corp the corners or edges of the document
- Cover information
- Take or submit blurry photos
How to take photos
During verification, we recommend taking photos of your documents using your smartphone. The steps to take your photos depend on if you’re verifying using Self-Service or on a video call.
Self-Service
Self-Service is a guided process, where you upload documents for the partner you’re verifying for.
Keep in mind:
- When verifying your community membership, .jpeg, .pdf, and .png files are accepted.
- You may need to grant permission to use your device’s camera.
To take photos of your documents using a smartphone:
- Confirm the identity document you want to use, enter your phone number, and select Continue.
Note: Driver’s license or state ID may be the default. To upload a passport or passport card, select Change document. - Select Start document upload when you’re ready to take your document photos.
- When prompted, select Take photo, then follow the steps on your device to submit photos of your document
- After uploading the required document photos, select Continue to submit them.
If you don’t have a smartphone, select I don’t have a smartphone, then select Verify identity on a video call. Follow the prompts to upload your documents, then complete verification by joining a video call with a Video Chat Agent.
Video call
If you attempted to verify your identity using Self-Service and it wasn’t successful, you may have the option to finish verifying on a video call with a Video Chat Agent.
To take photos of your document(s) using a smartphone:
- Choose which documents you’ll upload to verify your identity. For example, you may decide to use a driver’s license, Social Security card, utility bill, etc.
- Next to each document, select Take photos when prompted, then take photos of your documents.
Note: You may need to grant permission to use your device’s camera. - After uploading the required photos, select Continue to submit them.
- Follow the prompts to continue verifying your identity.
If you attempted to verify using Self-Service and it wasn’t successful, you may have the option to finish verifying on a video call with a Video Chat Agent. Keep in mind, you may need to grant permission to use your device’s camera.
To upload documents from your computer:
- Select the documents you want to use to verify your identity.
- Next to each document, select Choose Image, then select and upload photos from your computer library.
- After uploading the required photos, select Continue to submit them.
Troubleshooting
I couldn’t upload photos of my documents
If you have trouble uploading your document photos, visit I can't upload photos of my documents.
My documents were rejected
If you took and submitted photos of your documents but they were rejected, visit My documents were rejected to learn how to fix this issue.