What a Check ID scan actually checks, and what it doesn’t.

What it checks

• Reads the barcode on the back of a US or Canadian driver’s license or ID card, on iPhone or iPad.
• Works with or without an internet connection.

What it can’t tell you

• Whether the card is genuine.
• Whether the front matches the barcode, or the card matches the person. Staff compare the photo.
• Whether the ID was revoked, suspended, lost or stolen.

What it checks

• The age against your minimum: 21 by default, or any age you set.
• Whether the ID has expired, with an optional grace period.

What it can’t tell you

• Whether the encoded dates are true.
• If the barcode has no readable birth date, the app may use another date from the barcode instead. Check the date printed on the card.
• Rules you’ve turned off. With expiry checks off, an expired ID isn’t flagged. With the age check off, VERIFIED says nothing about age.

What it checks

• Impossible dates, such as a birth date in the future.
• An issuer code or license number that doesn’t fit the state, where the format is known.
• You see a note when a date is impossible or the issuer code doesn’t match the state. A smaller mismatch, such as an unusual license-number format, shows only alongside another one.

What it can’t tell you

• Whether the card is genuine. A well-made fake’s fields agree, so no note doesn’t mean the card is real.
• The confidence score comes from the failed checks. It isn’t the odds that the card is real.
• These notes never change the verdict.

What it checks

• Shows “REAL ID” or “Not REAL ID,” as encoded on the document, when the barcode carries the field.
• Otherwise shows “REAL ID not encoded” and points staff to the front of the card.

What it can’t tell you

• Whether the card is genuine. A fake can encode the field too.
• “Not encoded” doesn’t mean “not a REAL ID”: many valid cards leave the field out.
• Cards on the 2009–2013 barcode standard can carry an older “M” value, shown as “not encoded” today.
• Apple Wallet IDs don’t report it in Check ID.

What it checks

• Checks that the chip’s signing certificate traces back to the issuing country’s certificates on our list (about 112 issuers), and that the chip’s data matches the checksums stored on the chip.
• Shows the chip’s photo, when readable, so staff can compare it with the person.
• Checks age and expiry like a license.

What it can’t tell you

• That the passport is genuine, that its chip wasn’t copied or forged, or that it belongs to the holder, even when the chip check passes.
• For holders born before 1950, the app can misread the birth year. Check the date printed in the passport.
• The chip result shows apart from the verdict, and a failed check doesn’t change it. Read both.
• Countries not on our list get only a limited check.

What it checks

• Apple’s ID Verifier sheet handles the credential. Check ID relies on Apple for that.
• Staff see the name and whether the person meets your minimum age.
• Check ID gets either just your staff member’s approval, or details such as the name, photo and birth date to show on screen. With the details, it checks Apple’s age answer and the expiry date against your rules.
• The scan record never keeps the name, photo, birth date, address or ID number. It can keep the issuing state and whether the person met your minimum age.

What it can’t tell you

• REAL ID status. Repeat-entry alerts don’t cover Wallet IDs either.
• With approval only, a verified record means your staff member approved Apple’s sheet. The app never received the age.

What it checks

• Compares a one-way code made from the barcode. This device clears codes older than 7 days at the first scan after the app restarts.
• With Check ID for Teams, the code also goes to our server. Where the venue’s setting allows it, the server keeps a keyed version for your window so alerts cover the venue’s other devices, then deletes it.

What it can’t tell you

• The same person on a different card. A renewed card or a second fake won’t match.
• Passports or Apple Wallet IDs. Alerts cover barcodes only.

What it is

A tool that helps your staff check IDs. It reads the barcode or chip, checks the age against your minimum, and can keep a record that the check happened.

What it isn’t

Legal advice, insurance, a fake-ID detector, or a guarantee of compliance. Your staff make the final call.