> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.zenoo.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How Do I Verify a Person?

> Walk through a KYC verification flow — from initiating a journey to document capture, biometric matching, screening, and results.

# How Do I Verify a Person?

Individual verification (KYC) validates a person's identity through document capture, biometric matching, and sanctions screening. This guide walks through both the customer-facing experience and the admin view in Studio.

## What you'll learn

* How a verification journey is initiated
* What the customer sees during verification
* How document capture and biometric matching work
* What screening runs in the background
* How results are delivered

## The KYC flow at a glance

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart LR
    A[Journey initiated] --> B[Customer opens URL]
    B --> C[Document capture]
    C --> D[Selfie + liveness]
    D --> E[Biometric match]
    E --> F[Screening]
    F --> G{All clear?}
    G -->|Yes| H[Approved]
    G -->|No| I[Review Required]
```

## The customer experience

<Steps>
  <Step title="Customer receives a verification link">
    When your application initiates a verification journey, Zenoo generates a unique, time-limited URL. The customer receives this link via email, SMS, or embedded in your app.

    The link is valid for 24 hours. If it expires, a `journey.expired` event fires and you can generate a new one.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Welcome screen">
    The customer opens the link and sees a branded welcome screen with your logo, colors, and a brief explanation of what they need to do. This screen is fully customizable (see [Brand Your Experience](/guides/studio/brand-your-experience)).

    The welcome screen lists:

    * Which document types are accepted (passport, national ID, driving license)
    * That a selfie will be required
    * Estimated completion time
  </Step>

  <Step title="Document capture">
    The customer photographs their identity document using their device camera. The system guides them with:

    * **Frame overlay** — shows where to position the document
    * **Quality checks** — detects blur, glare, and cropping issues in real time
    * **Auto-capture** — takes the photo automatically when the document is properly positioned

    For two-sided documents (e.g., national ID cards), the customer captures both sides.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Selfie and liveness check">
    After document capture, the customer takes a selfie. The liveness check ensures the person is physically present:

    * **Active liveness** — the customer follows prompts (turn head, blink) to prove they are not using a photo or video
    * **Passive liveness** — advanced algorithms detect spoofing without user prompts

    The liveness method depends on your flow configuration.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Processing screen">
    While checks run in the background, the customer sees a processing screen. This typically takes 10-30 seconds. The customer can close the browser — results will be delivered asynchronously.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Completion screen">
    Once processing finishes, the customer sees a completion message. The message is generic (e.g., "Thank you, we'll be in touch") — it does not reveal the verification outcome, which is only visible to your team.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What happens behind the scenes?

While the customer completes their journey, Studio runs checks in parallel:

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Document Verification">
    * **OCR extraction** — extracts name, date of birth, document number, expiry date, nationality from the document image
    * **Authenticity checks** — analyzes security features (holograms, microprint, UV patterns) to detect tampering
    * **Expiry validation** — flags expired documents
    * **MRZ verification** — validates the machine-readable zone against visual data
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Biometric Matching">
    * **Face comparison** — matches the selfie against the document photo
    * **Match score** — generates a confidence score (0-100%)
    * **Liveness result** — confirms the person is physically present
    * **Deepfake detection** — analyzes for AI-generated images or video injection
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Screening">
    * **PEP check** — screens against Politically Exposed Persons databases
    * **Sanctions check** — screens against global sanctions lists (OFAC, EU, UN, UK)
    * **Adverse media** — screens news sources for negative coverage
    * **Watchlists** — screens against law enforcement and customs watchlists
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## What does the admin see?

In the Studio dashboard, each completed journey shows:

* **Identity result** — verified/not verified, with the document type and extracted data
* **Biometric result** — face match score, liveness result
* **Document result** — authenticity score, any tampering flags, expiry status
* **Screening result** — PEP/sanctions/adverse media hit status with match details

<Info>
  If any check produces a hit or failure, a case is automatically created in Case Management. Your compliance team will see it in their alert queue.
</Info>

## What generates alerts?

| Check Result                      | Alert Created? | Alert Type |
| --------------------------------- | -------------- | ---------- |
| Document expired                  | Yes            | Document   |
| Name mismatch (OCR vs. submitted) | Yes            | Identity   |
| Face match below threshold        | Yes            | Identity   |
| Liveness check failed             | Yes            | Identity   |
| PEP match found                   | Yes            | Screening  |
| Sanctions hit found               | Yes            | Screening  |
| Adverse media found               | Yes            | Screening  |
| All checks pass                   | No             | --         |

## What's next?

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Screen for Sanctions" icon="shield-halved" href="/guides/studio/screen-for-sanctions">
    Deep dive into configuring screening databases and match thresholds.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Brand Your Experience" icon="palette" href="/guides/studio/brand-your-experience">
    Customize the verification journey your customers see.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Review Alerts" icon="bell" href="/guides/case-management/review-alerts">
    Learn how your compliance team reviews alerts from verification results.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Build Your First Flow" icon="play" href="/guides/studio/your-first-flow">
    Start from scratch with a step-by-step flow builder walkthrough.
  </Card>
</Columns>