NFC for Document report
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Recent passports, national identity cards and residence permits contain a chip that can be accessed using Near Field Communication (NFC). The Onfido SDKs provide a set of screens and functionalities to extract this information, verify its authenticity and provide the resulting verification as part of a Document report.
NFC chips contain a cryptographically signed version of the document's information which, when validated using the issuing country's public keys, provides a higher level of fraud protection. NFC scanning also vastly improves the end-user experience, halving the turnaround time of verification and returning a 95% pass rate on successful scans.
NFC is available via Onfido's iOS, Android, React Native and Flutter SDKs, and Onfido highly recommends using NFC for identity verification where possible.
Follow this guide learn how to:
- Configure NFC with Onfido Studio
- Use NFC extraction directly with the Onfido SDKs by creating checks with the Onfido API
- Configure the Onfido SDKs for NFC extraction (together with a Studio or API-based integration)
- Interpret the verification results in a Document report
You can view the list of currently supported documents for NFC.
Please contact your Customer Success manager for additional help with integrating NFC.
Using NFC
Use NFC in Onfido Studio
We recommended that you enable and manage NFC in Onfido Studio.
In Studio, NFC extraction is controlled by configuring the Document Capture task in the Workflow Builder.
In the right hand configuration panel, select one of the following options from the NFC dropdown menu:
- Off: NFC extraction will not be required of end-users
- If possible: NFC extraction will be attempted, if possible
- Required: NFC extraction will be enforced, not allowing end-users to finish the flow without a successful reading
![](./NFC-studio-config.png)
When configured to "If possible":
- Studio will instruct the Onfido SDKs to prompt end-users to scan their document via NFC (if both the document and the device are NFC capable)
- End-users scanning NFC-enabled documents will be permitted up to 3 failed attempts, after which the verification flow will proceed without NFC extraction, falling back to the captured document image
- If an end-user selects a document without NFC, they will continue the flow without a prompt for an NFC scan
When configured to "Required":
- After 3 failed NFC extraction attempts, the end-user will be presented with the option to try again or exit the verification flow
- The verification flow will only display NFC-enabled documents to the end-user
Document report tasks linked to this Document Capture task will automatically generate the issuing_authority
breakdown detailing the NFC verification steps. Any subsequent Facial Similarity tasks will use the applicant's picture present in the NFC chip by default for comparison.
Use NFC directly with the Onfido SDKs by creating checks with the Onfido API
While we highly recommend configuring NFC scan using Onfido Studio, you can alternatively use NFC extraction directly with the Onfido SDKs by creating a check for a Document report with NFC using the Onfido API.
You will need to use API v3.2 or later in order to receive the issuing_authority
breakdown and sub-breakdowns that contain the details of the NFC verification in the Document report.
- if you are currently using API v2 please see this migration guide
- if you are currently using API v3 please see this migraton guide
NFC is not available in earlier versions of the Onfido API. Please refer to our API versioning policy.
Below is an example check creation for an NFC supported passport:
1curl -X POST https://api.eu.onfido.com/v3.6/checks \2 -H 'Authorization: Token token=<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' \3 -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \4 -d '{5 "applicant_id": "<APPLICANT_ID>",6 "report_names": ["document"],7 "document_ids": ["<DOCUMENT_ID_FRONT>", "<NFC_MEDIA_ID>"]8}'
Parameter | Notes |
---|---|
applicant_id (required) | Specifies the applicant for the check. |
report_names (required) | The report name. NFC is available as part of the primary Document report option. |
document_ids (required) | Array including all the document IDs returned in the SDK success callback. This could include up to 3 IDs for the document front side, back side and NFC media. |
Note: document_ids
is only a required parameter for a Document report with NFC as you need to specify the NFC media ID at check creation. For a standard Document report, document_ids
is an optional parameter.
Configuring NFC in the Onfido SDKs
Regardless of whether you are using Onfido Studio or creating a check through the Onfido API, NFC extraction must first be configured using our SDKs.
NFC extraction is enabled by default since the release of the following Onfido SDK versions:
SDK | Version | Technical Documentation |
---|---|---|
iOS | 29.1.0 | ios SDK reference |
Android | 18.1.0 | Android SDK reference |
React Native | 9.0.0 | React Native SDK reference |
Flutter | 4.0.0 | Flutter SDK reference |
Please refer to the relevant instructions for the detailed steps on how to declare the necessary dependencies and permissions in your application, in particular the required pre-requisites for the iOS SDK.
To activate NFC in SDK versions earlier than those specified in the table above, please refer to the corresponding SDK version's technical reference.
Start the SDK flow
The SDK flow for a Document report with NFC includes both the standard document capture screens and additional NFC scan screens.
All users will first be presented with the document capture screens. The additional NFC screens will then be presented to the user if both the user's device and the document type support NFC. Otherwise, the user will finish the SDK flow after the document capture step and no NFC scan will be completed.
Document IDs
On success, the SDK will return a callback which contains an array of document IDs. The document IDs will include:
- the document front image
- the document back image (if the document has 2 sides, for example an ID card)
- the NFC media ID (if the document is supported for NFC and an NFC scan has completed successfully)
As mentioned in the section above, you will need to extract all the document IDs to use when creating a check on the backend using the Onfido API.
iOS
1func getDocumentIds(fromResults results: [OnfidoResult]) -> [String]? {2 return results.map({ onfidoResult -> [String] in3 switch onfidoResult {4 case .document(let documentResult):5 guard let nfcMediaId = documentResult.nfcMediaId else {6 return []7 }8 var ids: [String] = [documentResult.front.id]9 if let backId = documentResult.back?.id {10 ids.append(backId)11 }12 ids.append(nfcMediaId)13 return ids14 default:15 return []16 }17 }).first18 }1920OnfidoFlow(...)21 .with(responseHandler: { response in22 switch response {23 case .success(let results):24 if let documentIds = getDocumentIds(fromResults: results) {25 // USE DOCUMENT IDS FOR CHECK CREATION26 }27 ...28 }29 })
1(NSArray<NSString*>*)getDocumentIds:(NSArray *)flowResults {2 ONFlowResult *flowResult = [flowResults firstObject];3 if (flowResult.type == ONFlowResultTypeDocument) {4 ONDocumentResult *documentResult = (ONDocumentResult *)flowResult.result;5 NSMutableArray *documentIds = [NSMutableArray new];6 [documentIds addObject:documentResult.front.id];7 if (documentResult.nfcMediaId != nil) {8 [documentIds addObject:documentResult.nfcMediaId];9 }10 if (documentResult.back != nil) {11 [documentIds addObject:documentResult.back.id];12 }13 return [NSArray arrayWithArray:documentIds];14 }15 return @[];16}1718ONFlow *flow = [[ONFlow alloc] initWithFlowConfiguration:config];19[flow withResponseHandler:^(ONFlowResponse *response) {20 if (flowResponse.results) {21 NSArray *documentIds = [self getDocumentIds:flowResponse.results];22 // Use document IDs for check creation23 } else if (flowResponse.error) {24 // Handle Error25 } else if (flowResponse.userCanceled) {26 // Handle User Canceled Action27 }28}, dismissFlowOnCompletion: /* Dismiss Completion Here */ ];
Android
1override fun userCompleted(captures: Captures) {2 val documentIds = captures.toJson()3 // add the document ids to check creation request body4 add("document_ids", documentIds)5}67private fun Captures.toJson(): JsonArray {8 val array = JsonArray()9 document?.nfcMediaUUID?.let { uuid -> array.add(uuid) }10 document?.front?.let { frontSide -> array.add(frontSide.id) }11 document?.back?.let { backSide -> array.add(backSide.id) }12 return array13}
1oid userCompleted(@NonNull Captures captures) {2 JsonArray jsonCaptures = capturesToJson(captures);34 // add the document ids to check creation request body5 JsonObject requestBody = new JsonObject();6 requestBody.add("document_ids", jsonCaptures);7}89JsonArray capturesToJson(@NonNull Captures captures) {10 JsonArray array = new JsonArray();11 if (captures != null) {12 Document document = captures.getDocument();13 if (document != null) {14 String nfcMediaUUID = document.getNfcMediaUUID();15 if (nfcMediaUUID != null) {16 array.add(nfcMediaUUID);17 }18 DocumentSide frontSide = document.getFront();19 if (frontSide != null) {20 array.add(frontSide.getId());21 }22 DocumentSide backSide = document.getFront();23 if (backSide != null) {24 array.add(backSide.getId());25 }26 }27 }28 return array;29}
React Native
1Onfido.start({2 sdkToken: 'sdkTokenFromOnfidoServer',3 flowSteps: {4 welcome: true,5 captureFace: {6 type: OnfidoCaptureType.VIDEO,7 },8 captureDocument: {9 docType: OnfidoDocumentType.DRIVING_LICENCE,10 countryCode: OnfidoCountryCode.USA,11 }12 },13 })14 .then(res =>15 const result = JSON.stringify(res);16 const nfcMediaId = result.document.nfcMediaId ?? result.document.nfcMediaUUID;17 const frontId = result.document.front.id;18 const backId = result.document.back.id;1920 )21 .catch(err => console.warn('OnfidoSDK: Error:', err.code, err.message));
Flutter
1private var result: MethodChannel.Result? = null23override fun userCompleted(captures: Captures) {4 // deserialize the received captures as per your needs, for example:5 result?.success(captures.toFlutterResult())6 result = null7}89internal fun Captures.toFlutterResult(): Any {10 val elements = mutableMapOf<String, Any>()11 this.document?.let {12 elements["document"] = it.deserialize()13 }14 this.face?.let {15 elements["face"] = it.deserialize()16 }17 return listOf(elements)18}1920private fun Face.deserialize(): Map<*, *> {21 return mapOf("id" to id, "variant" to this.variant.ordinal)22}2324private fun Document.deserialize(): Map<*, *> {25 val map = mutableMapOf<String, Any>()26 map["typeSelected"] = this.type.toString().lowercase()27 map["nfcMediaId"] = this.nfcMediaUUID.toString()28 front?.let {29 map["front"] = mapOf("id" to it.id)30 }31 back?.let {32 map["back"] = mapOf("id" to it.id)33 }34 return map35}
NFC results in the Document Report
Result handling
Report breakdown
The issuing_authority
breakdown captures the result of the NFC scan. It asserts whether data on the document matches the issuing authority data and uses the following sub-breakdowns:
nfc_passive_authentication
- asserts the data integrity of the NFC datanfc_active_authentication
- asserts whether the document NFC chip is original or cloned
Result logic
Passive Authentication and Active Authentication are checked whenever supported by the underlying document. Each check can return a result of clear
, consider
or null
as below:
nfc_passive_authentication | nfc_active_authentication | |
---|---|---|
Not supported by document | null | null |
Unable to read data | null | null |
Failed | consider | consider |
Succeeded | clear | clear |
The individual results are then combined in the issuing_authority
breakdown into a single result:
nfc_active_authentication is null | nfc_active_authentication is consider | nfc_active_authentication is clear | |
---|---|---|---|
nfc_passive_authentication is null | null | consider | clear |
nfc_passive_authentication is consider | consider | consider | consider |
nfc_passive_authentication is clear | clear | consider | clear |
The overall document verification result is influenced by the issuing_authority
breakdown as follows.
Note that if fallback to Visual checks is disabled, the Issuing Authority section would be the main driver to the overall result.
Issuing Authority Breakdown | Overall Document Verification |
---|---|
null | rejected |
consider | suspected |
clear | clear |
Note that if the document's NFC data contains the applicant's photograph, this photograph will be used in any subsequent facial similarity checks, if configured.
Configuration options
In addition to the NFC verification described in this document, you can configure your account to also trigger Visual Document Verification whatever the issuing_authority
breakdown result (clear
, consider
or null
). In those cases, the visual authentication, image integrity and data consistency checks will be performed and the results returned in the respective report breakdowns.
Please contact your Customer Success manager to enable this.
Properties
In the Document check properties an nfc
object is returned which includes the NFC extracted document data.
If NFC is not available, no data will be extracted and the nfc
object will not be returned.
Addendum
Disabling NFC and Removing SDK dependencies
As NFC is enabled by default and library dependencies are included in the build automatically, the following section details the steps required to disable NFC and remove any libraries from the build process.
iOS
- Disable
Near Field Communication Tag Reading
capability in your app target. You can follow the steps in Apple's documentation - Remove any entries relating to the NFC setup from your app target's
Info.plist
file (please refer to the iOS SDK documentation) - Pass the following method to disable NFC in the iOS SDK.
1let config = try! OnfidoConfig.builder()2 .withSDKToken("<YOUR_SDK_TOKEN_HERE>")3 .withDocumentStep()4 .disableNFC()5 .build()
1ONFlowConfigBuilder *configBuilder = [ONFlowConfig builder];23[configBuilder withSdkToken:@"YOUR_SDK_TOKEN_HERE"];4[configBuilder withDocumentStep];5[configBuilder disableNFC];67NSError *configError = NULL;8ONFlowConfig *config = [configBuilder buildAndReturnError:&configError];
Android
- Remove any dependencies (with the specified versions) relating to NFC from your build script. Please refer to the Android SDK documentation
- Pass the following method to remove the NFC document extraction step from the Android SDK flow.
1val config = OnfidoConfig.Builder(this@MainActivity)2 .withSDKToken(“<YOUR_SDK_TOKEN_HERE>”)3 .withNFC(NFCOptions.Disabled)4 .withCustomFlow(flowSteps)5 .build()
1OnfidoConfig config = new OnfidoConfig.Builder(context)2 .withSDKToken(“<YOUR_SDK_TOKEN_HERE>”)3 .withNFC(NFCOptions.Disabled.INSTANCE)4 .withCustomFlow(flowSteps)5 .build()
React Native
- Remove any dependencies relating to NFC. Please refer to the relevant section of the React Native SDK Reference
- Include the following initialisation option to remove the NFC document extraction step from the React Native SDK flow.
1config = {2 sdkToken: “<YOUR_SDK_TOKEN_HERE>”,3 flowSteps: {4 <YOUR_FLOW_STEPS_CONFIGURATION_HERE>5 },6 disableNFC: true7}
Flutter
- Remove any dependencies relating to NFC. Please refer to the relevant section of the Flutter Reference
- Include the following initialisation option to remove the NFC document extraction step from the Flutter SDK flow.
1config = {2 sdkToken: “<YOUR_SDK_TOKEN_HERE>”,3 flowSteps: {4 <YOUR_FLOW_STEPS_CONFIGURATION_HERE>5 },6 disableNFC: true7}