AAMVA Verification

Overview

The AAMVA Verification takes in collected values (from a US driver’s license or state identification card) and runs the inputs through information in an official Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) database to verify the identity. The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) is the underlying service that powers AAMVA Verification and interfaces with DMV data. The AAMVA Verification offers a step-up verification and greater assurance against fraud when paired with the Government ID Verification.

AAMVA Verification is commonly used as:

• An added validation run on Inquiries you deem higher-risk: You can configure AAMVA Verification to run automatically when an Inquiry shows signs of being high-risk. In Persona, you can define custom conditional logic to express what it means to be high-risk (e.g. if a user fails a specific Verification check earlier in the Inquiry).
• An additional input requested by human reviewers: AAMVA Verifications can be a tool for human reviewers who want more information to decide whether a submitted ID is valid. A reviewer can send the end user a link to a new Inquiry that takes them through an AAMVA Verification.

An AAMVA Verification answers the question "Does the US state identification card or driver’s license match what is currently in the DMV database?"

U.S. States covered by AAMVA

AAMVA Verification covers most, but not all US states. Some states do not participate in the AAMVA system, and some states only allow access to government organizations.

As of 2024, the following jurisdictions are not covered by AAMVA Verification:

• Alaska
• California
• Louisiana
• Minnesota
• New Hampshire
• New York
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania
• Utah

Types of fraud AAMVA Verification can’t catch

While AAMVA Verification is a convenient way to catch certain kinds of fraud, there are some things it can’t do. For example, it cannot detect:

• A fake driver’s license displaying valid personal details on the front side that match a valid barcode on the back side
• Validity of photo ID or signature
• Whether a real driver’s license is being used by someone who does not own it

Offset limitations with other Persona products

You can offset many of the limitations of AAMVA Verification by combining it with other Persona products. For example, you can catch when a driver’s license is used by someone who doesn’t own it by leveraging Persona’s Government ID and Selfie Verifications.

Understanding data sources

AAMVA Verification is an issuing data source. Issuing data sources (i.e. Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)), Social Security Administration (SSA)) offer step-up verification and higher levels of assurance against fraud given the the inputs are verified against. Within Persona, issuing data sources are represented as Verification Types in the form of products like AAMVA Verification or eCVSV Verification.

Authoritative data sources are offered through Persona’s Database Verification and also offer a high level of assurance. Authoritative data sources include credit agencies, voting registries, telephone database, government records (e.g. court filings), consumer databases, utility registration, postal authorities, and register of deaths. Lastly, non-authoritative data sources (i.e. social media) are available through the Non-Authoritative Database Verification.

This variety of Verification Types, combined with customizable configurations, allows you to build and optimize solutions that meet your specific risk tolerance, compliance requirements, and business goals.

Verification Features

Verification Inputs

Required inputs from a US state ID or driver’s license:

• Name
• Date of Birth
• ID Number
• Expiration Date
• Issuing Date
• State of Issuance

Collection of inputs

• Via Workflows
  • You can also run an AAMVA Verification in a Workflow by adding a Run AAMVA Verification action step. We recommend including a Loop step handle scenarios where the underlying issuing data source is unavailable.
• Via Inquiries
  • The AAMVA Verification can be added as a new Inquiry Template via the Inquiry Template Library, though it only includes a screen for a user to input values and the AAMVA Verification Template itself. We recommend using the Government ID + AAMVA Solution. This solution includes an Inquiry Template with Government ID and silent AAMVA Verification, and Workflows that handle the above mentioned scenario around issuing data source availability.

Verification Outputs

Verification status

The verification status indicates where the Verification is in its process, with results displayed as ‘failed’ or ‘passed.’ This is an easy way to ascertain, at a high level, if the attempt to verify the identity met the requirements set forth in the configurations of the Verification Template.

Verification Check statuses

Each AAMVA Verification check is marked as passed, failed, or not applicable. This will give a more detailed look at which of the Verification Checks the attempt failed. In the Dashboard, the results view of the Verification also show which checks were required on the Verification Template when the Verification ran. Those that were required determine what checks are necessary to receive a passed at the Verification Status level.

Verification Check details

Given that the Verification checks can determine whether the attempt passes or fails the Verification, some Verification checks offer more detail about the failure reason and the specifics around why the attempt failed or passed that particular check. This allows a reviewer to understand more granularly what constitutes pass and fail, and gives insights into what Verification Template configurations may need to be optimized or adjusted.

Identity Comparison Check details

In the Dashboard view of an AAMVA Verification run, the Identity Comparison Check detail is expanded by default. The Identity Comparison Check provides a detailed view of attribute match quality and the associated risk level.

Configuration options

The AAMVA Verification offers the ability to configure which inputted attributes are required to consider a verification run passed.

AAMVA Verification access by plan

Learn about pricing and plans

Disclaimer

Persona is not a consumer reporting agency and the services (and the data provided as part of its services) do not constitute a ‘consumer report’ for the purposes of the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The data and reports we provide to you may not be used, in whole or in part, to: make any consumer debt collection decision, establish a consumer’s eligibility for credit, insurance, employment, government benefits, or housing, or for any other purpose authorized under the FCRA. If you use any of any of our services, you agree not to use them, or the data, for any purpose authorized under the FCRA or in relation to taking an adverse action relating to a consumer application.