This guide is for individuals going through a Persona-powered identity verification flow. While we’ve included helpful tips, the verification was set up by the business, service, or organization that asked you to verify. They use Persona as a tool, and they ultimately decide what’s required and can assist with your specific situation, if you’re having trouble.
These are tips, not rejections
While the camera is open, short messages appear over the picture. They come and go as you move the phone, and they are there to help you get a usable photo on the first go.
None of them is a result. Nothing has been submitted, nothing has been judged, and no attempt has been counted against you. They describe what the camera can see right now, in the same way a camera app tells you it cannot focus. Once the picture is good enough, the message disappears and the capture happens.
This trips people up often enough to be worth saying plainly: if you are reading one of these, you have not failed anything yet.
What each tip is asking for when you photograph an ID
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Make sure your ID is within the frame | Bring the whole card back into the guide on screen |
| Make sure all four corners of the ID are within the frame | Pull back slightly so no edge is cut off |
| Move closer to the camera | The card is too small in the picture, so close the gap |
| Move farther away from the camera | The card is too close and part of it is out of focus |
| Make sure the barcode is within the frame | Line the barcode up inside the guide, usually on the back of the card |
| Reduce glare by moving away from direct light | Move out of the light or tilt the card, rather than turning lights off |
| Please move to a well lit area | Add light, ideally daylight from a window or an overhead room light |
| Keep it steady | Rest your elbows on something and stop moving for a second |
| Processing ID, keep it steady | It is reading the card, so hold the position a moment longer |
What each tip is asking for during a selfie
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Center yourself | Move your face into the middle of the oval |
| Move closer to the camera | Bring the phone nearer until your face fills the guide |
| Move further away from the camera | Hold the phone back a little |
| Look slightly left | Turn your head slowly, and keep your eyes on the screen |
| Look slightly right | The same, in the other direction |
| Please look into the camera and try removing your glasses | Face the camera straight on, and take glasses off if asked |
| There seem to be multiple faces, find a private space | Ask anyone behind you to step out of shot |
If the same tip keeps coming back
The tip is naming the thing to change, so change that one thing rather than trying again harder.
- Glare is about where the light is, not how much of it there is. Move so no lamp or window reflects off the surface of the card.
- Low light is the opposite problem. Go to a window in daylight, or turn a light on. A phone screen alone is not enough light for a document.
- Steady is usually about your hands. Put the document down and move only the phone, or brace your arms on a table.
- Framing messages that flip between too close and too far usually mean the phone is at an angle. Hold it flat and parallel to the card.
How to take a photo the scan can read goes through each of these in more detail.
What a tip will never tell you
These messages only ever describe the picture. They do not tell you whether your document is acceptable, whether your face matched, or how a check went, because none of that has happened yet at that point in the verification flow.
We also keep the workings of our checks private, so that someone attempting fraud cannot read our guidance and learn what to fake. That is why the advice here stays on light, distance, angle, and steadiness, which are the things in your hands.