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Checks if the USA driver’s licenses (DL) are not expired and belong to the person who performed the full identity verification or document-only verification. The option to check the AAMVA database will be performed:
  • Check is only performed for approved verifications
  • If a USA DL is used as a verification document
If the DL is issued by one of these states, an AAMVA check will not be performedAK - AlaskaCA - CaliforniaDE - DelawareDC - District of ColumbiaHI - HawaiiNV - NevadaNH - New HampshireNY - New YorkOK - OklahomaPA - PennsylvaniaUT - Utah

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How Are the Results Returned?

Once the verification is performed and the driver’s license checked, the user’s information is cross-checked against the DMV record and each of the following fields is returned: Each field returns one of three results: Screenshot 2025-05-06 at 10.41.33.png

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What Is the Data Checked Against?

The check is performed in real time, directly against the issuing state’s DMV records.
  • iDenfy does not maintain a separate copy of DMV data, and does not rely on third-party aggregators or independent knowledge bases.
  • Every verification request queries the latest records held by the DMV at the time of the request.
  • Each state manages and updates its own DMV records on its own schedule. Because the check is real-time, the most current record available at the DMV is always used.

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How Does the Matching Work?

1

Locate the Record

The document (driver’s license) number is used to locate the corresponding record at the DMV.
2

Compare Each Field

The remaining fields are then compared individually against the values associated with that record. Each field returns Match, No match, or Not evaluated.
Fuzzy matching for name fieldsFuzzy and alternative matching is supported for the first name, middle name, and last name fields. An exact match is attempted first:
  • If the exact match succeeds, the fuzzy/alternative match is not evaluated and returns Not evaluated.
  • If the exact match fails, a fuzzy/alternative match is automatically attempted as a fallback.

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Interpreting the Results

  • Document number is the primary field. If it does not match, the DMV could not locate a record for the provided license number.
  • If the document number matches but the core identity fields (name, date of birth) do not, this may indicate that a valid license number was submitted with incorrect or unrelated personal information.
  • Isolated mismatches can be benign. Address-related fields, in particular, may not match due to a recent address change, formatting differences, or delays in DMV record updates.
  • When most or all core identity fields fail to match, it is a strong, high-confidence indicator of a genuine discrepancy rather than a formatting issue or missing DMV data. A fully non-matching response is uncommon.

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Limitations

AAMVA/DMV verification confirms that the submitted license data matches the issuing state’s records. It does not authenticate the physical ID document, nor does it confirm that the person presenting it is the legitimate license holder.For example, if a fraudster creates a counterfeit ID using genuine license data but replaces the photo, DMV verification may still succeed because the personal information matches the state record.For this reason, AAMVA verification should be complemented with document authenticity (forgery) checks and biometric verification (face match with liveness) to mitigate identity fraud.

Related topics

AML and Fraud PreventionDocument and Identity Verification SettingsFull Feature ListVerification DetailsSupported Documents