> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.smartcomply.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Kenya National ID > Extract identity details from a Kenyan national ID card. Verify a customer's Kenyan national ID card by uploading a photo — no manual ID entry required. We read the details and compare the face on the document with a selfie. No liveness check is needed. > [!NOTE] > > This is a two-sided document — supply both `document_front` and `document_back` for the most complete extraction. Kenya has two ID card generations in circulation: the older laminated design and the newer "Maisha Card." Fields specific to the Maisha Card (`serial_number`, `place_of_issue`, expiry date) will come back empty on an older card — that's expected, not an error. > [!NOTE] > > `selfie_image` is required — the face extracted from the document is compared against it. This is a still-image comparison (not liveness). ## Endpoint ``` POST /api/onboarding/document_verification/kenya/kenya_id ``` ## Request ### Headers | Header | Value | Required | | - | - | - | | `x-access-token` | Your API secret key | Yes | | `Content-Type` | `multipart/form-data` | Yes | ### Body Parameters | Parameter | Type | Required | Description | | - | - | - | - | | `document_front` | file | Yes | Front of the ID card. JPG, PNG or single-page PDF, max 10MB | | `document_back` | file | No | Back of the ID card. JPG, PNG or single-page PDF, max 10MB | | `selfie_image` | file | Yes | A selfie to compare against the document's face photo. JPG or PNG, max 5MB | > [!TIP] > > A scanned document can be uploaded as a single-page PDF, for example `-F "document_front=@/path/to/scan.pdf"`. ### Example ```bash cURL theme={null} curl -X POST "https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification/kenya/kenya_id" \ -H "x-access-token: YOUR_SECRET_KEY" \ -F "document_front=@/path/to/id_front.jpg" \ -F "document_back=@/path/to/id_back.jpg" \ -F "selfie_image=@/path/to/selfie.jpg" ``` ```javascript Node.js theme={null} const formData = new FormData(); formData.append("document_front", fs.createReadStream("/path/to/id_front.jpg")); formData.append("document_back", fs.createReadStream("/path/to/id_back.jpg")); formData.append("selfie_image", fs.createReadStream("/path/to/selfie.jpg")); const response = await fetch( "https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification/kenya/kenya_id", { method: "POST", headers: { "x-access-token": "YOUR_SECRET_KEY" }, body: formData, } ); const data = await response.json(); ``` ```python Python theme={null} import requests response = requests.post( "https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com/api/onboarding/document_verification/kenya/kenya_id", headers={"x-access-token": "YOUR_SECRET_KEY"}, files={ "document_front": open("/path/to/id_front.jpg", "rb"), "document_back": open("/path/to/id_back.jpg", "rb"), "selfie_image": open("/path/to/selfie.jpg", "rb"), }, ) data = response.json() ``` ## Response ### 200 OK | Field | Type | Description | | - | - | - | | `status` | string | `"success"` on a successful extraction | | `data.full_name` | string | Extracted full name | | `data.first_name` | string | Extracted first name | | `data.last_name` | string | Extracted last name | | `data.date_of_birth` | string | Date of birth in `YYYY-MM-DD` format | | `data.gender` | string | Extracted gender | | `data.id_number` | string | The ID number | | `data.document_type` | string | `"kenya_id"` | | `data.document_country` | string | The country that issued the document, as a two-letter country code: `"KE"` | | `data.expiry_date` | string | Maisha Card expiry date — only present on third-generation cards | | `data.issue_date` | string | Date of issue | | `data.place_of_issue` | string | Only present on third-generation "Maisha Card" IDs | | `data.serial_number` | string | Separate 9-digit card serial number — only present on third-generation "Maisha Card" IDs | | `data.photo` | string | Base64-encoded face photo extracted from the document | | `data.extra_fields` | object | Other fields printed on the card — see below | | `data.face_match` | object | Result of comparing the document's face against `selfie_image` — see below | | `data.face_match.attempted` | boolean | Whether a comparison was actually run | | `data.face_match.verified` | boolean \| null | `true`/`false` if the comparison ran; `null` if it couldn't (see Face Match Notes) | | `data.face_match.decision` | string | `"MATCH"` or `"NO_MATCH"` | | `data.face_match.confidence_percentage` | number | Match confidence, 0–100 | | `data.face_match.compare_mode` | string | `"COMPARISON_NO_LIVENESS"` means the two photos were compared without a liveness check | | `data.face_match.selfie_image` | string | URL of the uploaded selfie | | `message` | string | Human-readable result summary | ```json theme={null} { "status": "success", "data": { "valid": true, "first_name": "WANJIRU", "last_name": "KAMAU", "full_name": "KAMAU WANJIRU", "date_of_birth": "1995-03-10", "id_number": "34567890", "document_type": "kenya_id", "document_country": "KE", "issue_date": "2019-05-14", "place_of_issue": "NAIROBI", "serial_number": "123456789", "photo": "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD...", "extra_fields": { "district_of_birth": "NAIROBI", "district": "NAIROBI", "division": "CENTRAL", "location": "NAIROBI CENTRAL", "sub_location": "CBD", "barcode_number": "12345678", "mrz_line1": "IDKEN3456789012<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<", "mrz_line2": "9503109F2905147KEN<<<<<<<<<<<8", "mrz_line3": "KAMAU< [!NOTE] > > **Extra Fields** — `extra_fields` carries whatever else the card printed beyond the fields listed above: `district_of_birth`, and — only when `document_back` was supplied — `district`, `division`, `location`, `sub_location`, `barcode_number`, and the three MRZ lines (`mrz_line1`/`mrz_line2`/`mrz_line3`, exactly as printed, including `<` fill characters — not decoded). Only fields actually present on the card are included. > [!NOTE] > > **Face Match Notes** — if the comparison service itself fails, `attempted` reflects whether a comparison was actually run and `verified` comes back `null` with a `reason` field explaining why — this is different from `verified: false`, which means the comparison ran and the faces didn't match. A face-match problem never blocks the underlying document data — the rest of `data` is still returned. ### 400 Bad Request ```json theme={null} { "status": "failed", "data": [], "message": "This document is not supported for the selected ID type — please upload the correct document." } ``` ### 401 Unauthorized ```json theme={null} { "status": "failed", "message": "Authentication credentials were not provided." } ``` > [!NOTE] > > For a full list of error codes, see the [Error Codes](https://docs.smartcomply.com/error_codes.md) reference. ## OpenAPI ````yaml POST /api/onboarding/document_verification/kenya/kenya_id openapi: 3.0.3 info: title: Adhere API description: >- Identity verification, credit checks, transaction monitoring, and loan fraud detection across Africa. version: 3.0.0 servers: - url: https://adhere-api.smartcomply.com description: Production security: - ApiKeyAuth: [] tags: - name: Nigeria KYC - name: Kenya KYC - name: Ghana KYC - name: Rwanda KYC - name: Uganda KYC - name: Document Verification - name: Biometrics - name: Individual Credit - name: Business Credit - name: Transaction Monitoring - name: Transaction Screening - name: Transaction KYC - name: Loan Fraud - name: User Journey paths: /api/onboarding/document_verification/kenya/kenya_id: post: tags: - Document Verification summary: Document Verification — Kenya ID description: > Extract identity details from a Kenyan ID card (older laminated design or newer Maisha Card), plus a required face match against a selfie. Fields specific to the Maisha Card (serial_number, place_of_issue, expiry date) come back empty on an older card — that's expected, not an error. document_type and country are fixed by this URL — no need to send them in the request body. operationId: documentVerificationKenyaId requestBody: required: true content: multipart/form-data: schema: type: object required: - document_front properties: document_front: type: string format: binary description: Front of the ID card. JPG, PNG or single-page PDF, max 10MB. document_back: type: string format: binary description: > Back of the card. Optional, but recommended — extraction may be less complete without it. JPG, PNG or single-page PDF, max 10MB. selfie_image: type: string format: binary description: > A selfie to compare against the face extracted from the document. JPG or PNG, max 5MB. Required. responses: '200': $ref: '#/components/responses/DocumentVerificationSuccess' '400': $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest' '401': $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized' components: responses: DocumentVerificationSuccess: description: Document details extracted successfully content: application/json: schema: type: object properties: status: type: string example: success data: type: object properties: valid: type: boolean first_name: type: string last_name: type: string full_name: type: string date_of_birth: type: string gender: type: string nationality: type: string address: type: string id_number: type: string serial_number: type: string id_type: type: string document_type: type: string document_country: type: string description: > Passports only. The country that issued the passport, as an two-letter country code, for example RW. expiry_date: type: string issue_date: type: string is_expired: type: boolean description: > Always false on a 200. An expired document fails the check with a 400; its details are still returned in data, with is_expired true. photo: type: string description: >- Base64-encoded face photo extracted from the document. Absent for document types with no face photo (cac_certificate, utility_bill). extra_fields: type: object description: >- Every other field read from the document that doesn't have its own dedicated field above. Varies by document_type and country. face_match: type: object description: Present only when selfie_image was supplied. properties: attempted: type: boolean verified: type: boolean nullable: true description: >- true/false if the comparison ran; null if it couldn't (see reason). decision: type: string enum: - MATCH - NO_MATCH description: The comparison's verdict. confidence_percentage: type: number compare_mode: type: string example: COMPARISON_NO_LIVENESS description: > COMPARISON_NO_LIVENESS: the two photos are compared; no liveness check is run on the selfie. selfie_image: type: string description: URL of the uploaded selfie. reason: type: string description: >- Present when verified is null — explains why the comparison couldn't run or complete. message: type: string example: Document details retrieved successfully BadRequest: description: Bad Request content: application/json: schema: type: object properties: status: type: string example: failed data: type: array items: {} message: type: string Unauthorized: description: Unauthorized content: application/json: schema: type: object properties: status: type: string example: failed message: type: string example: Authentication credentials were not provided. securitySchemes: ApiKeyAuth: type: apiKey in: header name: x-access-token description: Your Adhere API secret key ```` This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.