> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.alex.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Identity Verification > Confirm a candidate is who they say they are with a government ID and selfie check — before an interview, from a workflow, or on demand. ## What you unlock * Confirm there's a real, correctly-identified person behind an application — before you invest interview time in them * A government-issued document check plus a selfie match, run in under two minutes on the candidate's phone * Results that land everywhere you already work: the candidate record, the interview report, your workflows, and your ATS *** ## How it works **1. The candidate gets a secure link** Sent by a workflow, by you, or shown as a step before an interview starts. **2. They photograph an ID and take a selfie** Passports, driver's licenses, and national ID cards are accepted. The document is captured and read automatically. **3. We run the checks** The document is validated, the selfie is matched to the photo on it with a liveness check, and the name on the ID is compared against the name on the candidate record. **4. The result lands in Alex** Usually within seconds. The candidate's status updates, the report fills in, and any workflows listening for the outcome fire. > [!NOTE] > > Identity Verification is powered by Stripe Identity. Candidates submit their documents directly to Stripe — the images > are never handled by your recruiters unless you deliberately attach the ID-bearing report variant described below. *** ## Where verification happens > **Before an interview** > > A required step on the interview welcome page > **From a workflow** > > A **Send Verification Link** step, over email, SMS, or WhatsApp > **On demand** > > A **Send verification link** button on any candidate ### Before an interview Open an interview guide and turn on **Identity Verification** in the **Welcome Page** card. Candidates on that guide see a notice on the welcome screen telling them what's coming, and are asked to verify right after they click Continue. The interview only starts once verification passes — a failed or canceled attempt returns them to the welcome screen with a prompt to try again. A candidate who verified recently enough to still be inside your validity window skips the step entirely. ### From a workflow Add a **Send Verification Link** action to an application or candidate workflow. Pick the channel — **Email**, **SMS**, or **WhatsApp** — and edit the message. The link is inserted with the `{{id_verification_link}}` variable, which you can place anywhere in the body. > [!NOTE] > > WhatsApp sends require a pre-approved template, because a verification link is usually the first message a candidate > receives from you and falls outside WhatsApp's free-form reply window. ### On demand On a candidate's Verification tab, click **Send verification link**. You can either email it — editing the subject and body first, or prefilling from a saved email template — or generate the link and copy it to send yourself. If the candidate is already verified and still inside the validity window, the dialog warns you before letting you send anyway. *** ## What the candidate sees This walkthrough follows the pre-interview path, which starts on a laptop and moves to a phone for the camera work. The ID and selfie screens belong to Stripe, so a candidate who arrives from a workflow or an on-demand link meets the same capture steps — they just reach them from the link rather than the welcome page. **1. A notice on the welcome page** The candidate is told what's coming before anything is captured. ![Interview welcome page showing an Identity verification required notice above the Continue button](https://mintcdn.com/apriora/x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ/images/idv-welcome-notice.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ\&q=85\&s=4230882adb6e267e1933845ea6293dd3) **2. Consent to the check** Continue opens Stripe's consent screen, which states what's collected and links both privacy policies. Declining returns the candidate to the welcome page. ![Stripe consent screen describing the photo ID and selfie check, with Agree and continue highlighted](https://mintcdn.com/apriora/x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ/images/idv-stripe-consent.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ\&q=85\&s=1fc62af5c46323de1523f7a757bb74f7) **3. Move to a phone** Reading a document needs a decent camera, so Stripe offers a QR code to continue on a phone. **Other options** covers candidates who would rather stay on the laptop. ![Stripe screen offering a QR code to continue verification on a mobile device](https://mintcdn.com/apriora/x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ/images/idv-mobile-qr.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ\&q=85\&s=37959fdddb9ff86866bd58f30277ce76) **4. The laptop hands over** From here the laptop only waits. **Continue on this device** backs out of the handoff. ![Laptop screen waiting for the candidate to complete verification on their mobile device](https://mintcdn.com/apriora/x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ/images/idv-desktop-waiting.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ\&q=85\&s=3330c7aa37639b7d55f3b74d31e30132) **5. Pick a document** On the phone, Stripe names what it accepts: a driver's licence, passport, or other government-issued photo ID. ![Phone screen asking the candidate to get ready to scan a driving licence, passport, or government-issued photo ID](https://mintcdn.com/apriora/x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ/images/idv-mobile-id-ready.jpg?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ\&q=85\&s=932d3cc5e710998451f2246495ed2d58) **6. Capture the document** The camera shoots automatically once the document is framed. **Manual** takes the photo by hand when autocapture struggles. ![Phone camera prompting the candidate to move the front of their ID into view](https://mintcdn.com/apriora/x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ/images/idv-mobile-id-capture.jpg?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ\&q=85\&s=2d623ee1018bbeed101c0882b1b39bcb) **7. Check the capture** Each side is played back for the candidate to accept or retake before it's sent. ![Phone screen showing the captured back of an ID for review, with Submit photo and Retake photo buttons](https://mintcdn.com/apriora/x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ/images/idv-mobile-id-review.jpg?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ\&q=85\&s=41390891813097bad7c8dee97fe59fca) **8. Consent to the selfie** A second, separate consent covers using the images to improve fraud detection. Declining it doesn't affect the verification. ![Phone screen asking permission before the selfie step, with Allow and Decline and continue buttons](https://mintcdn.com/apriora/x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ/images/idv-mobile-selfie-consent.jpg?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ\&q=85\&s=5614dfea1bb61552334d32a52f131281) **9. Take the selfie** The candidate turns their head to fill the ring — a liveness check, so a photo of a photo won't pass. ![Phone screen guiding the candidate to turn their head while the liveness ring fills in](https://mintcdn.com/apriora/x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ/images/idv-mobile-selfie-capture.jpg?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ\&q=85\&s=853727e2d9e4528879363820168891fa) **10. Done on the phone** The phone lands back on an Alex page telling the candidate to return to their interview. ![Phone screen confirming the verification was submitted and the candidate can return to their interview](https://mintcdn.com/apriora/x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ/images/idv-mobile-submitted.jpg?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ\&q=85\&s=608dbd9439e6a5d8c5a22831914e5107) **11. Back on the laptop** The laptop picks the candidate up where they left off and releases them into the interview. ![Laptop screen confirming the verification details are being reviewed, with a Done button](https://mintcdn.com/apriora/x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ/images/idv-desktop-review.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=x4tKBSOVKM5vjedJ\&q=85\&s=1e6bb780b4bbbfcc18ad04be75dd0d3a) *** ## Verification outcomes Every attempt resolves to one of four outcomes, and the same vocabulary is used by the report, the workflow conditions, and the message variables. | Outcome | What it means | | - | - | | **Verified** | The document and selfie both passed, and the verification is still inside your validity window. | | **Needs review** | Worth a human look: the selfie didn't match the document, the verification fell outside the validity window, or the checks came back partial. | | **Failed** | The verification was rejected, or the candidate started and never finished (see [Abandoned attempts](#abandoned-attempts)). | | **Not verified** | Nothing on file, or an attempt that's still in progress. | > [!NOTE] > > A **name mismatch never fails a verification on its own.** Middle names, compound surnames, and formatting differences > make a strict name comparison too blunt to gate on — so the mismatch is surfaced as a check for you to judge, and the > document verdict stands on its own. *** ## Validity window A verification doesn't last forever. Under **Settings → Experience Settings**, **Identity Verification Validity** controls how long a passed verification stays good — **180 days** by default. The window is the single dial behind all of these: * Whether a candidate is asked to verify again before an interview, or waved through * Whether **ID Verified** conditions in your workflows evaluate to true * Whether clicking a verification link starts a new check or shows the candidate they're already done Set it to `1` to require a fresh verification for every single session. *** ## Reviewing results ### On the report The **Verification** tab shows an identity card with the checks that were run: > **Document** > > Passport, driver's license, or ID card > **Issuing country** > > Where the document was issued > **Name match** > > ID name against the name on file > **Selfie match** > > Selfie against the document photo ### On the candidate The candidate's Verification tab carries a status badge — **ID verified**, **ID pending**, **ID expired**, **Needs review**, **ID failed**, or **Not verified** — with a countdown to expiry for verified candidates, plus a full history of every attempt. ### On your lists Candidate and application lists offer **ID Verification** and **ID Report** columns, so you can scan verification state across a pipeline and open a report without leaving the table. *** ## The verification report Every completed verification produces a shareable PDF that combines the identity result with fraud signals: * **Key Results** — a pass/fail checklist across the checks that ran * **IP Geolocation** — where the verification link was opened from, including VPN, proxy, and Tor detection * **Timeline** — when the link was sent, opened, and completed * **Fraud Screening** — email, phone, IP, and digital-footprint signals (see [Fraud Detection](https://docs.alex.com/interviews/fraud-detection.md)) * **ID Verification** — the document type, issuing country, and match results The report comes in two variants: the **standard** report, and a **with government ID** variant that embeds the ID document image itself. > [!WARNING] > > The **with government ID** variant contains the candidate's actual identity document. Alex does not store the document > image by default — it's available by request. Anywhere you attach the ID variant — an email, an ATS record — the > document image goes too. Use the standard report unless you specifically need the document on file. *** ## Automating with workflows ### Triggers | Trigger | Fires when | | - | - | | **Identity Verified** | A candidate passes verification | | **Identity Needs Review** | A verification comes back inconclusive | | **Identity Failed** | A verification is rejected or abandoned | When the verification came from an application workflow, the outcome fires on that same application's workflow — so the branch that asked for the verification is the branch that hears back. If that workflow isn't listening for the outcome, it falls through to your candidate workflow instead. Only one of the two runs, so downstream outreach never doubles up. ### Conditions and filters Two fields are available in **Is** conditions and in **Filter by Candidate** / **Filter by Application**: * **ID Verified** — whether the candidate is verified *right now*, asked as a freshness question ("verified within the last N days") * **ID Verification Status** — the resolved outcome: Verified, Needs review, Failed, or Not verified ### Message variables | Variable | Renders as | Channels | | - | - | - | | `{{id_verification_link}}` | The candidate's secure verification link | Email, SMS, WhatsApp | | `{{identity_verification_status}}` | `Verified` | Email | | `{{verification_summary}}` | `Identity: Verified · Fraud score: 78/100` | Email | | `{{id_name_match}}` | `Match` | Email | ### Writing back to your ATS Workflow steps that upload a file to your ATS can attach either verification report variant, so the result files itself on the candidate's ATS record automatically. Because the report is candidate-scoped rather than tied to a specific interview, it attaches cleanly from candidate workflows too. *** ## Link behavior A few details worth knowing when you're building flows around verification links: * **Links expire after 7 days.** An expired link tells the candidate to ask their recruiter for a new one. * **The verification is created when the link is clicked**, not when it's sent — so unopened emails don't consume verifications. * **Clicking twice picks up where the candidate left off** rather than restarting them, and a candidate who's already verified goes straight to a success page. ### Abandoned attempts A verification that sits unfinished for **24 hours** is closed out as **Failed** and fires the **Identity Failed** trigger — so a workflow waiting on an outcome never hangs on a candidate who walked away. *** ## Get access > [!NOTE] > > Identity Verification is enabled per company. Reach out to [support@alex.com](mailto:support@alex.com?subject=Identity%20Verification%20Request\&cc=updates@alex.com) to turn it on for your team. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.