ID Verification in Mobility Services: Elements, Challenges, Regulations

The mobility services industry nowadays simply cannot exist without a solid identity verification process. That is because businesses always need to be aware of who their partners/employees are (e.g., Uber drivers) as well as their customers (e.g., carsharing users) to prevent various criminal activities. This is the only way the platforms can operate safely, comply with all relevant regulations, and deliver reliable services. 

Going a bit deeper into the use cases, we can highlight the following ones:

For carsharing companies, driver's license verification is just the beginning. Many additional checks are made now to lower the risk of accidents even further, including driving history and penalty points on the license. Moreover, many companies are partnering with third-party driver's license verification services to automate these checks and improve their accuracy.

For ridesharing platforms, both driver's license verification and passenger verification are of great importance. First, drivers must undergo a multi-step verification process with license checks, criminal background checks, and vehicle registration validation. Continuous random driver verification is also being introduced to reduce the risk of one driver creating an account and a different person doing the actual driving. Passengers, on the other hand, are also more and more often required to verify their ID in response to identity fraud and impersonation.

Providers of electric scooters and bicycles often struggle to verify whether users meet age requirements, particularly since these services cater to younger demographics. Age verification is typically achieved by analyzing the date of birth on a government-issued ID. However, many companies are now testing “continuous validation” models, where user eligibility is rechecked periodically to prevent unauthorized access.

The mechanics behind identity verification in mobility are now far more sophisticated than matching a user’s name to an official document. Modern driver verification systems are built on multi-layered frameworks that often include the following elements:

• Document authentication: Validating government-issued IDs, such as driver’s licenses and passports, remains the first line of defense. For this purpose, companies use advanced solutions like Regula Document Reader SDK, which can detect anomalies indicative of tampering. For example, during driver’s license verification, the system will not only detect if a document is live but also check the authenticity of security features like holographic seals, OVI, and others.

• Biometric verification: An additional layer of security is provided by biometric data—facial recognition, for instance. Ridesharing services, including Uber and Lyft, are known to use facial recognition solutions to verify that the driver matches the registered account holder and authorise them for access. This reduces the risk of phantom drivers who use someone else’s account to bypass background checks.

• Age verification: The system extracts the date of birth from the ID document and compares it to pre-set age thresholds for the service. For example, in many US states, users must be 21 or older to rent a car, while e-scooter operators often impose an 18+ requirement. To eliminate cases where minors use another individual’s ID, the aforementioned biometric verification tools help compare the submitted ID photo with a live selfie.

• Database cross-referencing: ID verification platforms often integrate with government and third-party databases to validate user-provided information. For instance, in India, platforms like Ola can cross-reference the driver’s license data with Parivahan Sewa, India’s national transport database.

Many have had their doubts about the sustainability of business models like Uber’s, but 2024 has been its strongest year to date, and it looks to be only the beginning of their net income growth. 

Why is that important? 

This showcases that Uber-like mobility services are here to stay—and grow exponentially. And as they grow, so does the regulatory scrutiny around them. Governments worldwide are introducing stricter rules to protect user safety, prevent fraud, and ensure privacy, among other things. And for mobility providers, keeping up with these developments will be key to staying competitive and staying alive.

In May 2024, the EU made great strides with its amended eIDAS Regulation, establishing the European Digital Identity Framework. With this initiative, they aim to standardize identity verification across all their member states, meaning both citizens and businesses will have a secure, universal digital identity. That’s why EU-based mobility services will need to make their platforms compatible with the centerpiece of the framework, the European Digital Identity Wallet.

In response to this, EU member states like Poland have mandated more robust identity and document verification for taxi services. Freenow, a mobility app, implemented stricter driver verification in the country. This includes in-person verification of ID cards or passports, driver's licenses, biometric verification, and criminal record checks—all helped by Regula’s solutions.

Unlike the EU’s centralized regulatory model, the United States has adopted a fragmented, state-based approach. For example, New York City may soon pass a bill that will require e-bikes and scooters to have license plates. This reaction from local officials was triggered by 46 fatalities over the past five years following e-bike/scooter-related accidents.

Elsewhere, in California, the benchmarks are the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). According to these, mobility providers must explicitly inform users how personal data will be processed, and offer opt-out mechanisms.

Australia’s Trusted Digital Identity Framework (TDIF) reached new milestones in 2024 with the rollout of myGovID. Mobility platforms now have the option to integrate with this government-backed identity system so that it’s easier to validate driver’s licenses and Medicare cards.

In practical terms, this means that a user booking a car rental via a service like Hertz in Sydney can securely verify their license through the myGovID platform. The framework also addresses age verification challenges, where underage users have been a recurring issue.

In the UAE, the government’s push for Smart City initiatives has led to the integration of the Emirates ID system with mobility services. As of 2024, providers like Careem are required to validate user identities using the Emirates ID before granting access to services. This includes not only verifying the physical ID but also cross-referencing it with biometric data stored in government databases.

South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), already one of the strictest data privacy laws globally, underwent significant revisions in 2024. Mobility providers must now obtain explicit user consent for each instance of data use, particularly for identity verification purposes. Additionally, ridesharing platforms are required to implement dynamic age verification measures.

Navigating changes in regulation is difficult, but it’s far from the only challenge that MaaS businesses have to deal with in their driver verification efforts. To be more specific:

Forged driver’s licenses, identity cards, and other government-issued documents are always a serious risk to mobility services. Fraudsters are more and more often using advanced printing techniques, such as hologram replication and microtext forgery, to produce counterfeit documents that can bypass basic checks. 

That said, identity fraud doesn’t always come from fake documents. The mobility sector is not a stranger to bad actors using stolen or borrowed IDs to gain access to ridesharing or carsharing platforms. On top of that, criminals are known to combine real and fake information to create a plausible but false identity—an instance referred to as synthetic identity fraud. For example, it can be achieved by using a real license photo with falsified personal details. 

Additionally, recent advances in AI technology have allowed fraudsters to simulate live verification, where a video feed of the user is compared to the license photo. This is known as deepfake fraud, and mobility platforms are now trying to fight it with liveness detection algorithms that analyze subtle cues, such as micro-expressions and lighting consistency.

In the modern world, regardless of the industry, there is immense pressure to make ID verification fast. The user experience hinges on the ability to swiftly onboard new customers or drivers, as delays can lead to customer drop-offs and decreased conversion rates. But in mobility, this issue is even more pressing, as companies need to make sure that users can book a ride or rent a car with minimal friction, in case they are in a hurry.

However, prioritizing speed often comes at the cost of accuracy, increasing the risk of fraud and errors. If verification processes are not rigorous enough, fraudulent drivers can slip through, putting both the platform and its users at risk.

Another challenge that is somewhat intangible—but still very important—is maintaining user trust. If users perceive ID verification processes as overly invasive or insecure, they may be reluctant to engage with the platform altogether.

With the development of technology, users are increasingly demanding transparency about how their data is collected, stored, and used during verification. On top of that, there is mounting pressure from legislators to provide the most secure user experience possible.

Also not to be understated are verification errors such as false positives and false negatives that can frustrate users and damage the platform’s reputation.

Lastly, let’s discuss how driver's license verification in mobility services can be helped by the latest technology—both hardware and software.

If your MaaS business has physical driver verification centers, you can increase your operation’s efficiency and accuracy with the help of advanced document readers like the Regula 70X9. This device employs state-of-the-art technologies such as automatic document type identification and optical character recognition (OCR), and they obtain data from MRZs, RFID chips, and barcodes for further comparison of the text and graphic data. Also, every document reader is equipped with Automatic Authenticity Control technology, which swiftly assesses the integrity of the provided documents, detecting any signs of forgery or alteration.

All of the above features significantly reduce the risk of hiring fraudulent potential drivers, as proven by our partnership with Uber.

Your driver’s license authentication process can also benefit from robust software solutions that make it simple, secure, and compliant with regulations. For instance, ID verification and face biometrics with liveness checks can be carried out by solutions like Regula Document Reader SDK and Regula Face SDK.

These solutions can easily integrate with your existing mobile or web applications. Document Reader SDK processes images of documents and verifies their real presence (liveness) and authenticity. The software identifies the document type, extracts all the necessary information, and confirms whether the document is genuine. 

At the same time, Regula Face SDK conducts instant facial recognition and prevents fraudulent presentation attacks such as the use of static face images, printed photos, video replays, video injections, or masks.

Regula is here to help you make your driver's license verification compliant, secure, and customer-centric. Book a call to learn more about our solutions!