Top-Notch ID Document Processing Worldwide: Mexico

Mexican ID documents are hard to process because there is no single pattern to follow. Some are issued for voting, some for travel, some by consulates, and some by individual states.

Formats also overlap for years. A document may look old but still be valid, while another old-looking template may already be obsolete.

That is why Mexico requires broad template coverage. The system first has to know exactly what document and version it is looking at before it can verify the data inside.

Every country has their version of the most widely circulated ID, which citizens use to identify themselves during official procedures, opening a bank account or getting a new job. In Mexico, such a document is the Voting Credentials (Credencial para Votar in Spanish), or Voter ID card. 

Initially issued by the National Electoral Institute (INE) for Mexican people over 18 years old to participate in elections, a Mexican Voter ID is now official proof of identity accepted by many domestic organizations and companies, both government and private.

Mexican Voter ID cards are valid for 10 years from the date of issue. As a result, businesses may need to verify both newly issued cards and older valid versions in the same identity verification flow.

INE’s current model structure is based on lettered credential types. Some older models have already lost validity, while models E, F, G, and H may still be accepted depending on the credential validity.

I and J, the most recent Mexican Voter ID models, introduced noticeable changes in a document template. The new models allow holders to include their self-perceived gender identity. They also support Indigenous and Afro-Mexican self-identification.

These changes matter for document processing. A verification system shouldn’t assume that every Mexican Voter ID has the same layout or the same set of physical and machine-readable elements.

Depending on the Voter ID model, your system may need to read visible identity data, decode machine-readable elements, and validate identifiers generated from the holder’s personal data.

The visible data may include the holder’s name, photo, date of birth, address, sex or gender, registration year, issue number, validity date, and geoelectoral data. The encoded layer may include an MRZ, a barcode, and QR codes. 

Two identifiers are especially important for automated checks of Mexican Voter IDs:

• Voter key: an 18-character code generated from the holder’s identity data

• CURP (Clave Única de Registro de Población): Mexico’s unique population registry code, also built from personal data

The voter key is generated from the holder’s surnames, given name, date of birth, place of birth, gender, and control digits. For example, the first six characters may be built from the first letters and internal consonants of the full name. In this logic, Petlachi Cosio Leonardo becomes PTCSLN. This is followed by six digits associated with the holder’s date of birth in YY/MM/DD format, a two-digit place-of-birth code, an H or M indicating gender, a random number to avoid duplication, and a check digit.

The CURP works in a similar way. Its first four letters are derived from the holder’s surnames and given name: the first letter and first vowel of the first surname, the first letter of the second surname, and the first letter of the given name. If this sequence forms a real word, such as VACA (“cow” in Spanish), the first vowel is changed to X. 

This logic is useful for verification because the code can be checked against the personal data printed on the card, but it also creates edge cases. Mexican naming conventions may include two surnames, compound given names, missing second surnames, special particles, or characters such as Ñ. A reliable system must handle these exceptions instead of applying a simple letter-by-letter rule.

Finally, the Mexican Voter card includes a number of physical security features. They include lines applied with UV inks, a Guilloche pattern, microprinting, rainbow print, and others. Some of them, such as a hologram on the front page, can be successfully authenticated, even during online identity verification. 

Finally, since 2013, the holder’s photo in all Mexican Voter cards encodes Invisible Personal Information (IPI), personalized hidden text, such as the individual’s name, the serial number of the document, etc. The IPI-enabled portrait is printed as a single image where the primary photo is visible to the naked eye, while the secondary image, containing additional data, remains hidden. Robust identity verification software can verify this hidden portrait to ensure that the photo hasn’t been replaced.

Mexican passports are machine-readable travel documents issued to Mexican citizens for international travel. Since 2021, Mexico has issued electronic passports with an embedded chip, but older non-biometric passports can still remain in circulation until they expire. That’s why your document verification software should first recognize the passport version, then apply the right checks for that document type.

For non-biometric passports, the main checks include reading the visual inspection zone, extracting data from the MRZ, and comparing the two. For electronic passports, the system should also read the RFID chip and compare the chip data with the printed data and MRZ.

Another peculiarity of Mexican passports is the use of trilingual field labels. The data page shows field names in Spanish, English, and French, while the holder’s personal data itself is presented in Spanish. This follows the logic of ICAO-compliant travel documents. Spanish is Mexico’s official language, while English and French are used to make the document easier to inspect internationally.

Mexico also issues a dedicated passport version for minors under 18. Unlike adult passports, it includes an additional page with information about the child’s parents or legal guardians, such as their photos, names, nationalities, personal numbers, and signatures.

Mexico also issues the Matrícula Consular, or Consular ID card, to Mexican citizens living outside the country. This document is issued by Mexican consulates after the applicant confirms their identity and residence abroad.

The Consular ID card is extremely popular among Mexicans in the US. It lets them obtain an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) for working legally. In several states, the card also allows them to obtain a driver’s license.

There are two series of the document: one from 2014 and another from 2022. Both formats are still in circulation.

Mexican driver’s licenses are issued by the country’s 31 states and Mexico City, and each jurisdiction uses its own layout, data fields, categories, and security elements. 

Most state driver’s licenses are domestic documents issued in Spanish. They can also differ by holder category, such as adult drivers, minors, motorcycle drivers, private vehicle drivers, or restricted license holders. In most cases, an unrestricted driver’s license is available to people aged 18 or older.

A separate case is the Licencia Federal de Conductor, or Federal Driver’s License. This document is issued for professional drivers operating under federal transport rules, including commercial carriers. 

Unlike ordinary state-issued licenses, the federal license has been moving toward digital formats. Today, the Licencia Federal Digital de Conductor is handled through SICT’s online Ventanilla Única, and drivers can use a mobile app to display a digital representation of the license and generate a personal QR code with encrypted license data for verification.

Unfortunately, Latin America, including Mexico, remains a region with a high level of document fraud. The diversity of identity documents increases the risks since inspectors should keep in mind not one but many versions of the same driver’s license. That’s why a comprehensive document template database is a must for companies targeting Mexican customers.

The Mexican authorities continue to enhance their identity documents by implementing new security features and formats. The reading and validation of electronic passports also requires an NFC-enabled verification solution. It also must support Spanish, English, and French, since many Mexican documents include these languages. 

Also, you need to cross-check all the data obtained, both from the VIZ and machine-readable parts of the documents, such as barcodes and QR codes. That enables you to detect a plethora of fraudulent tricks, including photo replacement.

Regula Document Reader SDK covers all these tasks, from determining the type of a submitted Mexican ID to cross-validation of all the data it contains. Don’t hesitate to see the product in action or book a call with one of our representatives to go over the details shaping your use case.