Secure South African ID Validation

Instantly verify South African ID numbers. Check validity, age, gender and citizenship indicator. POPIA-friendly by design with zero data storage.

Zero ID data storagePOPIA-first designPrivateSecure
Android app coming soon

Scan and verify ID's, drivers' licences and more using your phone camera.

The Check ID SA mobile app is being built for teams that need fast barcode scanning at reception, during intake, or away from a desktop.

Get launch updates

Register your email address to be notified when the app is launched.

Check ID SA Android scanner screen preview
Check ID SA Android structural validation result screen preview

Barcode scanning

Scan supported South African ID book/card, and drivers licence barcodes from your phone.

Structural results

See format, date, age, gender, citizenship indicator, and validity in a mobile workflow.

Same privacy boundary

Built around CheckID's zero ID data storage promise to remain POPIA-compliant.

Developer quick start

Add South African ID validation to your app in 5 minutes.

Follow the step-by-step tutorial to create a key, send your first API request, and keep raw ID numbers out of your logs and analytics.

What you will build

GET /api/v1/validate/{idNumber}
POST /api/v1/validate/bulk

JSON responses with JavaScript, PHP, and Python snippets included.

Designed for Professional plan API access and safe test requests.

🔒Cancel anytime
💳Supports SA Cards (3D Secure)
🇿🇦Local support

Trust signals

Established, privacy-first, and professionally maintained

Dedicated South African .co.za domain at checkid.co.za. 4,600+ monthly active users and 815k+ historical validations on a platform built for South African structural ID validation — not a generic template.

Zero ID data storage

ID numbers and decoded results are processed in memory and discarded immediately — never logged, cached, or persisted.

POPIA-first design

Privacy, purpose limitation, and minimal processing are built into the product — not bolted on after the fact.

Structural validation only

Checks format, date encoding, citizenship indicator, and Luhn checksum. No Home Affairs or government database lookup.

API & developer docs

REST API, bulk endpoint, and published developer documentation for teams integrating CheckID into their own systems.

SAIOSH logo — South African Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

We love checkid, it simplifies our work day, it's fast and easy to use. Happy customers!

University of Limpopo logo

We use CheckID at Limpopo CoLab, University of Limpopo, to verify participants undertaking our various training deliverables. The platform has been reliable and effective in confirming South African ID validity, and over the past six months, we have not experienced any issues with incorrect or problematic IDs, which has significantly strengthened our verification and compliance processes.

Under 1 second response time · Structural validation only · No credit checks or bank-grade identity verification

Accurate Validation

Start with 10 free checks. Validate the checksum digit, date-of-birth encoding, and citizenship byte against the South African ID specification.

Instant validation
API Integration

Try the web checker for free, then integrate in 5 minutes with our simple API when you need production workflows.

await fetch(
  `https://api.checkid.co.za/.../${id}`,
  { headers: { Authorization: 'Bearer KEY' }}
)

Full API docs · 5-min tutorial

Bulk validation available
Secure & Private

ID numbers are processed in memory over TLS and not stored. Guest allowance counting stays in your browser; paid account checks follow the same zero-retention model.

POPIA-aware

Why Check ID SA?

A professionally maintained South African service on checkid.co.za — trusted by 4,600+ monthly active users and backed by 815k+ historical validations. Built for teams who need fast structural checks, not generic template tools or identity bureaus.

Zero ID Data Storage

ID numbers and decoded results are processed in memory and discarded immediately. No logs, analytics payloads, or databases retain what you validate — supporting POPIA-first workflows.

Structural Validation Only

Catch typos, invalid formats, and checksum errors before they enter your systems. We validate the ID number structure — we do not query Home Affairs or any government database.

Sub-Second Results

Results in under 1 second — fast enough for live forms, tenant screening, HR onboarding, and bulk CSV workflows without slowing your team down.

API & Developer Documentation

REST API with bearer-token auth, bulk validation, and published developer documentation plus a 5-minute integration tutorial.

FAQ

Free SA ID Checker FAQ

View all FAQs
  • Yes. ID numbers are sent over TLS, processed in memory on our servers, and not stored, logged, or retained. Guest free-check counts stay in your browser only. We do not send ID numbers to analytics or error-tracking tools.
  • No. CheckID performs structural validation only. We confirm format, checksum, and the information encoded in the number itself. We do not query Home Affairs, credit bureaus, or any database to confirm who an ID belongs to.
  • You will see whether the number is structurally valid, plus the encoded birth date, age, gender, and citizenship indicator. We cannot tell you who the ID belongs to or whether Home Affairs issued that number to someone.
  • Yes. A free test API key is available for development. Production API access is included on Professional and Business plans. See the developers guide or our 5-minute integration tutorial.
  • Yes. Paid plans are billed monthly and you can cancel through your billing portal at any time. You can also start with 10 free checks before subscribing.

Who uses CheckID

South African ID numbers encode date of birth, citizenship, and a checksum digit. These industries rely on that data every day.

Property Management

Estate agents and property managers use CheckID to screen tenants and verify buyers before signing leases or transfer documents. Run single or bulk checks directly from the web dashboard.

Learn More

Healthcare Providers

Hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies verify patient IDs at registration to eliminate manual data-entry errors and meet POPIA Section 19 security requirements. Zero data storage — the ID is validated in memory and never written to disk.

Learn More

Betting & Gaming

South African licensed betting operators are required by the National Gambling Act to confirm that every account holder is 18 or older before accepting a deposit. CheckID returns date of birth and age from the ID number in under a second.

See How It Works

HR & Recruitment

Before making a job offer, HR teams confirm that the candidate's ID number matches what was submitted on the application. One call to the API returns whether the number is structurally valid, along with date of birth and citizenship status.

Get Started

Financial Services

Fintech platforms and financial services teams check ID numbers during account opening to catch formatting errors before they cause downstream issues. The check is a single API call and requires no document upload.

Get Started

Start with 10 free verifications

No credit card required. API access on all paid plans.

View Plans
Background

Start with 10 free SA ID checks

Validate South African ID number structure in seconds. Sign in when you want history, API access, or more checks.

Check ID SA user
Check ID SA user
Check ID SA user
Check ID SA user
Check ID SA user
4,600+ monthly users