Persona Core Workflow B — Verification Checks
Overview
Work with Persona's verification types: government ID (passport, driver's license), selfie liveness detection, and database checks (SSN, watchlist). Covers retrieving verification details, interpreting check results, and handling edge cases.
Prerequisites
- Completed
persona-core-workflow-a(inquiry flow) - Inquiry Template with verification checks configured
Instructions
Step 1: List Verifications for an Inquiry
import os, requests
HEADERS = {
"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['PERSONA_API_KEY']}",
"Persona-Version": "2023-01-05",
}
BASE = "https://withpersona.com/api/v1"
# Get all verifications for an inquiry
resp = requests.get(f"{BASE}/inquiries/inq_XXXXX", headers=HEADERS)
resp.raise_for_status()
inquiry = resp.json()["data"]
verifications = inquiry["relationships"]["verifications"]["data"]
for v in verifications:
v_resp = requests.get(f"{BASE}/verifications/{v['id']}", headers=HEADERS)
v_data = v_resp.json()["data"]["attributes"]
print(f" Type: {v['type']}")
print(f" Status: {v_data['status']}") # passed, failed, requires_retry
print(f" Checks: {v_data.get('checks', [])}")
Step 2: Government ID Verification Results
# Government ID verification includes extracted data
def get_gov_id_details(verification_id: str) -> dict:
resp = requests.get(f"{BASE}/verifications/{verification_id}", headers=HEADERS)
resp.raise_for_status()
attrs = resp.json()["data"]["attributes"]
return {
"status": attrs["status"],
"first_name": attrs.get("name-first"),
"last_name": attrs.get("name-last"),
"dob": attrs.get("birthdate"),
"id_number": attrs.get("identification-number"),
"id_class": attrs.get("id-class"), # dl, pp, id
"country": attrs.get("country-code"),
"expiry": attrs.get("expiration-date"),
"checks": {
check["name"]: check["status"]
for check in attrs.get("checks", [])
},
}
# Example checks: id_barcode_detection, id_integrity, id_selfie_comparison
Step 3: Selfie Liveness Check
def get_selfie_result(verification_id: str) -> dict:
resp = requests.get(f"{BASE}/verifications/{verification_id}", headers=HEADERS)
attrs = resp.json()["data"]["attributes"]
return {
"status": attrs["status"],
"center_photo_url": attrs.get("center-photo-url"),
"checks": {
check["name"]: check["status"]
for check in attrs.get("checks", [])
},
# Key checks: selfie_pose_detection, selfie_liveness_detection
}
Step 4: Database Verification (SSN, Watchlist)
def get_database_check(verification_id: str) -> dict:
resp = requests.get(f"{BASE}/verifications/{verification_id}", headers=HEADERS)
attrs = resp.json()["data"]["attributes"]
return {
"status": attrs["status"],
"checks": {
check["name"]: {
"status": check["status"],
"reasons": check.get("reasons", []),
}
for check in attrs.get("checks", [])
},
# Key checks: database_ssn_check, database_watchlist_check
}
Step 5: Decision Logic
def make_verification_decision(inquiry_id: str) -> str:
resp = requests.get(f"{BASE}/inquiries/{inquiry_id}", headers=HEADERS)
verifications = resp.json()["data"]["relationships"]["verifications"]["data"]
all_passed = True
for v in verifications:
v_resp = requests.get(f"{BASE}/verifications/{v['id']}", headers=HEADERS)
status = v_resp.json()["data"]["attributes"]["status"]
if status != "passed":
all_passed = False
print(f" FAILED: {v['type']} — {status}")
return "approved" if all_passed else "manual_review"
Output
- Verification results retrieved with extracted data
- Government ID fields (name, DOB, ID number) parsed
- Selfie liveness status checked
- Database checks (SSN, watchlist) interpreted
Error Handling
| Verification Status | Meaning | Action |
|--------------------|---------|--------|
| passed | All checks passed | Approve user |
| failed | One or more checks failed | Decline or manual review |
| requires_retry | Poor image quality | Ask user to retry |
| initiated | Check still running | Poll again |
Resources
Next Steps
- Handle events via webhooks:
persona-webhooks-events - Debug verification issues:
persona-common-errors