Knowledge base
Answers on MRZ, OCR & document scanning
100 plain-language answers on passport scanning, ID data extraction, KYC onboarding and document fraud detection — for teams designing identity verification flows.
MRZ Basics
15 answers- 01What is MRZ (Machine Readable Zone)?Read answer
- 02What does MRZ stand for?Read answer
- 03Where is the MRZ located on a passport or ID card?Read answer
- 04What information is encoded in the MRZ?Read answer
- 05How many lines does an MRZ have?Read answer
- 06What font is used in the MRZ (OCR-B)?Read answer
- 07What is the difference between TD1, TD2, and TD3 MRZ formats?Read answer
- 08Who created the MRZ standard (ICAO)?Read answer
- 09What is ICAO Doc 9303?Read answer
- 10What is the difference between a machine-readable and non-machine-readable passport?Read answer
- 11Do all countries use MRZ on their ID documents?Read answer
- 12Does every driver's license have an MRZ?Read answer
- 13What do the < (filler) characters in an MRZ mean?Read answer
- 14What is a check digit in the MRZ and how is it calculated?Read answer
- 15Can an MRZ be forged or faked?Read answer
MRZ Document Scanning
15 answers- 16How does MRZ scanning work step by step?Read answer
- 17What is MRZ OCR?Read answer
- 18Can a smartphone camera read an MRZ?Read answer
- 19What's the difference between an MRZ reader and a passport reader device?Read answer
- 20How accurate is MRZ scanning?Read answer
- 21How fast is MRZ data extraction (typical processing time)?Read answer
- 22What image quality is needed to scan an MRZ successfully?Read answer
- 23Can MRZ scanning work in poor lighting or from an angle?Read answer
- 24Does MRZ scanning work on damaged or worn documents?Read answer
- 25What happens if the MRZ doesn't match the visual zone data?Read answer
- 26Can MRZ scanning detect a forged or altered document?Read answer
- 27Does MRZ scanning require an internet connection, or can it work on-device?Read answer
- 28What's the difference between MRZ scanning and NFC/chip reading?Read answer
- 29Is MRZ scanning enough on its own for identity verification, or do I need OCR + visual zone too?Read answer
- 30How do I integrate MRZ scanning into my app or website?Read answer
Visual Zone (VIZ) Data Extraction
10 answers- 31What is the Visual Inspection Zone (VIZ) on an ID document?Read answer
- 32What is the difference between the MRZ and the visual zone?Read answer
- 33What is Visual Zone OCR?Read answer
- 34What data fields can be extracted from the visual zone?Read answer
- 35Why cross-check MRZ data against the visual zone?Read answer
- 36Can visual zone OCR read non-Latin scripts (Cyrillic, Arabic, Hebrew, etc.)?Read answer
- 37What is transliteration, and why does it matter for name fields?Read answer
- 38How does visual zone extraction handle photos, signatures, and other graphical fields?Read answer
- 39What causes visual zone OCR errors, and how are they minimized?Read answer
- 40Can visual zone data alone verify a document's authenticity?Read answer
Document Data Extraction (General)
15 answers- 41What is document data extraction?Read answer
- 42What's the difference between OCR and data extraction?Read answer
- 43What data fields can be extracted from an ID, passport, or driver's license?Read answer
- 44How accurate is AI-based document data extraction?Read answer
- 45How is extracted document data validated?Read answer
- 46Can document data extraction handle documents from every country?Read answer
- 47How many document types/templates does a good data extraction engine support?Read answer
- 48What is a barcode/2D barcode extraction (PDF417, QR, Aztec), and when is it used?Read answer
- 49What is NFC/RFID chip reading, and how does it complement OCR/MRZ extraction?Read answer
- 50Can extracted document data be exported directly into another system via API?Read answer
- 51What formats can document data be extracted into (JSON, CSV, database fields)?Read answer
- 52How is personal data protected during the extraction process?Read answer
- 53Does document data extraction work with scanned images, PDFs, or only live camera capture?Read answer
- 54Can data extraction detect duplicate or reused document submissions?Read answer
- 55What's the difference between cloud-based and on-device data extraction?Read answer
Document Scanning Software (General/Product)
15 answers- 56What is document scanning software and how does it work?Read answer
- 57What's the difference between document scanning and document verification?Read answer
- 58What industries use document scanning software?Read answer
- 59How much does document scanning software typically cost?Read answer
- 60What's the ROI/business case for automating document scanning vs. manual entry?Read answer
- 61Can document scanning software integrate with existing CRM or onboarding systems?Read answer
- 62What's the difference between an SDK and an API for document scanning?Read answer
- 63Does document scanning software work on both iOS and Android?Read answer
- 64Can document scanning be embedded in a web app (browser-based scanning)?Read answer
- 65How long does it take to integrate a document scanning SDK?Read answer
- 66What happens if a document type isn't yet supported by the scanning engine?Read answer
- 67Can document scanning software read both sides of an ID card?Read answer
- 68What's the difference between single-side and dual-side document scanning?Read answer
- 69Can document scanning software mask or redact sensitive fields (e.g., national ID number)?Read answer
- 70How do document scanners handle glare, blur, or low light during capture?Read answer
Accuracy, Security & Fraud Detection
10 answers- 71How accurate is AI-powered document scanning (what accuracy rate is realistic)?Read answer
- 72Can document scanning software detect a fake or altered ID?Read answer
- 73What is document liveness detection, and why does it matter?Read answer
- 74What's the difference between document authenticity checks and data extraction?Read answer
- 75Can scanning software detect a photo of a screen or a photocopy?Read answer
- 76What security features (UV, IR, holograms) can be checked during scanning?Read answer
- 77How does cross-validation between MRZ, visual zone, barcode, and chip data prevent fraud?Read answer
- 78Is document scanning software GDPR-compliant?Read answer
- 79Where is extracted personal data stored, and for how long?Read answer
- 80What is the risk of storing MRZ/passport data, and how should it be secured?Read answer
Industry Use Cases
10 answers- 81How is MRZ/document scanning used in airport and border control?Read answer
- 82How does document scanning speed up hotel check-in?Read answer
- 83What role does document scanning play in KYC (Know Your Customer) for banks?Read answer
- 84How is document scanning used for age verification (alcohol, casinos, age-restricted sales)?Read answer
- 85How does document scanning support digital customer onboarding?Read answer
- 86Can document scanning be used for employee or event staff identity checks?Read answer
- 87How is MRZ scanning used in healthcare patient identification?Read answer
- 88Can document data extraction be used for visa or immigration processing?Read answer
- 89How does credit/bank card scanning differ from ID document scanning?Read answer
- 90Can document scanning support remote/online check-in workflows?Read answer
Comparison / Competitive Questions
10 answers- 91What's the difference between ScanDoc and Regula Document Reader SDK?Read answer
- 92What's the difference between ScanDoc and Microblink BlinkID?Read answer
- 93What's the difference between ScanDoc and Innovatrics?Read answer
- 94Which document scanning SDK supports the most countries and document types?Read answer
- 95On-device vs. cloud-based document scanning: which is more secure?Read answer
- 96Which MRZ/OCR solution is fastest for real-time onboarding?Read answer
- 97What should I look for when choosing an ID document scanning vendor?Read answer
- 98Do I need a separate vendor for MRZ, visual zone OCR, NFC, and barcode reading, or one unified SDK?Read answer
- 99How do document scanning vendors typically price their SDKs/APIs (per-scan vs. license)?Read answer
- 100What's the difference between a document reader SDK and a full identity verification platform?Read answer
Still have a question?
Talk to the ScanDoc team about MRZ, chip reading, KYC onboarding, or fitting document scanning into your existing stack.