Emirates ID OCR

Endpoint Overview

POST /api/v1/ocr/uae-emirates

Description

This API endpoint extracts key information from UAE Emirates ID cards using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. It processes an uploaded image of an Emirates ID and returns structured data including the Emirates ID number, date of birth, and nationality of the cardholder. This service enables automated identity verification and data extraction without manual entry.

Key Benefits

Automates data extraction from Emirates ID cards, eliminating manual data entry

Reduces processing time for customer onboarding and verification workflows

Improves data accuracy by eliminating human transcription errors

Seamlessly integrates into existing KYC and identity verification processes

Use Cases

Financial Services

Hospitality

Government Services

Customer onboarding for banking and financial services

KYC verification for account opening processes

Identity verification for loan and credit card applications

Technical Implementation

Authentication

All API requests require authentication using a JWT Bearer token. Authentication follows these steps:

Obtain API Credentials: Register with Surepass to receive your API key.

Generate JWT Token: Use your API key to generate a JWT token.

Include in Requests: Add the token to the Authorization header as Bearer TOKEN.

Different authentication tokens are used for sandbox and production environments:

Sandbox: https://sandbox.surepass.io

Production: https://kyc-api.surepass.io

Request Parameters

Request Headers

Header	Required	Description
Authorization	Yes	Bearer token authentication using JWT token
Content-Type	Yes	multipart/form-data

Request Body

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
file	image	Yes	Image file of the Emirates ID card to be processed
use_pdf	pdf	No	When input type is pdf file

Example Request

Process Response

Response Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
data	Object	Container for the extracted information
data.client_id	String	Unique identifier for the OCR request
data.emirates_id	String	Extracted Emirates ID number from the image
data.dob	String	Date of birth of the Emirates ID holder in "YYYY-MM-DD" format
data.nationality	String	Country code of the Emirates ID holder's nationality
status_code	Integer	HTTP status code indicating the result of the request
success	Boolean	Indicates whether the request was successful
message	String	Human-readable description of the response status
message_code	String	Machine-readable code representing the response status

Example Successful Response

{
    "data": {
        "client_id": "ocr_uae_emirates_dxdmFsisdbgcHXHgCHVs",
        "emirates_id": "78410000",
        "dob": "1999-00-00",
        "nationality": "IN"
    },
    "status_code": 200,
    "success": true,
    "message": "Success",
    "message_code": "success"
}

Possible Error Responses

Authentication Error

Invalid Image

{
    "status_code": 401,
    "success": false,
    "message": "Authentication failed. Invalid token provided.",
    "message_code": "authentication_failed"
}

This error occurs when the JWT token is missing, expired, or invalid.

Integration Best Practices

Security Recommendations

Store JWT tokens securely and never expose them in client-side code

Implement token rotation and expiration policies

Use HTTPS for all API communications to ensure data encryption in transit

Implement proper error handling to avoid exposing sensitive information

User Experience Guidelines

Provide clear instructions to users on capturing high-quality images of Emirates ID

Implement a preview feature to allow users to verify image quality before submission

Display a loading indicator during OCR processing to indicate activity

Implement proper validation and error messages for failed OCR attempts

Code Samples

cURL

Python

Node.js

Related APIs

OCR for Indian PAN Cards - Extracts information from Indian PAN card images

OCR for Passports - Extracts information from international passport documents

OCR for Driving Licenses - Extracts information from driving license documents

Compliance and Legal Considerations

When processing Emirates ID data, ensure compliance with UAE Federal Law No. 2 of 2019 on the use of Information and Communication Technology in healthcare, and UAE's data protection regulations. Users must obtain proper consent before capturing and processing ID documents. The extracted data should be stored securely and used only for the intended verification purposes.

Provide your bearer token in the

Authorization

header when making requests to protected resources.

Example:

Authorization: Bearer ********************

{ "data": { "client_id": "ocr_uae_emirates_dxdmFsisdbgcHXHgCHVs", "emirates_id": "78410000", "dob": "1999-00-00", "nationality": "IN" }, "status_code": 200, "success": true, "message": "Success", "message_code": "success" }

Emirates ID OCR

Emirates ID OCR#

Description#

Use Cases#

Technical Implementation#

Request Headers#

Request Body#

Example Request#

Response Parameters#

Example Successful Response#

Possible Error Responses#

Integration Best Practices#

Code Samples#

Request

Responses

Emirates ID OCR

Description

Use Cases

Technical Implementation

Request Headers

Request Body

Example Request

Response Parameters

Example Successful Response

Possible Error Responses

Integration Best Practices

Code Samples