How Does Age Verification Work Online? A Complete Guide

Does your business sell age-restricted products or services? Or are you planning to start offering them? In either case, your business must comply with age-verification norms and regulations.

Age fabrication poses a serious threat to age-restricted businesses. According to an NSDUH report, about 34.2% of people aged 12-20 have consumed alcohol before becoming of legal age. This can happen when businesses fail to verify their customers’ age properly.

To prevent this, businesses must implement a robust system to enforce age restrictions and prevent age-related fraud. At the same time, ensuring a seamless customer experience is essential. But how does age verification work online?

This blog covers its importance, benefits, different types of verification, and the top solution providers for your business.

What is age verification?

Age verification is simply the process of confirming and validating a customer’s age before offering them age-restricted services, products, or content.

This process usually involves collecting and verifying personal information to ensure that the customer is of legal age for a particular service or content. Personal information may come from a document such as a government ID, driver’s license, voter’s ID, passport, or any other valid ID that presents the person’s age through date of birth.

Since businesses in food, gaming, health, weapons, adult entertainment, and e-commerce industries require age verification, laws and regulations dictate the appropriate minimum age of customers. Using a trusted age verification service provider helps businesses comply with these regulations while ensuring a seamless customer experience.

What are the different types of age verification processes?

Verifying age usually means checking a person’s date of birth and ensuring they are not lying. There are two main types of age verification processes. They are as follows:

1. Physical verification

People are used to this age verification method since it’s an old method that’s been around for a long time. Physical or ‘in-person’ age verification includes the service provider verifying a valid customer document. This document cant be anything from a state ID card, social security card, driver’s license, passport, or voter’s ID

Here’s an illustration of a typical process of a physical or in-person age verification:

A person goes to a liquor store to purchase an alcoholic beverage or goes to a bank to utilize its services. The store owner or the bank representative asks for a legal document for age verification.  In this case, the service provider (a liquor store owner or bank teller) checks for security features such as NFC chips and barcodes on the ID document. Once the service provider ensures there is no forgery involved and verifies the customer’s identity and age, they can freely lend their services to the customer.

Online verification

Online age verification is a more prevalent method across all sectors as many businesses sell their content online only.

Verifying a person’s age online involves checking government-issued identity documents that validate the person’s ID and date of birth to determine the user’s age.

To facilitate this, businesses often rely on identity verification service providers, who offer advanced tools to automate and streamline the process. These providers use technologies like AI and machine learning to ensure the verification is accurate, efficient, and compliant with legal requirements.

However, in this case, the process has a minor difference:

The customer presents the document online via an image or, in some cases, a video. Here, businesses deploy online age verification systems to ensure that the document is legitimate and matches the customer’s age. These systems check the image for facial recognition and security features such as holograms and machine-readable zones for validation.

Compared to physical verification, businesses can verify age online faster and complete the process within seconds. However, there is a higher chance of fraud during online ID verification. Businesses must deploy a powerful age verification and ID verification solution to prevent fraud. Let’s understand the quick difference between physical verification and online verification.

Anonymous Verification

Anonymous age verification is a privacy-focused age verification method that is prevalent in decentralized industries such as blockchain and cryptocurrency. In simple terms, it is a type of online age verification system but with privacy as its primary objective.

This method generally uses zero-knowledge proofs such as a facial recognition algorithm to detect the age of a user through biometric analysis.

Anonymous age verification allows crypto and blockchain users to verify their age without having to submit sensitive information that violates their privacy.

Anonymous age verification systems with an effective facial recognition solution can comply with regulations while maintaining user anonymity.

Physical vs online age verification systems

Here is a quick difference between physical verification and online verification

Process	Physical verification	Online verification
Verification requirements	Requires a physical document from the user side.	Only requires an image of the document from the user side.
Fraud risks	Relatively safer, with the only risks being document forgery and synthetic ID.	More prone to fraud attempts thanks to online scams such as deepfakes and image tampering.
Time consumption	Depends on the efficiency of the person verifying the age.	Depends on the efficiency of the age verification system. Though usually faster than physical verification.
Typical use-cases	Physical purchases of age-restricted items such as alcohol, tobacco, and casinos.	Useful for businesses selling age-restricted products or services like social media, telemedicine, and adult entertainment.

7 primary industries that require online age verification

While age verification is not necessary everywhere, there are plenty of industries where businesses have to perform online age verification to serve their customers. Here are 7 such industries.

1. Alcohol & tobacco

Businesses that deal with items such as alcohol or tobacco need to make sure that a minor does not gain access to these items.

2. Gaming & gambling

Online gaming, betting, and gambling services must obey regulations and restrict minors from using their services. In most cases, anyone under 21 cannot access such products.

3. Healthcare

Verifying patients’ ages is an important factor in the health industry. Pharmacies selling medicines online must ensure that no underage buyers are shopping for drugs suitable only for adults. Moreover, as telemedicine becomes more widespread, the need and importance of online age verification increase as well.

4. Arms & weapons

The weapons industry has rules and regulations that prevent minors from purchasing firearms or even obtaining a weapons license, regardless of the region.

5. Adult entertainment

Businesses distributing adult entertainment content must verify the ages of those visiting their websites. Movies with an 18+ rating or R-rated movies require digital providers to verify the age of their customers before letting them watch the movies.

6. Online dating

Dating services that allow people to match and chat with each other must ensure that their customers are of appropriate age. Letting a child get involved in such a service can result in a serious mistake.

7. E-commerce

Age verification is mandatory for most e-commerce websites, especially those that sell age-restricted goods or services. Since most, if not all, transactions in this industry take place online, online age verification is a must.

How does age verification work? [7-step process]

Age verification is a critical process that ensures only eligible individuals can access age-restricted products, services, or content. Here’s how the process typically works:

Step 1: Collecting personal information from the user

The first step in age verification involves collecting personal information from the user. This can include details such as their date of birth, full name, and sometimes a government-issued ID number. This information is essential for verifying that the individual meets the legal age requirements for the specific service or product they are trying to access.

Step 2: Verifying the authenticity of the uploaded documents

After collecting the necessary information, the user may be required to upload a government-issued ID, such as a driver’s license, passport, or voter’s ID. The system then verifies the authenticity of this document. This step typically involves using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to extract and validate the document’s date of birth and other relevant information.

Step 3: Cross-referencing information with official databases

Sometimes, the system cross-references the provided information with government or private databases to confirm accuracy. This helps ensure the user’s legitimate details match the official records. Cross-referencing can add a layer of security by detecting any inconsistencies or signs of fraud.

Step 4: Using of AI and machine learning tools for enhanced verification

Advanced age verification systems often incorporate AI and machine learning algorithms to enhance verification. These tools can analyze the submitted documents for signs of tampering or forgery and compare the provided information against known patterns of fraudulent behavior. This step increases the accuracy of the verification and reduces the risk of false positives or negatives.

Step 5: Implementing facial recognition and liveness detection

Some age verification systems require the user to take a selfie for enhanced security. This image is then compared to the photo on the uploaded ID using facial recognition technology. Liveness detection ensures that the selfie is taken by a live person, not a static image or video, preventing spoofing attempts. This step helps confirm that the person submitting the ID is the rightful owner of the document.

Step 6: Determining access based on verification results 

Once all the verification steps are complete, the system assesses whether the user meets the age criteria. If the verification is successful, the user is granted access to the age-restricted content or service. Access is denied if any discrepancies or issues are detected, and the user may be prompted to provide additional information or try again.

Step 7: Providing real-time or delayed verification outcomes

Depending on the complexity of the system and the methods used, age verification can be completed in real-time, allowing users instant access upon successful verification. In other cases, the process may take a few minutes, particularly if additional checks or manual reviews are required.

Why is online age verification important for your business?

Digital age verification checks are important for businesses for multiple reasons; here are the 4 important reasons. 

1. Helps businesses with compliance

Several federal—and state-level laws and regulations require businesses to implement effective age verification of their customers before they can provide any product or service. Regulations like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) exist to ensure consistency across different businesses and sectors and provide a smoother customer experience.

2. Protects minors from age-restricted products

Products such as alcohol and tobacco have age restrictions because they are not suitable for minors. On the other hand, services like gambling and online gaming can influence minors into developing an addiction early on in their lives.

Moreover, underage users spending time on adult websites and watching inappropriate content is something parents wish to avoid for their children as well.

Age restrictions exist for the safety of minors, and age verification systems can help prevent them from accessing such products and services and promote a safer online environment for them.

3. Reduces fraud

Online age verification systems that verify a person’s age contribute to fraud reduction systems that prevent scammers from using fake accounts to commit fraud.

Identity fraud is a major threat to online businesses, and age verification is a significant part of ID verification systems that help detect fraudulent IDs.

4. Saves brand reputation

When a business complies with age verification regulations and prevents minors from using its services, it garners a positive reputation in the market.

Moreover, age verification checks also promote responsible marketing for businesses. Companies must pay penalties if they direct their ads toward minors.

What are the 5 main methods of online age verification?

Businesses can verify age online through various methods. The best approach depends on the business’s needs and the regulations they must follow. Some methods are easier to set up, while others provide more reliable verification.

Here are 5 methods using which businesses can verify the age of their customers online:

1. Self-declaration 

Self-declaration is a security measure that many websites use to verify users’ ages. Similar to the age gate method, it urges users to verify that they are of appropriate age by simply checking the ‘I am of appropriate age’  box or entering their birthdate. Many websites that show adult content usually employ this verification method.

This is the simplest and fastest way to verify a user’s age online. However, it’s also the most susceptible to fake verifications since any minor can simply lie and check the box or enter a fake birthday to access restricted content. Hence, it also offers the lowest security among all verification methods.

2. Mobile number check

This method requires users’ mobile network operators to have identifying data, including birth date. In such a case, customers can simply enter their mobile numbers, and the online age verification system takes care of the rest by getting customer details from their network operators.

However, there are some easy workarounds. Minors can simply provide the phone numbers of their parents or older siblings/friends.

3. Credit-card verification

Using credit card information is a relatively secure verification method that verifies users’ age by checking and matching their data with the one stored in their credit card information.

The logic behind this method is that individuals must be over 18 to own a credit card, and most age-restricted content has an age threshold of 18. 

4. ID document verification

This is one of the more secure age verification methods. It requires adult customers to present a valid document to access services and age-restricted goods. The ID document verification method verifies the customer’s age by ensuring that the document it receives is genuine and belongs to the customer.

To determine that, various document verification techniques, such as matching biometric data through face authentication and database verification. Businesses may conduct these checks either manually or through an automated process.

5. Third-party verification

This may be one of the most effective methods to implement an age verification service in your business. Here, businesses seek an external age verification system to prevent underage users from slipping past age requirements.

A third-party age verification system can include a host of relevant APIs to rationalize the whole ID verification process and maximize efficiency and security.

Online age verification regulations in different parts of the world

Laws and regulations worldwide compel businesses to perform online age verification.

Different rules apply depending on the region. Let’s examine what this means for businesses in these three regions.

1. Regulations in the US

Child protection is an important and prevalent topic in the US, and age verification is a primary feature to support that.

• Regulations like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) emphasize how businesses must ensure children’s safety when they access their websites.
• In the US, each state can set age restrictions on certain products and services deemed necessary.
•  Each state can also implement rules on how compliant the businesses must be regarding those restrictions.
• California adopted the Age-Appropriate Design Code (AADC) to ensure that children do not accidentally stumble upon the wrong place while browsing the Internet.
• Multiple state laws, such as House Bills 77 and 142 for Louisiana and House Bills 1181 and 18 for Texas, require businesses to verify customers’ age through digital identification.

2. Regulations in the UK

In the United Kingdom, service providers of age-restricted products must verify the age of their customers by law. Over the last few years, authorities have focused on more extensive online protection for children. Hence, these days, the regulations give more importance to online age verification than before.

• The UK government introduced the Online Safety Bill, which replaces components of the Digital Economy Act that were scrapped in 2019.
• This new bill focuses on protecting children from a wide range of unsuitable content on the Internet. For example, the new bill focuses on social media, whereas the old one did not.
•  Like California, the UK also practices the AADC; however, it prioritizes privacy and data protection for children as its primary objective.

3. Regulations in Europe

The different European countries have their own rules and directives that businesses have to follow.

• Germany regulates age verification via the Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Human Dignity and the Protection of Minors in the Media (JMStV), the Federal Act on Protection of Minors (JuSchG), and the Commission for Protection of Minors in Media (KJM). These bodies provide extensive age verification guidelines for online businesses to follow.
• In 2023, the French government enforced what they call law no. 2023-556. This law imposes responsibilities that online social media platforms must follow to protect children from negative exposure.
• Belgium enforces an age limit of 18 for betting and 21 for slot machines and gambling at casinos. Moreover, the legal age for online betting will rise to 21 in September 2024. Belgium also uses eIDs to verify the age of users securely and accurately.
• Nordic countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark all have regulations that oblige businesses to verify customers’ ages through government-issued or bank-issued eIDs.

Who are the top solution providers for online age verification?

Many solution providers offer age verification (and ID verification) automation for businesses. 

Top solution providers	G2 ratings (out of 5)	Key features
	4.7 stars	Cutting-edge AI for ID verification and fraud detection,extensive onboarding APIs,no-code workflow automation
	4.4 stars	Document and biometric verification
	4.5 stars	Workflow builder & fraud detection
	4.4 stars	Watchlist screening & global identity platform
	4.1 stars	Multi-channel verification (mobile and web)

As the table showcases, there are plenty of age verification system providers with good overall G2 reviews and automation capabilities.

Streamline your age verification process with HyperVerge

Verifying the age of customers and keeping underage individuals out of restricted content is essential for businesses. For that, an ID verification system comes in handy and helps prevent fraud.

HyperVerge ONE offers various AI-based modules that help businesses with ID verification, including verifying customer age for restricted content.

HyperVerge’s AI-based ID verification solution comes with several features, such as:

• Database verification
• Advanced OCR
• Biometric verification
• Face de-duplication
• AI-based forgery checks
• Deep image analysis

These features help HyperVerge verify customers’ identities with a 95% auto-approval rate. With 13 years of training, HyperVerge’s AI is highly skilled at customer age verification and face authentication within just 0.2 seconds.

Frequently asked questions about how age verification works online

Can online age verification be automated?

Yes, online age verification can be automated. Automating the process can increase accuracy and efficiency, reducing false positives, delays, and fraud. AI and ML tools, along with features like AI-based face recognition, OCR, liveness detection, deepfake detection, and face de-duplication, are used by top solution providers to automate age and ID verification.

What industries can benefit from online age verification?

Online age verification can greatly benefit businesses in industries such as tobacco and alcohol sales, gambling, online gaming, eCommerce, health, adult entertainment, social media, and food delivery.

What is age-gating?

Age gating is the process that requires users to enter and confirm their date of birth for age verification. Age gating and age verification are completely different concepts—one is simple, while the other is more thorough and effective.

Does age gating replace age verification?

No, age gating is a low-security and traditional method that provides a basic level of age verification for websites. Compared to age gating, age verification provides higher effectiveness, accuracy, and security.