The Government Digital Service (GDS) has started a pilot programme for its new Document Checking Service (DCS) for non-public sector organisations that want to find out if British passports are valid.

These checks may be required as part of giving users access to an online service in order to prevent crime.

The DCS will check passport details against the HM Passport Office database. It will send a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response to say whether the passport is valid – and no organisations will be given direct access to government-held data.

The pilot was announced in July 2019, with feedback from a stakeholder event in August 2019 informing the design of the pilot, which will test industry demand for checking information given by a user against government data sources; test the technical design that would make these checks possible; capture consumer interest and experience of these checks; and understand if this is commercially viable for the government and the organisations taking part.

GDS explained that there will be a one-off connection fee for the pilot, plus charges of 50p per check. The connection fee is tiered by the volume of checks, so it’s £1,500 for 5,000 to 10,000 checks; £3,000 for 10,001 to 100,000 checks; £5,000 for 100,001 to 500,000 checks; £10,000 for 500,001 to 1 million checks; and £15,000 for over a million checks.

The pilot will run for approximately a year, and is an opportunity to test the industry demand for checking information given by a user against government data sources, according to the GDS.

“It may be a way of showing that there is a need for longer-term access to a passport validity check, which is in line with HM Passport Office’s ambition to work with stakeholders in the private sector to explore the best way to meet the demand for passport data," read the statement,

“It may also help the government understand the potential value of safely checking other data sources.”

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