- 21 Oct 2025
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Prevent Fraud with Identity Verification
- Updated 21 Oct 2025
- 5 minute read
- Print
- DarkLight
- PDF
You can combat fraudulent applications by requiring applicants complete a Stripe-powered identity verification process.
How it works
Send the applicant a link
Send applicants a link to the identity verification page at any point in their application.
When applicants agree to the Stripe terms, they’re directed to continue on a smartphone if they aren’t on a device with a camera. They don’t need to create a Stripe account.
Initiating a verification (selecting Agree and continue) charges your default account 2 Slate credits.
Applicants provide documents + a selfie
Stripe asks applicants to
Take pictures of their identification document (driver license, photo ID, or passport)
Provide part of their government ID number, like the last four digits of a Social Security Number
Take a selfie
Stripe verifies
Stripe compares the card’s information (ID number, expiration, and so on) against government and 3rd-party databases. It also confirms the physical object’s legitimacy, and can verify hundreds of different document types from around the world. Identity verification validates identities for individuals age 16 or older.
The selfie portion compares the subject to the photo on the ID and can detect digital layering techniques.
📖 Learn more about Stripe Identity.
Results are on the record
Verification results are displayed immediately on the applicant’s profile tab.
Before you begin
Before you can start verifying applicant IDs, you must have Slate Credits in your account.
Step 1: Configuring the application page
You can override the default page title and add custom instructions to the Identity Verification application page:
Go to Database → Application Editor.
Select Person Scoped Configuration.
Select verify.
Select General Settings.
Configure the following settings:
Custom Title: Enter a custom title. Defaults to Identity Verification.
Instructions: Enter custom instructions. Defaults to:
You have been requested to complete an identity verification process. This process will only take a few minutes and requires that you have access to a smartphone and your identity documents, such as a driver's license or passport.
Select Save.

Step 2: Creating the checklist item
To create a checklist item for the act of ID verification:
Go to Database → Checklists.
Select Insert.
Configure the following settings:
Status: Active
Folder: Keep your checklist items organized by placing them in folders. Select Other to create a new folder.
Scope: Person/Application
Section: Select Other. In the text box, enter
Identity Verificationor similar.Subject: Enter
Identity Verificationor similar.Key: Enter
id_verificationor similar.Type: Public
Optional: Required
Optional for Reading: Required for reading

Select Save.
Step 3: Creating the checklist rules
We want to:
Assign this checklist item to applicants, potentially based on some criteria
Mark the checklist item as completed when the applicant has completed their verification
Assignment
To create the assignment rule:
Go to Database → Rules.
Select New Rule.
Configure the following settings:
Filters: Create filters to target a subset of the applicant population, if required. To apply this checklist item to all applicants, do not create any filters.
Checklist: Select the Identity Verification checklist item you created in the previous section.
Action: Add New
Select Save.
📖 Add checklist items to an application
Fulfillment
To create the fulfillment rule:
Go to Database → Rules.
Select New Rule.
In the Filters section, select Subquery Filter.
Configure the following settings:
Name: Enter
Verification existsor similar.Type: Dependent subquery
Aggregate: Exists
Exports: Configure the following:
Select Export.
In the Direct Exports section, in the Verifications group, select Verified.
Select Continue.

Select Save.
In the Action section, configure the following settings:
Checklist: Select the Identity Verification checklist item you created in the previous section.
Action: Mark Existing as Received
Force Update Status: Do not update checklist items with an existing (non-awaiting) status
Select Save.
Step 4: Copy the verification link
Now, we need to locate the link that takes applicants to the identity verification page in their application.
This link uses the following format:
https://YOUR-UNIVERSITY.edu/apply/verify?account=YOUR_SLATE_CREDIT_ACCOUNT_GUIDTo get this link:
Go to any person record.
Select Profile.
Select Verifications.
Configure the following settings:
Mode: To test this feature, select Test, otherwise select Live.
Account: Default Account
Link: Copy this link.
Impersonating a verification
Here you’ll also find an Impersonate link. You can test the verification process for that particular record here.
📝 Initiating a verification in Live mode incurs a charge of two Slate credits.
Step 5: Deliver the link to the applicant you want to verify
With the link to the verification page in hand, we’ll provide it to an applicant whose identity we want to verify.
You can place the link in:
The applicant experience
However you decide to communicate the link to the applicant, when they follow the link, they’ll arrive at your application login page.
Once they’ve logged in, they arrive at the verification page.

When they select Start Verification, they’re brought to the Stripe-powered identity verification tool. They do not need to create a Stripe account.

Multiple attempts
Applicants who fail the identity verification and require another chance should be instructed to contact the admissions office.
The failed verification can be deleted, and the student can start over. This will incur a second charge.
Step 6: Viewing and approving verification results
🔒 Viewing verification information requires the Identity Verification permission.
When the verification is complete, results appear on the applicant’s record in Profile → Verifications. These results are scoped to the person: applicants who re-apply retain their verification status.
Verification
The first section on this page is Verification, and includes the following fields:
Created/Updated: Timestamps from when the verification was first initiated and last updated, respectively
Verification: The status of the applicant’s verification according to Stripe. Statuses include:
In-Progress
Processing
Verified
Unverified
Matched: Whether the identity verified by Stripe matches the record. Statuses include:
Matched
Unmatched
Approved: The verification is automatically Approved if both Verification and Matched are satisfied.
Otherwise, this appears as Pending Review, and you must decide whether to approve it.
Select Update Approval to approve or unapprove the verification attempt.
Notes: You can add notes to your approval decision.
Delete Verification: Deletes the verification.

The remaining sections on the Verifications page describe the success or failure of the components of the Stripe verification.
Document
The validity of the applicant’s ID document as determined by Stripe.
If the document is determined to be invalid, its status is Unverified.
This section also includes the images that the applicant provided of their ID document.
📖 Learn which forms of ID Stripe can validate.
ID Number
The validity of the applicant’s government issued ID number as determined by Stripe.
If the ID number is determined to be invalid, its status is Unverified.
📖 Learn which government ID numbers Stripe can validate.
Selfie
The validity of the selfie as determined by Stripe.
If the selfie doesn’t match the photo in their ID document, its status is Unverified.
If any of these components fail verification, the overall status of the verification is returned as Unverified.
💡 Tip
To make this information accessible from the Reader, pull in the applicant’s verification exports as a merge field in an HTML-enabled dashboard.
Deleting a verification
At any time, you can select Delete Verification on an existing verification.
When you delete a verification in Slate, we:
Redact all personal information, including biometric data, from Stripe
Delete the verification entry in Slate
