Automate Identity Document Recognition with PixLab's ID Scan & Extract API

1.Introduction

Verifying identity documents is a critical process for digital platforms across industries from fintech apps onboarding new users to travel platforms checking passport data, healthcare systems registering patients, and e-commerce businesses verifying age for restricted products. Traditionally, this process has relied on manual reviews, form inputs, and basic OCR tools that are slow, error-prone, and difficult to scale.As user expectations for speed, security, and seamless experiences rise, there’s a growing need for smarter, automated document verification.This is where PixLab’s ID Scan & Extract API comes in.

In this article, we’ll explore how the PixLab ID Scan & Extract API works, what makes it stand out, and how to integrate it into your application in just a few lines of code. Whether you're building a KYC system, a user onboarding flow, or any app that processes government-issued IDs, this guide will help you get started quickly and effectively.

2.What's Pixlab ID Scan & Extract API

The PixLab ID Scan & Extract API (docscan) allows developers to automatically scan and extract structured data from nearly all officially recognized identity documents including passports, ID cards, driver's licenses, visas, and civil certificates from over 11,094 supported document types across 200+ countries and territories. it provides unmatched global coverage. Both MRZ-enabled and non-MRZ documents are fully supported.

All processing takes place in-memory, meaning no images are stored or logged at any point. Once processed, the document is immediately discarded, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA.

The API also features built-in face detection and cropping, and converts scanned data whether from images or MRZ text into clean, structured JSON. Extracted fields include full name, document number, address, issuing country, expiry date, and more, making it easy to integrate into any identity verification or KYC process.

3. Global Coverage & Document Intelligence

PixLab’s ID Scan & Extract API offers one of the most comprehensive global document recognition systems available today. With support for over 11,000 unique identity document templates from 200+ recognized countries and territories, it ensures wide compatibility across national ID cards, passports, driver’s licenses, and regional formats.

This extensive coverage includes documents with and without Machine Readable Zones (MRZs), and the API is constantly updated to reflect new formats as governments roll out updated designs or security features.The platform’s document intelligence goes beyond basic OCR. It leverages advanced layout detection and semantic analysis to accurately classify the document type, detect key fields regardless of language or structure, and adjust for real-world issues such as:

• Skewed or angled images
• Poor lighting or shadows
• Blurred or low-resolution photos
• Multi-language text (e.g., Arabic, Cyrillic, Latin, Chinese)

Whether you’re onboarding users in the U.S., verifying passports from Europe, or scanning national IDs from Africa or Asia, PixLab delivers consistent and reliable results at scale.

4. What Makes PixLab’s ID Scan API Stand Out

PixLab’s ID Scan & Extract API (docscan) is engineered for speed, scale, and simplicity making it ideal for real-time applications, global coverage, and privacy-sensitive environments. Here’s what sets it apart:

Real-Time Performance

docscan delivers results in just 2 to 5 seconds, depending on image size, network speed, and document complexity. This speed makes it well-suited for time-critical use cases like KYC verification and instant onboarding.

High-Volume Architecture

Built on the PixLab Vision Platform, the API is optimized to handle large-scale, concurrent document processing perfect for platforms handling thousands of verifications daily.

Single REST API Endpoint

You don’t need SDKs or external libraries. Just one secure HTTPS endpoint compatible with any language or framework that can make HTTP requests.

Privacy-First by Design

All processing happens in-memory with zero persistent storage or logging. If needed, cropped face images can be securely exported to your private S3 bucket, giving you full control over your data.

Developer-Centric Experience

PixLab prioritizes fast onboarding for developers. The platform provides:

• Clean, well-documented endpoints
• Live API console for testing
• Copy-paste-ready code snippets
• Clear field labels and confidence scores

Whether you're a solo developer or scaling an enterprise product, PixLab reduces integration time and simplifies identity document automation.

5. Use Cases Across Industries

PixLab’s ID Scan & Extract API is versatile and industry agnostic. Here are some ways it’s already being used:

• Fintech & Banking KYC onboarding, account creation, identity verification
• E-commerce Age-gated products like alcohol, tobacco, or adult content
• Travel & Hospitality Passport scans during booking or check-in
• Healthcare Patient onboarding using health insurance cards or national IDs
• Education & Exams Student ID verification for remote exams
• HR & Staffing Employee background checks, remote hiring, document verification

6. How to Integrate the API (Step-by-Step)

Integrating PixLab’s ID Scan & Extract API (docscan) is straightforward and developer friendly. You can get started in minutes using just a few lines of code. Below is a simple guide to help you go from zero to production.

Step 1: Get Your API Key

Create an account at PixLab Console, then generate your personal API key under the API Keys section. This key is required to authenticate all requests to the API.

Step 2: Prepare the Document Image

The API supports multiple input formats:

• Public image URLs
• Base64-encoded strings
• Direct file uploads
• Multi-page PDFs

Make sure the image is clear and readable. For best results, submit both front and back images if the document has two sides.

Step 3: Choose the Document Type

You must specify the document type you're scanning (e.g., passport, idcard, driver_license). This helps the API route the image to the correct recognition model.

Step 4: Make the API Call (JavaScript Example)

Here’s a sample implementation in JavaScript using fetch:

async function scanDocument() {
  try {
    const apiKey = 'PIXLAB_API_KEY'; // Replace with your actual API key
    const imageUrl = 'http://i.stack.imgur.com/oJY2K.png'; // Document image URL
    const url = `https://api.pixlab.io/docscan`;

    const data = {
      img: imageUrl,
      type: 'passport',
      key: apiKey
    };

    const reply = await fetch(url, {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
      body: JSON.stringify(data)
    }).then(response => response.json());

    if (reply.status !== 200) {
      console.error(reply.error);
    } else {
      console.log("User Cropped Face: " + reply.face_url);
      console.log("Extracted Fields:");
      console.log("\tIssuing Country: " + reply.fields.issuingCountry);
      console.log("\tFull Name: " + reply.fields.fullName);
      console.log("\tDocument Number: " + reply.fields.documentNumber);
      console.log("\tNationality: " + reply.fields.nationality);
      console.log("\tDate Of Birth: " + reply.fields.dateOfBirth);
      console.log("\tSex: " + reply.fields.sex);
      console.log("\tDate Of Expiry: " + reply.fields.dateOfExpiry);
    }
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error:', error);
  }
}
scanDocument();

Step 5: Handle the Response

The API returns a structured JSON response containing:

• Extracted identity fields
• Cropped face image URL
• MRZ data (if available)
• Document type, nationality, and confidence scores

You can store, display, or verify this data based on your business logic.

Optional: S3 Face Crop Integration

PixLab allows you to connect your AWS S3 bucket via the dashboard so that extracted face crops and MRZ images are stored directly in your private cloud giving you full control over file storage.

Explore More Code Samples

PixLab offers production-ready samples in Python, PHP, JavaScript, and Ruby. Browse the PixLab GitHub Repository or refer to the official documentation for more integration examples and reference guides.With this integration in place, you can build a reliable and secure identity verification flow into any application in just a few minutes.

7. Advanced Features

Beyond basic data extraction, PixLab’s ID Scan & Extract API offers powerful advanced features that enhance accuracy, flexibility, and usability in production environments.

Visual Crop Outputs

The API automatically detects and crops key visual regions such as the document holder’s face or MRZ (Machine Readable Zone). These can be returned as base64-encoded images or securely stored in your private S3 bucket, giving you full control over sensitive media files.

Use cases include:

• Profile image capture
• Face-matching and biometric verification
• MRZ zone archiving for audits

PDF and Multi-Page Document Support

PixLab fully supports PDF input, including documents with multiple pages. This is especially useful for:

• Passports with visa pages
• ID bundles or scanned document packets
• Government-issued PDFs of digital identity documents

The API automatically processes each page, extracts relevant content, and returns unified results in a single JSON response allowing seamless integration with any document management system.

8. Real-World Integration Example

Let’s say you’re building a digital onboarding flow for a fintech app that requires users to verify their identity before opening an account. Using PixLab’s ID Scan & Extract API, this process can be fully automated in just a few steps:

• User uploads a passport or ID card photo via your web or mobile frontend.
• Your backend sends the image (as a file, Base64, or URL) to PixLab’s docscan API.
• The API scans the document, detects the layout, extracts structured fields (like full name, date of birth, nationality, and document number), and returns a clean JSON response within seconds.
• The response also includes a cropped face image and MRZ data (if available).
• Your system uses this output to auto-fill user profile fields, verify document consistency, or match the face with a live selfie for liveness detection. By integrating PixLab, you eliminate manual data entry, reduce onboarding time, and improve compliance all through a single REST call.

9. Conclusion

PixLab’s ID Scan & Extract API delivers an enterprise grade solution for automated identity document processing. With support for over 11,000 document types from 200+ countries, in-memory privacy-first architecture, and developer-friendly integration, it solves a major pain point for businesses handling identity verification at scale.

Whether you’re building for fintech, e-commerce, healthcare, HR, or travel, PixLab gives you everything you need to extract, verify, and process identity documents quickly and securely. Ready to integrate identity parsing into your app?

• Explore the API
• Read the Docs
• Try code samples on GitHub Unlock smarter identity workflows with PixLab accurate, fast, and built for developers.