How does Proof of Address (POA) Validation work?

Last updated: February 2, 2026

This document outlines the Proof of Address (POA) validation process and describes the controls in place to collect, validate, and assess address evidence in line with regulatory requirements.

AiPrise supports two methods of POA validation:

  1. Document-based POA verification

  2. Electronic (e-verification) POA checks

1. Document-Based POA Verification

Overview

Document-based POA verification involves the collection and validation of an address-bearing document submitted by the end user. The document must contain the individual’s name and residential address and meet defined acceptability criteria.

Supported document types

Customers can configure which document types are acceptable for POA. Common examples include:

  • National ID (where address is present)

  • Utility bill

  • Bank or credit card statement

  • Government-issued correspondence

  • Other approved address documents

Only pre-approved document types can be submitted by end users.

Document collection and controls

Documents are submitted through the AiPrise SDK, which enforces the following controls at the point of upload:

  • Restriction to allowed document categories

  • File format and quality validation

  • Prevention of unsupported or incorrect document submissions

This ensures that end users can only upload documents that are valid for POA purposes.

Document integrity and fraud checks

Once a document is submitted, AiPrise performs a series of automated integrity and authenticity checks, including but not limited to:

  • Detection of tampering or digital manipulation

  • Identification of edited or altered text

  • Detection of added or removed images

  • Page deletion or reordering checks

  • Identification of obscured or covered text

  • Consistency checks across document elements

If anomalies or risks are detected, the system returns warnings or risk indicators for review.

Data extraction (OCR)

AiPrise performs optical character recognition (OCR) on the submitted document to extract key data points, including:

  • Name

  • Address

  • Document metadata (where available)

The extracted data is returned as structured output and can be used for downstream verification, comparison, or audit purposes.

2. Electronic (E-Verification) POA Checks

Overview

AiPrise also supports electronic POA verification, where the end user does not upload a document. Instead, they provide their name and address, which is validated against external data sources.

Data sources

Depending on geography, these checks may validate address data against sources such as:

  • Credit bureaus

  • Residential or population registers

  • Other approved third-party databases

Coverage and limitations

Electronic POA checks have limited geographic coverage and are dependent on the availability and quality of underlying data sources. As a result:

  • Coverage is not universal

  • Pass rates may be lower than document-based POA

  • These checks are best suited as a supplementary or low-friction option, rather than a replacement for document-based POA in higher-risk scenarios