VERIFIED HUMAN

Prove you're a real human — free

Build a portable trust score from real-world signals, and get one public profile to show for it.

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Your own public profile at postal.id/u/yourhandle
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Your personal Verified Human profile — a portable trust score

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What is Verified Human?

Help Reference

110 entries available

Dashboard Overview

Total Cases

Description

The total number of verification cases created across all statuses. Includes active, completed, failed, and expired cases.

Impact

Tracks overall verification volume and platform adoption. Spikes may indicate batch uploads or new client onboarding.

Example

Displayed as a number, e.g. "247". Includes all cases regardless of status (active, completed, failed, expired).

Benchmark

Typical tenants process 50-500 cases/month depending on plan.

Pro Tips

• Use batch CSV upload for high-volume onboarding periods.
• Monitor for unexpected spikes which may indicate API misuse.

Completed

Description

Cases that have reached the COMPLETE terminal state — all required verification layers passed successfully.

Impact

Directly measures successful verifications. A low completed count relative to total cases suggests drop-off in the verification funnel.

Example

Displayed as a number, e.g. "189". Only counts cases with status = COMPLETE.

Benchmark

Healthy completion rates are 70-85% of total cases.

Formula

Count of cases where status = COMPLETE

Pro Tips

• Send reminders to subjects with pending verifications.
• Review failed cases to identify common blockers.

In Transit

Description

Cases where a postal letter has been dispatched but not yet delivered or verified. Status is POSTAL_DISPATCHED.

Impact

High in-transit counts may indicate postal delays or delivery issues in certain regions.

Example

Displayed as a number, e.g. "34". Counts cases with status = POSTAL_DISPATCHED.

Benchmark

UK letters: 1-3 business days. EU/US: 3-7 business days.

Letters in transit for more than 10 business days may indicate delivery failure.

Pro Tips

• Check delivery tracking for stuck letters.
• Consider re-dispatching if beyond expected delivery window.

Success Rate

Description

Percentage of cases that reached COMPLETE status out of all cases that have reached a terminal state (COMPLETE, FAILED, or EXPIRED).

Impact

The primary health metric for your verification process. Low success rates may indicate issues with subject engagement, postal delivery, or bundle configuration.

Example

Displayed as a percentage, e.g. "82.5%". If 165 of 200 terminal cases completed, rate = 82.5%.

Benchmark

75-90% is healthy. Below 60% warrants investigation.

Formula

COMPLETE / (COMPLETE + FAILED + EXPIRED) x 100

Success rate excludes in-progress cases. A high total with low terminal count means most cases are still active.

Pro Tips

• Enable automated reminders to improve completion.
• Review expired cases — shorter TTLs increase expiry rates.

Case Lifecycle

DIGITAL_PENDING

Description

Email and/or SMS OTP has been sent to the subject. Waiting for them to enter the code.

Impact

Long dwell times suggest the subject did not receive the OTP or is not engaging.

Example

Email OTP sent: "A3K9X2MF" (8 characters). SMS OTP sent: "482917" (6 digits). Subject enters the code on the verification page.

Benchmark

Most digital verifications complete within 5 minutes of sending.

Pro Tips

• Check for disposable email addresses causing delivery failures.
• SMS delivery rates vary by carrier — monitor bounce rates.

FAILED

Description

Case failed due to max OTP attempts exceeded, fraud detection, or manual rejection by a caseworker.

Impact

Terminal state. Review the case timeline for the specific failure reason.

Example

Reason: "Max OTP attempts exceeded (5/5 for postal layer)". Or: "Caseworker rejected — ghost address confirmed".

Failed cases count against your verification quota.

Pro Tips

• Check risk signals — disposable emails and ghost addresses are common causes.
• Cases can be failed manually from MANUAL_REVIEW status.

Assurance Levels

Assurance Level

Description

Shows exactly which verification layers were completed for a case. Each layer is listed individually: Email, SMS, Postal, and Geo. For example, "Email + SMS + Postal" means all three channels were verified.

Impact

More layers = stronger assurance. Cases including Postal prove physical address possession. Cases including Geo prove physical presence at the address during verification.

Example

"Email + Postal": email OTP + postal letter verified. "Email + SMS + Postal + Geo": all four layers verified — maximum assurance.

Benchmark

Regulated industries (law, finance, accountancy) typically require at least Email + Postal.

Pro Tips

• Use the Enhanced bundle for Email + SMS + Postal.
• Use the Maximum bundle for all four layers including Geo.

Risk & Fraud

Risk Score

Description

Composite fraud risk score from 0-100 calculated at case creation. Higher scores indicate greater risk.

Impact

Determines whether risk-based step-up is triggered. Cases above the threshold are automatically escalated from digital to postal verification.

Example

Score 15: Low risk (no signals). Score 45: Medium (disposable email detected). Score 75: High (ghost address + velocity + disposable email).

Benchmark

0-30: Low risk. 30-60: Medium risk. 60+: High risk (step-up likely).

Formula

Weighted sum of individual risk signals (disposable email, ghost address, address velocity, etc.)

Pro Tips

• Configure step-up threshold in tenant settings.
• Review high-risk cases manually even if they complete.

Verification Strength

Description

The overall verification confidence score (0-100%) assigned when a case completes. Combines results from all verification layers: email OTP, SMS OTP, geolocation proximity, postal letter redemption, and address quality checks.

Impact

Higher scores indicate stronger proof of address. This score decays over time (see Reverification). Cases with low strength may warrant additional verification.

Example

Score 83%: Strong (postal + digital + geo all passed). Score 68%: Good (postal + digital passed, no geo). Score 35%: Weak (digital only, partial checks).

Benchmark

70-100%: Strong verification. 40-69%: Moderate. Below 40%: Weak — consider re-verification.

Formula

Sum of layer scores: Email (10), SMS (10), Geo proximity (up to 20), Postal (25), Address quality (up to 15), minus penalties for risk signals.

Pro Tips

• Use Digital+Postal bundles for the highest strength scores.
• Geolocation adds up to 20 points when the subject verifies near the claimed address.

Disposable Email

Description

Detected when the subject email address belongs to a known disposable/temporary email provider (e.g. Guerrilla Mail, Tempail).

Impact

Strong fraud indicator. Disposable emails cannot receive follow-up communications and suggest intent to avoid accountability.

Example

Input email: "user@guerrillamail.com" or "temp@throwaway.email". Signal triggers: Disposable Email = true, +25 risk points.

Contributes 25 points to the risk score by default.

Pro Tips

• Consider requiring postal verification for all cases with disposable emails.

Ghost Address

Description

Address matches a known mail forwarding service, virtual office, PO box farm, or serviced office address.

Impact

The subject may not physically reside or operate at this address. Letters will be received but do not prove actual occupancy.

Example

Input address: "71-75 Shelton Street, London, WC2H 9JQ" (known virtual office). Signal triggers: Ghost Address = true.

Ghost addresses undermine the core promise of postal verification. Always investigate.

Pro Tips

• Cross-reference with business registration records.
• Consider requiring in-person verification for ghost addresses.

Address Velocity

Description

Multiple cases for different subjects have been submitted with the same address within a rolling time window.

Impact

Could indicate a legitimate shared address (e.g. office building) or a fraud pattern where one address is used for multiple fake identities.

Example

5 different subjects verified at "42 High Street, Bristol, BS1 2AW" in the past 7 days. Velocity signal triggered.

Benchmark

1-2 cases per address per month is normal. 5+ within a week is suspicious.

Pro Tips

• Cross-reference with subject names to identify legitimate shared offices.
• Set velocity thresholds in fraud configuration.

IP Mismatch

Description

The IP address used during digital verification geolocates to a region significantly different from the claimed postal address.

Impact

May indicate the subject is not near the claimed address. However, VPN usage can produce false positives.

Example

Claimed address: London, UK. Verification IP: 203.0.113.45 (geolocated to Lagos, Nigeria). Mismatch distance: 4,900 km.

IP geolocation is approximate — do not use as sole rejection criteria.

Pro Tips

• Combine with geo-location layer for stronger physical presence confirmation.

Step-Up

Description

Automatic escalation from a digital-only verification bundle to include postal verification, triggered when the risk score exceeds the configured threshold.

Impact

Ensures high-risk cases get physical address verification even when the original bundle was digital-only.

Example

Case created with "Basic" bundle (email only). Risk score = 72 (above threshold 60). Postal layer automatically added. Step-Up badge shown.

Benchmark

Default step-up threshold is 60 (configurable per tenant).

Pro Tips

• Monitor step-up rates — very high rates may mean your threshold is too low.
• Step-up adds postal cost; factor this into billing estimates.

Verification Bundles

Email Layer

Description

Sends an 8-character OTP code to the subject's email address for verification.

Impact

Fast digital verification — most subjects complete within minutes. Validates email ownership but not physical address.

Example

Input: subject email "jane.smith@lawfirm.co.uk". Output: OTP "A3K9X2MF" sent via configured email template.

Benchmark

Delivery rate: 98%+ for legitimate email addresses. Completion rate: 85-95%.

Pro Tips

• Customise the email template with your branding via Template Engine.
• Check bounce rates — high bounces suggest invalid email data.

SMS Layer

Description

Sends a 6-digit OTP code via SMS to the subject's mobile number.

Impact

Validates phone number ownership. Higher engagement than email due to push notification.

Example

Input: subject phone "+44 7700 900123". Output: SMS with OTP "482917" sent. Subject enters code on verification page.

Benchmark

Delivery rate: 95-99% depending on carrier. Completion rate: 90%+.

SMS costs are per-message and vary by country. International SMS is more expensive.

Pro Tips

• Use as a complement to email, not a replacement — some subjects prefer email.

Postal Layer

Description

Dispatches a physical letter with a unique 10-character OTP and QR code to the subject's claimed address.

Impact

The core Postal.id verification — proves physical possession of the address. Unfakeable by digital means.

Example

Input: "12 Baker Street, London, NW1 6XE". Letter printed with OTP "K7M2X9P4LR" + QR code. Dispatched via tracked post.

Benchmark

UK delivery: 1-3 days. Completion rate: 70-85% (dependent on subject engagement).

Postal verification is slower and more expensive than digital. Use for higher-assurance requirements.

Pro Tips

• Enable QR code scanning to simplify the subject experience.
• Customise the letter template with your branding.

Geo Layer

Description

Captures GPS coordinates from the subject's device at the time of OTP entry. Compares with the claimed address location.

Impact

Adds a physical presence confirmation. The subject must be near the claimed address when entering the postal OTP.

Example

Claimed address: 51.5074, -0.1278 (London). Subject GPS: 51.5081, -0.1290 (0.15 km away). Within 1 km radius: PASS.

Requires location permissions from the subject's browser. Some may decline.

Pro Tips

• Configure the acceptable radius (default: 1km) based on your needs.
• Urban areas may need a smaller radius; rural areas may need larger.

TTL (Time to Live)

Description

Maximum number of days allowed for the subject to complete all required verification layers before the case expires.

Impact

Shorter TTLs create urgency but increase expiry rates. Longer TTLs are more lenient but delay case resolution.

Example

Input: 30 (days). Case created 2026-02-01 will expire 2026-03-03 if not completed. Enter 7-60 depending on use case.

Benchmark

Default: 30 days. For urgent verifications, 7-14 days. For international postal, 45-60 days.

Pro Tips

• Match TTL to the expected postal delivery time in the target country.
• Send reminders at 50% and 80% of TTL elapsed.

Max Attempts

Description

Maximum number of OTP entry attempts allowed per verification layer before the case is marked as failed.

Impact

Prevents brute-force OTP guessing. Too few attempts frustrate legitimate subjects; too many weaken security.

Example

Input: 5. Subject enters wrong OTP 5 times → case fails. Enter 3-10 (recommended: 5 for standard, 3 for high security).

Benchmark

Default: 5 attempts. Security-sensitive: 3 attempts.

Formula

After max attempts exhausted → case status transitions to FAILED.

Each failed attempt is logged in the audit trail and may contribute to risk scoring.

Letter Format

Description

The postal format used for dispatching verification letters. Options depend on the provider and destination country.

Impact

Different formats have different costs, delivery speeds, and tracking capabilities.

Example

Options: "standard" (cheapest, no tracking), "tracked" (mid-range, delivery confirmation), "certified" (signature required).

Pro Tips

• Standard letter: cheapest, no tracking. Tracked letter: mid-range, delivery confirmation. Certified mail: most expensive, signature required.

Required vs Optional

Description

Each verification layer in a bundle can be marked as required or optional. Required layers must be completed; optional layers enhance assurance if completed.

Impact

Required layers determine the minimum assurance level. Optional layers provide additional confidence without blocking completion.

Example

Bundle config: Email = Required, SMS = Optional, Postal = Required, Geo = Optional. Subject must complete email + postal; SMS and geo are bonus.

Pro Tips

• Make postal required for regulated use cases.
• Make geo optional to avoid blocking subjects who decline location permissions.

Postal Delivery

Delivery Rate

Description

Percentage of dispatched letters that were successfully delivered to the destination address.

Impact

Low delivery rates may indicate address quality issues, incorrect postcodes, or regional postal problems.

Example

96 of 100 letters delivered = 96% delivery rate. Displayed as a percentage on the postal metrics card.

Benchmark

UK: 98%+. EU: 95-98%. US: 97%+.

Formula

Delivered / Dispatched x 100

Pro Tips

• Validate addresses before dispatching.
• Monitor delivery rates by country to identify regional issues.

Return Rate

Description

Percentage of dispatched letters returned to sender (RTS) by the postal service.

Impact

High return rates indicate invalid addresses, subjects who have moved, or incorrect address formatting.

Example

3 of 100 letters returned = 3% return rate. Common reasons: "addressee gone away", "insufficient address".

Benchmark

Healthy: below 3%. Above 5% warrants address validation review.

Formula

Returned / Dispatched x 100

Returns add cost (dispatch + return postage) with no verification value.

Address Alerts

Address Velocity Signal

Description

Alert triggered when an address receives more verification cases than the configured threshold within a time window.

Impact

May indicate legitimate shared occupancy or potential fraud via address reuse.

Example

Alert: "42 High Street, Bristol" — 5 cases in 7 days (threshold: 3 per 30 days). Investigate shared office or fraud.

Benchmark

Default threshold: 3 cases per address per 30 days.

Pro Tips

• Acknowledge alerts after investigation to keep the list manageable.
• Adjust thresholds based on your client demographics.

Acknowledge

Description

Mark an alert as reviewed after investigation. Acknowledged alerts are moved out of the active queue.

Impact

Helps team members track which alerts have been investigated versus which need attention.

Example

Click "Acknowledge" on an alert → add a note like "Confirmed shared office building, legitimate usage". Alert moves to resolved queue.

Pro Tips

• Add a note when acknowledging to document your investigation findings.
• Acknowledged alerts remain in the audit trail permanently.

Webhooks

Webhook Events

Description

Real-time HTTP POST notifications sent to your configured endpoint when case status changes occur.

Impact

Enables automated workflows — update your CRM, trigger follow-up actions, or sync verification status with your systems.

Example

Events: case.created, case.digital_verified, case.postal_dispatched, case.postal_verified, case.completed, case.failed, case.expired, letter.dispatched, letter.delivered

Pro Tips

• Subscribe only to events you need to reduce noise.
• Use case.completed for most integration use cases.

HMAC-SHA256 Signature

Description

Every webhook request includes an X-Postal-Id-Signature header containing an HMAC-SHA256 hash of the request body using your webhook secret.

Impact

Verify this signature before processing to ensure the webhook came from Postal.id and was not tampered with.

Example

Header: "X-Postal-Id-Signature: sha256=a1b2c3d4e5...". Verify by computing HMAC-SHA256(your_secret, raw_body) and comparing.

Formula

HMAC-SHA256(webhook_secret, request_body)

Never process webhooks without verifying the signature — this is a critical security control.

Billing & Usage

Plan Limit

Description

Maximum number of verification cases included in your current subscription plan per billing period.

Impact

Cases beyond the plan limit may incur overage charges or be blocked depending on your plan settings.

Example

Performance plan: "87 / 100 cases used this period". At 100, new case creation may be blocked until next period.

Benchmark

Essential: 25/month. Performance: 100/month. Enterprise: unlimited.

Pro Tips

• Monitor usage at 80% of limit to avoid disruptions.
• Upgrade plan before hitting limits for uninterrupted service.

Verification Funnel

Funnel Overview

Description

Visual breakdown of cases at each stage of the verification lifecycle, showing where subjects progress and where they drop off.

Impact

Identify bottlenecks — if many cases stall at POSTAL_PENDING, subjects are receiving letters but not entering codes.

Example

Created: 100 → Digital Verified: 85 → Postal Dispatched: 80 → Postal Verified: 65 → Complete: 62 → Failed: 8 → Expired: 15.

Pro Tips

• Focus improvement efforts on the stage with the largest drop-off.
• Compare funnel shapes across different verification bundles.

Manual Review

Description

Cases escalated from the automated flow for human review. Typically due to risk signals, edge cases, or caseworker discretion.

Impact

Manual review cases require a caseworker to approve or reject. They do not auto-complete.

Example

Case escalated due to risk score 85 + ghost address. Caseworker reviews evidence, clicks "Approve" (→ COMPLETE) or "Reject" (→ FAILED).

Pro Tips

• Set up notifications for new manual review cases to reduce response time.
• Document review decisions in case notes for audit trail.

Batch Upload

Description

Create multiple verification cases at once by uploading a CSV file. The system validates every row, flags errors, checks for duplicates, and processes valid rows in parallel.

Impact

Enables bulk onboarding — process hundreds of verification cases from a single file upload instead of creating them one by one.

Example

Upload "clients_q1.csv" with 50 rows → Validate → 47 valid, 2 invalid, 1 duplicate → Upload 47 cases → Cases created and digital OTPs sent.

Pro Tips

• Always validate before uploading to catch errors early.
• Download the template CSV for the correct column format.

CSV Format

Description

Your CSV must include these required columns: name (subject's full name), email (for notifications and digital OTP), line1 (street address), city, postalCode, countryCode (2-letter ISO code e.g. GB, US, DE). Optional columns: phone (with country prefix e.g. +44), line2, region, reference (your internal ID), bundleId (1 = Basic, 2 = Standard, 3 = Enhanced, 4 = Maximum).

Impact

Correct CSV formatting ensures maximum validation success. Missing required columns will cause row-level errors.

Example

Header row: name,email,phone,line1,line2,city,region,postalCode,countryCode,reference,bundleId Data row: Jane Smith,jane@example.com,+447700900123,12 Baker Street,,London,,NW1 6XE,GB,MATTER-001,3

Using "UK" instead of "GB" is the most common error. The correct ISO code for United Kingdom is "GB".

Pro Tips

• Download the CSV template from the batch upload page for guaranteed correct format.
• Use 2-letter ISO country codes: GB (not UK), US, DE, FR, NL, IE, ES, IT, CA, AU.
• Phone numbers must include country prefix (e.g. +44 for UK, +1 for US).
• bundleId is optional (1 = Basic, 2 = Standard, 3 = Enhanced, 4 = Maximum). If omitted, the bundle selected in the dropdown applies. If provided per row, it overrides the dropdown.

CSV Validation

Description

Before uploading, click "Preview & Validate" to check your file. The system checks: required fields present, valid email format, valid country codes, address completeness, and duplicate detection against existing cases.

Impact

Validation catches errors before cases are created, saving time and avoiding wasted postal costs on invalid addresses.

Example

Validation results: Total Rows: 50, Valid: 47 (green), Invalid: 2 (red), Duplicates: 1 (amber). Country breakdown: GB: 30, US: 15, DE: 5.

Pro Tips

• Fix invalid rows and re-upload — only valid rows will be processed.
• Duplicates are detected by matching name + address against existing active cases.

Validation Errors

Description

Common errors: "Missing required field" (name/line1/city/postalCode/countryCode is blank), "Invalid country code" (not a recognised 2-letter ISO code), "Invalid email format" (malformed email), "Duplicate" (same name+address already exists as an active case).

Impact

Each error shows the row number, field name, and error message so you can fix the exact issue in your CSV.

Example

Row 15: postalCode — "Missing required field". Row 23: countryCode — "Invalid country code 'UK' (expected 'GB')". Row 31: name — "Duplicate of row 12 (Jane Smith, 12 Baker Street)".

Pro Tips

• Check postcode format matches the target country (UK: "SW1A 2AA", US: "10001" or "10001-1234").
• Remove duplicate rows before uploading.

Upload Results

Description

After validation, you'll see: Total Rows (all rows in CSV), Valid (ready to upload), Invalid (have errors — fix and re-upload), Duplicates (match existing active cases — skipped). Only valid rows are processed when you click Upload.

Impact

Invalid and duplicate rows are skipped. You can download a report of failed rows to fix and re-upload separately.

Example

Click "Upload 47 Cases" → system creates 47 verification cases in parallel. Each case gets digital OTPs sent immediately. Postal letters dispatched based on bundle config.

Batch Job Status

Description

After upload, each batch job shows a status: Processing (still creating cases), Complete (all rows processed), Failed (system error during processing). The progress bar shows Succeeded/Failed/Remaining counts.

Impact

Monitor batch progress in real-time. Most batches complete within minutes.

Example

Batch "clients_q1.csv": 47/47 processed, 45 succeeded, 2 failed. Click "View Errors" to see which rows failed.

Pro Tips

• Failed rows can be retried without re-uploading the entire file.
• Download the error report CSV for failed rows with detailed error messages.

Error Report

Description

Click "View Errors" on a completed batch to see which rows failed and why. Click "Download Report" to get a CSV of failed rows with error details — fix the errors and re-upload just those rows. "Retry Failed" re-processes failed rows without re-uploading.

Impact

Efficiently handle partial failures without re-processing the entire batch.

Example

Error report: Row 12 — "Address validation failed: undeliverable address". Row 38 — "Plan limit exceeded". Fix address in row 12, upgrade plan, then retry.

Quick Actions

New Case

Description

Opens the case creation form where you enter the subject's details, address, and select a verification bundle. Once submitted, digital OTPs are sent immediately and a postal letter is dispatched (if the bundle includes postal verification).

Impact

The primary way to start a single address verification. For bulk verifications, use Batch Upload instead.

Example

Click "New Case" → fill in name, email, address → select "Enhanced" bundle → click "Create Case" → email OTP sent within seconds, letter dispatched within 1 hour.

Pro Tips

• Use address autocomplete for faster, more accurate address entry.
• Select the right bundle upfront — changing it later requires creating a new case.

Recipients

Description

View all subjects (people being verified) across all your cases. Search by name, email, phone, or address. Click any recipient to see their full verification history, risk signals, and address changes over time.

Impact

Central directory of all people you've ever verified. Useful for re-verification, fraud investigation, and compliance audits.

Example

Search "Jane Smith" → see all cases for that person → click through to view detailed profile with verification history, risk signals, and address timeline.

Batch Upload

Description

Create multiple verification cases at once by uploading a CSV file. The system validates every row, flags errors, checks for duplicates against existing cases, and processes valid rows in parallel.

Impact

Essential for high-volume onboarding. Process hundreds of verifications from a single file instead of creating cases one by one.

Example

Prepare CSV with columns: name, line1, city, postalCode, countryCode (required) + email, phone, reference (optional) → Upload → Validate → Process.

Pro Tips

• Download the CSV template first for the correct column format.
• Always validate before uploading to catch formatting errors.

Verification Packages

Basic Package

Description

Digital-only verification using email OTP. An 8-character OTP code is sent to the subject's email address. The subject enters the code to verify email ownership. Fastest completion time (~5 minutes). TTL (Time To Live) defines how long each OTP code remains valid before expiring — e.g. "30m TTL" means the code expires after 30 minutes.

Impact

Assurance level: Verified (Digital). Suitable for low-risk onboarding where email confirmation is sufficient and postal proof is not required by regulation.

Example

Layers enabled: Email (required). Subject receives email with OTP "A3K9X2MF" → enters code → case completes with "Verified (Digital)" assurance.

Benchmark

Completion time: 2-5 minutes. Success rate: 85-95%. Cost: lowest (no postal dispatch).

Pro Tips

• Best for: initial client onboarding, newsletter signups, low-risk KYC.
• Can be stepped up to postal automatically if risk score is high.

Standard Package

Description

Two-factor digital verification using both email OTP (8-character code) and SMS OTP (6-digit code). Both channels must be verified for the case to complete.

Impact

Assurance level: Verified (Digital). Provides dual-channel digital confirmation. Stronger than Basic but still does not prove physical address possession.

Example

Layers enabled: Email (required), SMS (required). Subject receives email OTP "A3K9X2MF" + SMS OTP "482917" → enters both → case completes.

Benchmark

Completion time: 3-10 minutes. Success rate: 80-90%. Cost: low (email + SMS, no postal).

Pro Tips

• Best for: standard KYC, regulated onboarding where dual digital verification is acceptable.
• Requires valid phone number with country prefix (e.g. +44 for UK).

Enhanced Package

Description

Full postal + digital verification. Sends email OTP and dispatches a tracked physical letter with a unique 10-character postal OTP and QR code. SMS is optional. The postal letter proves physical possession of the address.

Impact

Assurance level: Verified (Digital + Postal). Meets the strictest FCA, SRA, and HMRC requirements for proof of address. The gold standard for regulated industries.

Example

Layers enabled: Email (required), SMS (optional), Postal (required). Subject verifies email → letter arrives in 1-7 days → subject enters postal OTP → case completes.

Benchmark

Completion time: 3-10 days (depends on postal delivery). Success rate: 70-85%. Cost: medium (includes postal dispatch).

Postal verification adds cost and time. Only use when regulatory requirements demand physical address proof.

Pro Tips

• Best for: law firms, financial services, accountancy firms, property transactions.
• The QR code on the letter allows subjects to scan and verify instantly.

Maximum Package

Description

Highest assurance. All four verification layers: email OTP (8-char), SMS OTP (6-digit), postal letter (10-char OTP + QR code), AND GPS geo-location capture when entering the postal code. Proves both mail receipt AND physical presence at the address.

Impact

Assurance level: Verified (Digital + Postal) with geo confirmation. The strongest possible proof that the subject physically resides at the claimed address.

Example

Layers: Email (required), SMS (required), Postal (required), Geo (required, 200m radius). Subject verifies email + SMS → receives letter → enters postal OTP while GPS confirms they're at the address.

Benchmark

Completion time: 3-10 days. Success rate: 60-75% (geo may fail if subject declines location). Cost: highest.

Some subjects may decline location permissions. Configure geo as optional if you don't want to block these cases.

Pro Tips

• Best for: high-risk cases, AML/CFT compliance, fraud-prone scenarios, high-value property transactions.
• Geo verification requires the subject to allow browser location access.

Default Package

Description

The bundle marked as "Default" is automatically used when cases are created via the API without specifying a bundleId. Only one bundle can be the default at any time.

Impact

Controls the verification flow for API-created cases and any cases where the caseworker doesn't explicitly select a bundle.

Example

Set "Enhanced" as default → all API-created cases automatically use email + postal verification. Change to "Basic" → API cases only use email.

Pro Tips

• Set the default to your most commonly used package.
• You can always override the default by specifying bundleId in the API request.

Recipients

Recipient

Description

A "recipient" (also called "subject") is the person whose address is being verified. Each recipient may have multiple verification cases if they've been verified at different addresses or re-verified over time.

Impact

Click any recipient to view their full profile including verification history, risk signals, address changes, and verification method success rates.

Example

Recipient "Jane Smith" has 3 cases: 1 completed (London address), 1 active (Manchester address), 1 failed (disposable email detected).

Risk Score

Description

Aggregated risk percentage based on all risk signals detected for this recipient across all their cases. Combines ghost address, mail forwarding, address velocity, disposable email, and cross-tenant signals.

Impact

Red (>70%): High risk — investigate immediately. Amber (40-70%): Moderate risk — review recommended. Green (<40%): Low risk — no immediate action needed.

Example

15%: Low risk (no signals). 52%: Medium (disposable email detected). 85%: High (ghost address + cross-tenant + velocity).

Formula

Weighted average of all risk signals across all cases for this recipient.

Pro Tips

• Click through to the recipient profile for detailed signal breakdown.
• High-risk recipients should have their completed cases reviewed.

Recipient Profile

Current Address

Description

The most recent address provided for verification. "Verified" with a date means postal verification was successfully completed for this address. Ghost Address and Forwarding badges indicate risk flags detected during address validation.

Impact

The current address is the one used for the latest or active verification case. Previous addresses appear in Address History.

Example

12 Baker Street, London, NW1 6XE, GB. Verified: 20 Feb 2026. Badges: none (clean address).

Ghost Address badge means this is a known virtual office or mail forwarding address. Forwarding badge means mail may be redirected to a different location.

Verification Methods

Description

Breakdown of how many email, SMS, and postal OTPs were sent to this recipient and how many were successfully verified. The progress bar shows the success rate for each channel.

Impact

Identifies which verification channels work best for this recipient. Low success on a channel may indicate delivery issues.

Example

Email: 3 sent, 3 verified (100%). SMS: 2 sent, 2 verified (100%). Postal: 2 sent, 1 verified (50%). Green bar (≥80%), Amber (50-79%), Red (<50%).

Pro Tips

• Low postal success may indicate address issues or subject disengagement.
• Low email success may indicate spam filtering or invalid email.

Create Case

Subject Contact

Description

Email is used for email OTP delivery (8-character code). Phone (with country prefix like +44 for UK, +1 for US) is used for SMS OTP delivery (6-digit code). Both are optional but required if the selected verification bundle includes email/SMS layers.

Impact

Without email, the email OTP layer cannot function. Without phone, the SMS OTP layer cannot function. Postal verification does not require either.

Example

Email: jane.smith@example.com. Phone: +447700900123 (UK mobile) or +12125551234 (US). Note: phone must include country prefix.

Pro Tips

• Validate email addresses before entry — disposable emails trigger risk signals.
• Mobile numbers only — landlines cannot receive SMS.

Consent

Description

Legal requirement (GDPR/data protection): you must confirm the subject has given consent for address verification before creating a case. This checkbox is mandatory — the case cannot be created without it.

Impact

Ensures compliance with data protection regulations. The consent status is recorded in the audit trail and included in the evidence pack.

Example

Check the box to confirm: "Subject has given consent for address verification". Unchecked = "Create Case" button is disabled.

Creating cases without genuine subject consent may violate GDPR and expose your organisation to regulatory penalties.

Address Validation

Description

After entering an address, the system automatically validates it for deliverability. Checks include: valid postal code format, known ghost/virtual office addresses, active mail forwarding/redirection services, and address standardisation.

Impact

Pre-dispatch validation prevents wasted postal costs on undeliverable addresses and flags risk signals early.

Example

Enter "12 Baker St, London" → validation returns: Deliverable (green tick), standardised to "12 Baker Street, London, NW1 6XE". Or: "71-75 Shelton Street" → Ghost Address warning (orange).

Pro Tips

• Accept suggested address corrections for better deliverability.
• Ghost address warnings don't block case creation but do increase the risk score.

Verification Package Selection

Description

Choose which verification bundle to use for this case. Each package defines which layers (email, SMS, postal, geo) are enabled and whether they're required or optional. "Default" badge means this is the bundle used for API-created cases. "Platform" badge means it's provided by Postal.id.

Impact

The selected package determines the verification flow, timeline, cost, and resulting assurance level.

Example

Select "Enhanced" → email OTP sent immediately, postal letter dispatched within 1 hour. Estimated postal cost shown below (e.g. £1.20 for UK letter).

Pro Tips

• Click the ? next to each package name (Basic, Standard, Enhanced, Maximum) for detailed explanations.
• Required layers must pass; optional layers enhance assurance without blocking.

Reverification & Score Decay

Verification Score Decay

Description

Verification scores decay logarithmically over time using a half-life of ~180 days. The decay rate is 0.15, meaning scores erode quickly at first then slow down. A score never drops below 10% of its original value.

Impact

Decay reflects that proof of address becomes less reliable over time — people move, addresses change. Monitoring decay helps you plan re-verifications before scores become unreliable.

Example

A score of 85 at completion decays to ~72 after 180 days, ~63 after 360 days.

Formula

currentScore = originalScore × (1 − 0.15 × ln(1 + daysSince / 180))

Pro Tips

• Re-verify before the score drops below the 30-point acceptance threshold.
• Re-verification resets the decay clock and updates the score to the new result.

Reverification Date

Description

The anticipated date when the verification score will decay below the 30-point acceptance threshold. This is computed from the original score and the completion date using the logarithmic decay formula.

Impact

Plan re-verification before this date to maintain continuous, uninterrupted proof of address for your client. After this date, the Postal ID may no longer be accepted by other tenants.

Example

A case completed on 1 Jan 2026 with a score of 85 would have a reverification date around mid-2027.

Re-verification

Description

Creating a new verification case for the same person and address. This resets the decay clock, updates the Postal ID score to the new verification result, and increments the re-verification count.

Impact

Essential for maintaining long-term proof of address for ongoing client relationships. Each re-verification strengthens the Postal ID credential.

Pro Tips

• The Postal ID code (PID-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX) stays the same across re-verifications.
• Re-verification uses the same verification layers as the original case.

Admin Dashboard

Total Tenants

Description

The total number of tenant organisations registered on the platform, including both active and disabled accounts.

Impact

Tracks platform adoption. Growth in tenant count indicates market traction.

Benchmark

Healthy platforms see steady month-over-month growth. A disabled tenant count above 20% may indicate onboarding or retention issues.

Pro Tips

• Click this card to view the full tenant list with filtering.
• Disabled tenants still count towards the total but cannot create new cases.

Success Rate

Description

The percentage of all cases that reached COMPLETE status, calculated as Completed Cases / Total Cases.

Impact

The key quality metric. A low success rate may indicate issues with postal delivery, subject engagement, or verification flow usability.

Benchmark

Target 60-80% for a healthy platform. Below 50% warrants investigation into failure causes.

Formula

Success Rate = (COMPLETE cases / Total Cases) × 100

Pro Tips

• Click this card to see all completed cases.
• Cross-reference with Failure Rate to identify whether failures are from expiry (subject disengagement) or hard failures (delivery issues).

Active Cases

Description

Cases currently in progress — not yet completed, failed, or expired. Includes states: CREATED, DIGITAL_PENDING, DIGITAL_VERIFIED, POSTAL_DISPATCHED, POSTAL_PENDING, POSTAL_VERIFIED, and MANUAL_REVIEW.

Impact

Indicates current platform workload. A high number of active cases relative to completions may indicate bottlenecks.

Pro Tips

• Click this card to see all active cases filtered by non-terminal statuses.
• Monitor for cases stuck in POSTAL_DISPATCHED for extended periods — may indicate delivery issues.

Manual Reviews

Description

Cases that have been escalated to MANUAL_REVIEW status, requiring a human caseworker to make a verification decision.

Impact

Cases awaiting human decision. A growing queue indicates either increased risk signals or insufficient caseworker capacity.

Cases in Manual Review are blocking — the subject cannot progress until a caseworker approves or rejects.

Pro Tips

• Click this card to see all cases pending manual review.
• Common triggers: high risk score, ghost address detection, multiple failed attempts.

Failure Rate

Description

The percentage of cases that ended in FAILED or EXPIRED status, calculated as (Failed + Expired) / Total Cases.

Impact

Indicates verification friction. High failure rates reduce platform value and tenant satisfaction.

Benchmark

Target below 30%. Above 40% requires investigation. Expired cases often indicate subject disengagement rather than system failure.

Formula

Failure Rate = (FAILED + EXPIRED cases / Total Cases) × 100

Pro Tips

• Click this card to see all failed and expired cases.
• Differentiate between FAILED (hard failures like invalid address) and EXPIRED (subject never completed verification).

Admin Tenant Management

Billing Plan

Description

The subscription tier assigned to a tenant: Trial (limited free cases), Starter, Professional, or Enterprise. Each plan defines case limits, feature access, and pricing.

Impact

Determines how many cases a tenant can create per period and which features are available.

Benchmark

Trial: 1-3 cases. Starter: 50/month. Professional: 500/month. Enterprise: unlimited.

Pro Tips

• Plan can be changed by a Platform Admin from the tenant detail page.
• Tenants exceeding their plan limit receive a "Case limit reached" error.

Tenant Status

Description

Whether a tenant account is Active or Disabled. Disabled tenants cannot log in or create new cases, but their existing data is preserved.

Impact

Disabling a tenant is a reversible action — it blocks access without deleting data. Used for non-payment, policy violations, or at tenant request.

Disabling a tenant immediately prevents all their users from logging in. Active cases in progress will not complete.

Pro Tips

• Use the toggle button on the tenant detail page to enable/disable.
• Disabled tenants still appear in reports and analytics.

Admin Operations

Platform Settings

Description

Global platform configuration including rate limits (OTP attempts, API requests), default values (bundle, OTP expiry, evidence retention), feature flags, and maintenance mode.

Impact

Changes affect all tenants platform-wide. Rate limits protect against abuse. Feature flags control which capabilities are available.

Only Platform Admins can modify settings. Support Agents have read-only access.

Pro Tips

• Feature flags can instantly enable/disable capabilities like geo verification or bulk upload across the entire platform.

Provider Health

Description

Real-time health status of external service providers: postal (Lob, Stannp), email (Resend), SMS (Infobip/Twilio), and storage (S3). Each provider shows Healthy, Degraded, or Down status.

Impact

Provider health directly affects verification capability. A Down postal provider means letters cannot be dispatched in that region.

Benchmark

All providers should be Healthy. Degraded indicates elevated error rates. Down means the circuit breaker has tripped.

Pro Tips

• The circuit breaker automatically recovers — Down providers are probed periodically and restored when they respond successfully.
• Check the API health page for detailed latency and error information.

Webhook Delivery

Description

Monitoring for webhook event deliveries to tenant endpoints. Shows success rate, average response time, retry queue depth, and per-tenant health.

Impact

Failed webhooks mean tenants miss real-time notifications about case status changes. A growing retry queue indicates endpoint issues.

Benchmark

Target >95% webhook delivery success rate. Average response time should be under 2 seconds.

Pro Tips

• Filter by tenant to investigate specific delivery issues.
• Webhooks retry up to 5 times with exponential backoff.

Audit Log

Description

Immutable, append-only record of all significant platform events: case creation, status changes, user logins, settings modifications, evidence downloads, and security events.

Impact

The audit log is the compliance backbone. Regulators and auditors rely on it to verify that verification processes were followed correctly.

Audit records cannot be modified or deleted. This is by design for compliance.

Pro Tips

• Filter by tenant, action type, or date range to investigate specific events.
• Security events (failed logins, permission changes) are highlighted for quick identification.

Recipients Search

Description

Cross-tenant search across all verified subjects (recipients). Supports search by name, email, or case number, plus bulk search for multiple values at once.

Impact

Enables support agents to quickly find any recipient across the entire platform when handling queries.

Pro Tips

• Use Bulk Search mode to paste multiple names or case numbers and find all matches at once.
• Sort by any column header to reorder results.
• Subject names and emails are encrypted at rest and decrypted only for display.

Support Agent Role

Description

A read-only platform role for postal.id employees who handle customer support. Support Agents can view all admin data (tenants, cases, recipients, audit logs) but cannot modify settings, toggle tenants, or change configurations.

Impact

Enables customer support without the risk of accidental configuration changes.

Pro Tips

• Support Agents see the same dashboard and data as Platform Admins.
• The Settings tab is hidden from Support Agents.
• Write operations return a 403 Forbidden error if attempted via API.

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Help Reference

Dashboard Overview

Total Cases

Completed

In Transit

Success Rate

Case Lifecycle

CREATED

DIGITAL_PENDING

DIGITAL_VERIFIED

POSTAL_DISPATCHED

POSTAL_PENDING

POSTAL_VERIFIED

COMPLETE

FAILED

EXPIRED

Assurance Levels

Assurance Level

Risk & Fraud

Risk Score

Verification Strength

Disposable Email

Ghost Address

Mail Forwarding

Address Velocity

Cross-Tenant

IP Mismatch

Step-Up

Verification Bundles

Email Layer

SMS Layer

Postal Layer

Geo Layer

TTL (Time to Live)

Max Attempts

Letter Format

Required vs Optional

Postal Delivery

Delivery Rate

Return Rate

Avg Delivery Days

QR Scan Rate

Address Alerts

Address Velocity Signal

Cross-Tenant Signal

Alert Score

Acknowledge

Webhooks

Webhook Events

HMAC-SHA256 Signature

Retry Behaviour

Billing & Usage

Plan Limit

Usage Period

Plan Status

Verification Funnel

Funnel Overview

Manual Review

Batch Upload

Batch Upload

CSV Format

CSV Validation

Validation Errors

Upload Results

Batch Job Status

Error Report

Quick Actions

New Case

Recipients

Batch Upload

Verification Packages

Basic Package

Standard Package

Enhanced Package

Maximum Package

Default Package

Platform Package

Recipients

Recipient