What is Liveness Check?

Anti-spoof technology that confirms a real, live person is present in front of the camera, not a photo, video, or mask.

A liveness check is a biometric verification step that distinguishes a live human from a presentation attack (a photo on a screen, a video replay, a 3D mask, a deepfake). It's the linchpin of remote KYC: without liveness, an ID photo alone could be lifted from social media or obtained in a data breach. PDF Verified uses passive liveness (analysing depth, texture, and micro-movements without user action) plus active challenges (blink, turn head) on KYC-required documents.

Drop your document here and sign it now. PDF, Word and Excel all work: a .docx or .xlsx is laid out in your browser exactly as it was written, so there is nothing to convert first. Add a signature, a date, a company stamp or a watermark, then download it sealed. Free to start, no account, and the file is never uploaded to open it.

Passive vs active liveness

Passive liveness analyses the captured frame for cues a live face shows (skin texture, blood flow, micro-movements). The user doesn't do anything special, it's seamless. Active liveness asks for an action: blink, turn, smile. Active is harder to spoof but slows the flow. PDF Verified uses passive by default with optional active challenges for high-risk transactions.

NIST and iBeta certification

Liveness vendors are rated by NIST and iBeta against PAD (Presentation Attack Detection) standards. PDF Verified's liveness provider (Smile ID) is iBeta Level 2 certified, the bar required for most financial-services KYC.

Why liveness matters legally

Without liveness, KYC reduces to "ID document was uploaded", which a fraudster with a stolen passport can do. With liveness, the audit trail shows "live person matching ID was present at signing time", a much stronger evidentiary claim.

What PDF Verified is, and what it is not

An identity check establishes that a document was presented and, where liveness is used, that a live person presented it. It does not establish everything about a person, and it does not discharge an obligation a regulator has placed on you: your KYC, KYB and anti-money-laundering duties come from your own regulator and your own risk assessment, not from a signing tool. A verified identity is also not authority to act for somebody else, and signing in another person name without their authority is forgery.

PDF Verified is a tool for preparing, signing, stamping and checking documents. It is not a law firm, a compliance service or a forensic examiner, and nothing here is legal, financial or compliance advice. Requirements differ by country, by document type and by the party asking, so check what applies to your document before you rely on it, and take advice where the document matters. You are responsible for the documents you create, sign and send, and for having the authority to do so: signing or stamping in somebody else name, or as an organisation you do not represent, is forgery whatever tool is used. To the extent the law allows, we accept no liability for how a document made with this tool is used or relied on. The full position is in our terms of service.