Checking the authenticity of a Russian citizen’s passport: 3 ways

Valid or not

To check whether a document is valid, there is an official, open and free service of the Main Directorate of the Migration Service of the Russian Federation. We go in, enter the series (4 digits), the number (the remaining 6 digits) and the captcha, and check.

For example, let’s take a photo of Gerard Depardieu’s passport, which has gone around the entire Internet:

Service response: everything is OK, the passport is not listed as invalid:

The opposite answer would mean that the passport is invalid: for example, it was stolen, and the owner reported it to protect himself.

If the service returns the result “The Main Department of Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation is not currently listed in the electronic records,” this does not mean at all that the passport is fake. It’s just that the data may not have yet been transferred from the territorial authority to the centralized database.

You can also download and manually dig into the database of invalid passports. It is updated daily and is also available on the FMS website (be careful, more than 400 MB in the archive!).

What to do if your passport is invalid

After applying for verification, you will receive a positive or negative response. The passport status will be as follows:

• not valid;
• not found in the list of illegitimate documents.

Sometimes it is reported that the information was not found. If the ID is found to be invalid, the reason (lost, expired or similar) will be indicated. What should a person do if the answer that the document is fictitious comes as an unpleasant surprise? First of all, you need to wait and double-check the situation, as system malfunctions occur. But it’s better to contact the GUVM in person.

You should find out why a certificate is considered invalid if there is no reason for it. You must submit an application to the department with a request to look into the situation. Within thirty days the issue will be reviewed and a written response will be received. If you cannot wait for a long time, make an appointment with your manager.

If the passport is actually declared invalid, you will have to apply for a new one. Citizens will pay a state fee and a fine. Identity cards are issued by territorial authorities in the field of citizenship and migration at the place of residence.

We check the department that issued the passport

Passport counterfeiting services on the Internet are a dime a dozen. Many people use them to register on a dating site or on a crypto-exchange, to annoy their exes, to try to get a loan for a passport scan, or to request an advance payment for a product or service.

But often such services do not take into account the details. For example, they “draw” scans of documents issued by non-existent departments.

On the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs you can find out whether such a department exists. Go in, do a search on the page, and make sure that the division exists. Or doesn't exist. The first two digits in the department code must match the numbers in the department website address:

Why check a person using a passport?

Typically, a passport check is performed in the following situations:

1. Finding a lost passport.
2. Finding a relative or friend.
3. Determining whether a person is alive.
4. Determining the authenticity and validity of a passport (for transactions involving a large amount).
5. Search for heirs.
6. Checking a person’s ability to pay (whether the citizen is bankrupt).
7. Search for a citizen who has broken the law.

We find out the TIN according to the passport data

On the website of the Federal Tax Service you can determine the TIN using passport data. Required fields: full name (middle name may not be present), date of birth, series and number of passport, date of issue.

We take all the data from Depardieu’s passport photo, Google the date of issue, the result:

By the way, when we entered the wrong passport issue date, the service still showed the same TIN.

In what cases may it be necessary to verify the authenticity of a passport?

1. When planning large transactions: scammers can use fake documents for such manipulations. This also includes business partners whose business reputation does not inspire confidence.
2. Employment: the employer always wants to be confident in his employee, so he also checks the document for legality.
3. Marriage: it is advisable to make sure in advance of the integrity of the future partner, this is especially true for dating via the Internet.
4. If there are damages or typos in the document: a passport with similar elements must also be checked, since blots and damage are not allowed in this document.

Attention! On the Internet they offer services for checking passports for authenticity that are not related to the official resources of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. Be careful with such resources. These could be scammers who use the entered data for their own purposes.

What else can you do

Submit an official request to the passport office or the authorities of the Main Directorate of Migration Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, indicating the data from the passport. But keep in mind that the Law “On Personal Data” dated July 27, 2006 No. 152-FZ requires the transfer of confidential information only with the consent of citizens. All requests must be official and resolved in accordance with the Administrative Regulations (Order No. 18 of January 20, 2014).

Requests are submitted through the government services website and official department portals, as well as in person or by mail. For example, if you want to clarify your registration information, go to the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, select “GUVM of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia” from the list, then go to the section “Providing address and reference information” and “Get this government service online.”

After this, you will only need to fill out the form and agree to provide your data to the person about whom you are requesting information. A redirect to the government services website will occur automatically. The response will be sent to the email address you provided and to your personal account in government services.

Where to check the passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation

Modern government online platforms help save time and monitor the authenticity of a document by series and number, without submitting requests. You can verify the validity of a Russian citizen’s passport without formal applications to government agencies. This can be done on the Internet platforms of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Main Directorate for Migration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, and the Federal Migration Service. The portals are constantly being improved; they provide operational, systematically updated information.

The sites provide instant and free verification. The provided answer is considered a reference and has no legal force. After the check is completed, information about the result is displayed: the ID is invalid or is not listed in the accounts. Information about the status of the ID is very important when making serious purchases or drawing up contracts and helps to avoid fraud. The authenticity of a foreign passport is studied using the same algorithm.

Check the authenticity of your passport online on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation

The answer will be negative if the document does not appear on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in the lists of fictitious passports. It is easy to obtain information about the status of a document on the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs verification service. To get the result:

• Log in to the official website of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs;
• go to the section “Checking against the list of invalid Russian passports”;
• find the page with questions about citizenship and migration;
• at the bottom of the page there is a column where you need to indicate the serial number of the document;
• Enter the characters suggested for verification and submit the request.

Obtaining information does not take much time, but has no legal force. An informal request allows you to receive a response regarding the status of the credential for informational purposes.

Passport check at the Main Department of Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation

You can download the information database on invalid passports on the portal of the Main Directorate for Migration Issues. This will make it possible to compare the document with the compiled register. You must check the document online in the section for invalid Russian passports. You can check your passport in the same way.

To obtain information with legal force, you must contact the regional division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. The results of a self-check on the portal do not guarantee the safety of cooperation with the person being checked. According to the law on the protection of personal data, all information is unofficial. But you shouldn’t neglect this method: daily updating of the invalid ID database helps you obtain important information in a timely manner and avoid fraud.

Contacting the Federal Migration Service

To obtain information about the authenticity of the passport and conduct a thorough check, it is necessary to submit an official request in Russia to the Migration Department of the Ministry of Public Security of the Federal Migration Service.

Such an application can only be submitted during a personal visit to the organization. A sample application can be printed from the official online resource or obtained from the Federal Migration Service. It is worth considering that the request will be considered within 30 days. A month is the average waiting time for a response when citizens contact government organizations. The check at the Office of the Federal Migration Service is reliable, but takes a lot of time.

Where to check a non-resident's passport

It will not be possible to check the validity of a passport of a resident of another state: the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Administration of the Federal Tax Service do not have such information. But the mentioned services check the legality of the basis for a foreign citizen’s stay in the country. The check will help you find out whether permission to enter Russia is legal at the moment. In this way, you cannot monitor the passport of a citizen of Ukraine, Moldova and other post-Soviet states, but it is possible to find out other information:

• legality of the work permit;
• legality of the invitation to enter the country;
• compliance of the document with the registration address.

The request is unofficial, but allows you to check the availability of grounds for foreigners and stateless persons to visit the country using the Ministry of Internal Affairs database. To obtain data, you need to leave an online request on the organization’s portal.

And sometimes you don’t even need a passport

You can also search by name in open databases:

• on cases and judicial acts;
• based on the texts of court decisions;
• according to decisions of arbitration courts;
• in the file of arbitration cases (cases that are currently in proceedings);
• on the website of the bailiff service in the register of enforcement proceedings (by full name and region);
• based on a database of people suspected of committing crimes.

It would also be a good idea to look into the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ “Wanted” database and check the passport photo with the list of especially dangerous criminals. By the way, you can get 1 million rubles for helping to find especially dangerous criminals.

Offline passport verification

• RRVP

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• Elena Voropaeva
• 04.08.2020

As noted above, the information you receive on the site is information for your personal use. It cannot be attached to documents and used as evidence (in court, for example). Therefore, if you still need documentary evidence of the validity/invalidity of a Russian passport, you will have to contact the Ministry of Internal Affairs in person. The fastest way to get an answer is to contact the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the area where the passport holder is registered. You will be asked to write an application and wait for a month. The official response will be provided on paper that can already be used for legal purposes.

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What does the darknet say?

Naturally, you can find offers to “punch your passport” for the amount of 3-5 thousand rubles. Technically, they can actually extract full passport data by name and region or date of birth from the merged database.

But, firstly, most often this is a divorce , for which there will be no one to file claims against. In addition, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation has Art. 137 “Violation of privacy”, which establishes liability for the unauthorized use or distribution of someone else’s passport data.

Such actions threaten a fine of 150 thousand to 350 thousand rubles, imprisonment for up to five years, or administrative sanctions. Is it worth becoming an accomplice to a crime? We don't think so.

Secondly, people often talk too much about themselves. You can often find out more from photos on social networks than from passport data. And if you google passport data in the format “full name + city”, “full name + date of birth”, find a person’s classmates and classmates, ask what kind of guy he was... You’ll be surprised how much you can find out.

The main thing is to look carefully and compare. Moreover, this is not prohibited by law, just like requests to open databases.

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