RENAPER DNI Verification API: Validate Argentine IDs in Real Time

Onboarding users in Argentina means trusting the DNI — the Documento Nacional de Identidad that every resident carries. But an image of a DNI only proves that a document exists, not that it is genuine or that it belongs to the person presenting it. To close that gap you have to check the number against the source that issued it: RENAPER. This guide explains what RENAPER validation does, the technical details of Didit's endpoint, and how to integrate it in minutes.

Key takeaways:

• What RENAPER is — Argentina's official civil registry (Registro Nacional de las Personas), the authoritative source of truth for every Argentine DNI.
• What the check does — Didit validates the DNI number against RENAPER and biometrically face-matches the user's selfie to the registered government photo.
• Why it matters — a document can be forged; a registry record cannot. Validating against RENAPER confirms the person behind the ID is real, alive, and who they claim to be.
• How to use it — one POST to Didit's database-validation endpoint, or drop the module into a no-code workflow. $0.20 per conclusive query, results in under 2 seconds.

What is RENAPER?

RENAPER — the Registro Nacional de las Personas — is the national civil registry of Argentina, operating under the Ministry of the Interior. It is the single authoritative database for the identity of every Argentine citizen and resident: it issues the DNI, maintains the biometric and biographic record behind it, and is the legal source of truth for civil identity in the country.

Because RENAPER holds the registered photograph and personal data tied to each DNI, querying it lets you confirm two things at once:

• The DNI is real and active — the number exists in the registry and maps to a real person.
• The person presenting it is that person — their live selfie matches the photo RENAPER has on file.

That combination — registry validation plus biometric face-match — is far stronger than reading a document with optical character recognition (OCR) alone.

What the RENAPER validation checks

When you send a DNI to Didit's RENAPER service, the platform performs an authoritative lookup and a 1:1 biometric comparison. A conclusive response returns structured source_data straight from the registry, which can include:

• full_name, first_name, last_name
• date_of_birth
• identification_number and tax_id
• face_match_score — the similarity between the submitted selfie and the registry photo

The top-level match_type (for example, full_match) and per-field validation results tell you exactly which attributes lined up, so your risk engine can make a decision instead of a guess.

Why RENAPER validation matters

For any business onboarding Argentine users — fintechs, crypto exchanges, lending apps, marketplaces, betting operators — a forged or stolen DNI is the single most common fraud vector. Document forensics catch bad copies; they do not catch a perfectly-printed card tied to a stolen identity. Registry validation does, because it answers the only question that matters: does this identity exist at the government source, and is the live person in front of us the rightful holder?

This is also a compliance lever. Argentine AML and Know Your Customer (KYC) obligations — and the expectations of the UIF (Unidad de Información Financiera) — push regulated entities toward authoritative-source verification. Matching against RENAPER gives you a defensible, auditable record that the identity was confirmed at the registry, not merely scanned.

Technical details

Didit exposes RENAPER through the unified database-validation endpoint. It is a single POST request — no SDK required.

Endpoint

POST https://verification.didit.me/v3/database-validation/

Request parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
issuing_state	string	Yes	ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code. Use ARG.
services	string	Yes	Service identifier. Use arg_renaper.
document_number	string	Yes	Argentine DNI, 7–8 digits, no spaces or punctuation.
selfie	file	Yes	The user's live photo, for biometric face-match.
gender	string	Yes	Gender code (e.g. M, F).
first_name	string	No	Given name, for additional cross-validation.
last_name	string	No	Family name, for additional cross-validation.

Example request

curl -X POST "https://verification.didit.me/v3/database-validation/" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "issuing_state=ARG" \
  -F "services=arg_renaper" \
  -F "document_number=11111111" \
  -F "selfie=@./selfie.jpg" \
  -F "gender=M"

Example response (full match)

{
  "request_id": "req_01H...",
  "status": "Approved",
  "issuing_state": "ARG",
  "match_type": "full_match",
  "validations": [
    {
      "outcome_code": "MATCH",
      "service_id": "arg_renaper",
      "service_name": "Argentina - DNI verification (RENAPER)",
      "source_data": {
        "full_name": "John Doe",
        "first_name": "John",
        "last_name": "Doe",
        "date_of_birth": "1990-01-01",
        "identification_number": "SAMPLE-ID-12345",
        "tax_id": "SAMPLE-12345",
        "face_match_score": "0.990"
      },
      "validation": {
        "full_name": "full_match",
        "identification_number": "full_match"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Performance and billing

• Latency: typically under 2 seconds (p95).
• Cost: $0.20 per conclusive query. You are billed only on conclusive results — no charge for registry downtime, missing fields, or pre-source rejections.
• Reliability: 99.9% quarterly uptime on Didit's infrastructure.

Use cases

• Fintech & neobanks — confirm a real, living account holder before opening a wallet or extending credit in Argentina.
• Crypto & Web3 — meet VASP onboarding requirements with authoritative-source identity proof plus biometric binding.
• Lending — pair the RENAPER record with the returned tax_id to reduce synthetic-identity and first-party fraud.
• Marketplaces & gig platforms — verify sellers, drivers, and couriers against the registry, not just a photo of a card.
• iGaming — satisfy age and identity checks for Argentine players with a defensible audit trail.

How to integrate with Didit

You can run RENAPER validation two ways:

1. No-code workflow. In the Didit Business Console, open the Workflow Builder, add the Database Validation module, select Argentina → RENAPER (arg_renaper), and activate it. Argentine users are routed to the check automatically — no engineering required.
2. Direct API. Call the /v3/database-validation/ endpoint shown above with services=arg_renaper. Read match_type and the per-field validation block to drive your approve / review / reject logic.

Either path returns the same structured result, so you can start in the no-code builder and move to the API later without changing your data model. Every Didit account includes 500 free verifications per month, so you can test the full RENAPER flow end-to-end before you pay for a single query.

Frequently asked questions

Is the DNI photo compared to the user's selfie?

Yes. RENAPER validation includes a 1:1 biometric face-match between the submitted selfie and the photograph RENAPER holds on file, returned as face_match_score.

What happens if RENAPER is temporarily unavailable?

You are not charged. Billing applies only to conclusive results; registry downtime, missing fields, and pre-source rejections are free.

How fast is a RENAPER check?

Typically under two seconds at p95, so it fits inside a real-time onboarding flow without adding friction.

Do I need an SDK?

No. RENAPER validation is a single HTTPS POST. You can also wire it into a no-code workflow in the Business Console if you prefer zero engineering.

Ready to get started?

Validate your first Argentine DNI against RENAPER today.

• Read the API reference: RENAPER DNI Verification
• See all database validations: Database Validation pricing & coverage
• Start building: Create a free Didit account — 500 verifications a month, free.