Verify BVN or NIN with a selfie

curl -X POST "https://api.dojah.io/api/v1/kyc/bvn/verify" \
  -H "Authorization: {{secret_key}}" \
  -H "AppId: {{app_id}}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "bvn": "22222222222",
    "selfie_image": "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQ…",
    "threshold": 90
  }'

const res = await fetch("https://api.dojah.io/api/v1/kyc/bvn/verify", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: process.env.DOJAH_SECRET_KEY,
    AppId: process.env.DOJAH_APP_ID,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    bvn: "22222222222",
    selfie_image: "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQ…",
    threshold: 90
  }),
});
const data = await res.json();

import os, requests

res = requests.post(
    "https://api.dojah.io/api/v1/kyc/bvn/verify",
    headers={
        "Authorization": os.environ["DOJAH_SECRET_KEY"],
        "AppId": os.environ["DOJAH_APP_ID"],
    },
    json={
        "bvn": "22222222222",
        "selfie_image": "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQ…",
        "threshold": 90
    },
)
data = res.json()

{
  "entity": {
    "bvn": "2*****41123",
    "first_name": "JOHN",
    "middle_name": "DOE",
    "last_name": "MUSA",
    "date_of_birth": "15-Apr-1985",
    "phone_number1": "08134720263",
    "gender": "Male",
    "image": "[base64 image data]",
    "selfie_verification": {
      "confidence_value": 99.99,
      "match": true
    }
  }
}

curl -X POST "https://api.dojah.io/api/v1/kyc/bvn/verify" \
  -H "Authorization: {{secret_key}}" \
  -H "AppId: {{app_id}}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "bvn": "22222222222",
    "selfie_image": "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQ…",
    "threshold": 90
  }'

const res = await fetch("https://api.dojah.io/api/v1/kyc/bvn/verify", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: process.env.DOJAH_SECRET_KEY,
    AppId: process.env.DOJAH_APP_ID,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    bvn: "22222222222",
    selfie_image: "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQ…",
    threshold: 90
  }),
});
const data = await res.json();

import os, requests

res = requests.post(
    "https://api.dojah.io/api/v1/kyc/bvn/verify",
    headers={
        "Authorization": os.environ["DOJAH_SECRET_KEY"],
        "AppId": os.environ["DOJAH_APP_ID"],
    },
    json={
        "bvn": "22222222222",
        "selfie_image": "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQ…",
        "threshold": 90
    },
)
data = res.json()

{
  "entity": {
    "bvn": "2*****41123",
    "first_name": "JOHN",
    "middle_name": "DOE",
    "last_name": "MUSA",
    "date_of_birth": "15-Apr-1985",
    "phone_number1": "08134720263",
    "gender": "Male",
    "image": "[base64 image data]",
    "selfie_verification": {
      "confidence_value": 99.99,
      "match": true
    }
  }
}

POST/api/v1/kyc/bvn/verify

Match a user’s selfie against the photo held for their Nigerian BVN or NIN, and retrieve the full identity record in the same call.

Headers

Header	Required	Description
`Authorization`	Yes	Your app’s secret key, sent as-is — not `Bearer`.
`AppId`	Yes	The App ID from your dashboard.
`Content-Type`	Yes	`application/json`

Body parameters

Applies to both POST /api/v1/kyc/bvn/verify and POST /api/v1/kyc/nin/verify.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`bvn / nin`	string	Yes	The identifier to verify — `bvn` for the BVN endpoint, `nin` for the NIN endpoint.
`selfie_image`	string	Yes	The selfie image, Base64-encoded (strip the `data:image/jpeg;base64,` prefix).
`threshold`	number	No	Minimum selfie-match score (`50`–`100`) required for `match` to be `true`. Defaults to 90. Read more.

Response

The BVN endpoint returns the BVN identity record with a nested selfie_verification object (confidence_value and match). Response trimmed for readability.

Verify NIN with a selfie

Call POST /api/v1/kyc/nin/verify with nin and selfie_image (and optional first_name / last_name / threshold) to match a selfie against the photo on file for a NIN. It returns the NIN identity record with the same selfie_verification object.

POST /api/v1/kyc/nin/verify

{
  "nin": "70123456789",
  "selfie_image": "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQ…",
  "threshold": 90
}

200 — /api/v1/kyc/nin/verify

{
  "entity": {
    "nin": "7*****83753",
    "firstname": "JOHN",
    "surname": "MUSA",
    "gender": "m",
    "birthdate": "10-06-1983",
    "selfie_verification": { "confidence_value": 99.81, "match": true }
  }
}

Errors

Code	Meaning
`400`	Bad request — a required field is missing or the image is malformed.
`401`	Unauthorized — check your key and `AppId` (no `Bearer` prefix).
`402`	Insufficient wallet balance. Fund your wallet.
`429`	Too many requests — back off and retry.

Default threshold is 90%

If you omit threshold, Dojah uses 90. selfie_verification.match is true only when confidence_value is at or above that cutoff.90% is a strict default — it keeps impersonation risk low, but genuine users can fail when lighting, camera angle, or an older ID photo is weaker. If that is too strict for your flow, set threshold yourself anywhere from 50 to 100, based on your risk tolerance:

Closer to 100 — stricter match. Fewer false accepts; more genuine users may fail.
Closer to 50 — more selfies pass, including weaker matches. Lower threshold means higher risk.

Values below 50 are rejected. Leave threshold unset if 90 matches your risk appetite.

curl -X POST "https://api.dojah.io/api/v1/kyc/bvn/verify" \
  -H "Authorization: {{secret_key}}" \
  -H "AppId: {{app_id}}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "bvn": "22222222222",
    "selfie_image": "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQ…",
    "threshold": 90
  }'

const res = await fetch("https://api.dojah.io/api/v1/kyc/bvn/verify", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: process.env.DOJAH_SECRET_KEY,
    AppId: process.env.DOJAH_APP_ID,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    bvn: "22222222222",
    selfie_image: "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQ…",
    threshold: 90
  }),
});
const data = await res.json();

import os, requests

res = requests.post(
    "https://api.dojah.io/api/v1/kyc/bvn/verify",
    headers={
        "Authorization": os.environ["DOJAH_SECRET_KEY"],
        "AppId": os.environ["DOJAH_APP_ID"],
    },
    json={
        "bvn": "22222222222",
        "selfie_image": "/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQ…",
        "threshold": 90
    },
)
data = res.json()

{
  "entity": {
    "bvn": "2*****41123",
    "first_name": "JOHN",
    "middle_name": "DOE",
    "last_name": "MUSA",
    "date_of_birth": "15-Apr-1985",
    "phone_number1": "08134720263",
    "gender": "Male",
    "image": "[base64 image data]",
    "selfie_verification": {
      "confidence_value": 99.99,
      "match": true
    }
  }
}

Get started

Core concepts

API Endpoints

Widget SDKs

API clients

Verify BVN or NIN with a selfie

Headers

Body parameters

Response

Verify NIN with a selfie

Errors

Default threshold is 90%

​Headers

​Body parameters

​Response

​Verify NIN with a selfie

​Errors

Default threshold is 90%

Headers

Body parameters

Response

Verify NIN with a selfie

Errors