Using local data matching for verification purposes

Local data matching can provide you with further information which you can use to make a determination as to whether to allow a new application. 

You must disclose the details of an application to the IER Digital Service upon receipt,1 and you should not carry out any local data matching for the purposes of verifying an applicant’s identity until you have received and considered DWP match results. 

You can use local data matching to verify applicants whose personal identifiers fail to be matched against DWP records.

You can also use local data to verify an applicant's identity where an applicant has been unable to provide a National Insurance number, provided that the reason given for not providing a National Insurance number is valid. 

Matching against local data allows you to use data sources available to you2 to verify that the person making the application is the person they claim to be. If you do not normally carry out local data-matching for verification purposes, this option should only be used if you are satisfied that the data sources available to you can satisfy the requirements of the task.

Where an applicant is under 16 years old, the requirement to provide their National Insurance number or, if they do not provide this information, the reason they are not able to do so, does not apply.

Applications from 14 or 15 year olds will not be sent for verification against DWP records. If you are able to verify an applicant's identity by using any educational records you are not required to carry out further verification checks.3

Alternatively, you can use other local data that meets the standards set out in evaluating local data sources for verification purposes to verify the identity of 14 and 15 year old applicants.

If you are unable to verify the identity via education records or via other local data, you should follow the exceptions process. Guidance on the exceptions process can be found here.