> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.cashfree.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Overview

> Use Cashfree Smart OCR to extract structured data from government IDs and PDFs, with built-in quality, forgery, and rule checks for automated KYC flows.

Cashfree’s Smart OCR (Optical Character Recognition) simplifies document verification by using proprietary computer-vision and AI models to extract and validate data from government ID images or PDFs. It returns structured JSON with key document fields and includes built-in quality, forgery, and rule checks. Smart OCR combines OCR, fraud detection, and data extraction in a single API, enabling merchants to automate KYC, onboarding, and fraud prevention with less effort.

Smart OCR supports the following document types:

* Cancelled cheque
* Aadhaar card
* PAN card
* Invoice
* Driving license
* Vehicle RC
* Passport
* Voter ID

## Use cases

The following are key use cases for the Smart OCR:

* **KYC verification**: Instantly extract and verify customer details from official documents for onboarding or compliance.

* **Loan applications**: Validate income and identity documents in real-time during loan processing.

* **eCommerce and fintech platforms**: Speed up seller or partner registration by auto filling details from uploaded documents.

* **Gig economy platforms**: Automate the document submission and verification flow for contractors or service partners.

* **Travel and hospitality**: Document Verification of Passport, VISA OCR for travel bookings.

## Key benefits

Cashfree’s Smart OCR is a single solution that simplifies document verification, improves accuracy, reduces costs, and helps you go live faster.

* **Single integration**: Integrate once to handle different document types without managing multiple APIs. Smart OCR detects blurry or glary images, flags partial or obscured IDs, and prompts users to retake poor-quality images with clear feedback. This reduces rejections and lowers drop-offs.

* **Faster time to market**: Launch your verification process faster with less development and testing effort.

* **Cost efficiency**: Reduce maintenance costs with a single, streamlined API instead of managing multiple integrations.

* **Reliable accuracy**: Smart OCR uses industry-grade optical character recognition for high accuracy in text extraction and validation. It achieves over 97% accuracy across supported documents, extracts structured data, and works for all document types through one API.

* **Advanced fraud and quality checks**: Smart OCR automatically checks document quality and authenticity to prevent fraud and ensure reliable extraction. It detects blur, glare, partial images, black-and-white scans, and missing facial or QR information. It also flags screenshots and photos of screens to block tampered or fake documents.

  <Note>
    **Upcoming Enhancement**:

    * **Document Auto Classification**: Automatically identifies and categorises the document type eliminating the need to manually specify document types.
  </Note>

## Verification process

You can verify documents using Smart OCR through two primary methods:

* **Merchant dashboard**: Manual verification with upload interface for quick document processing.
* **REST API**: Programmatic integration for automated document verification workflows.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Dashboard verification">
    Use the merchant dashboard for quick manual Smart OCR verification:

    ### Smart OCR verification

    1. Log in to the [Merchant Dashboard](https://merchant.cashfree.com/auth/login).
    2. Navigate to **KYC Studio** > **Smart OCR**.
    3. Select the document type from the dropdown (PAN card, Aadhaar card, Voter ID, Vehicle RC, Driving Licence, Passport).
    4. Upload the document image (maximum 5 MB, supported formats: .png, .jpeg, .jpg).
    5. Click **Verify** to start the OCR process.

    **Upload guidelines:**

    * Maximum file size: 5 MB
    * Supported formats: .png, .jpeg, .jpg
    * Upload the side containing critical information (photo and ID number)
    * Ensure clear, well-lit images without glare or shadows

    <Frame caption="Smart OCR verification process">
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/cashfreepayments-d00050e9/Kmx9_F-Zyh5NOURB/static/secure-id/smartocr/smartocr1.gif?s=5a782387c31dc154e3b7da257aa76234" width="1920" height="1080" data-path="static/secure-id/smartocr/smartocr1.gif" />
    </Frame>

    The dashboard displays extracted data, validation results, and document quality analysis upon completion.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="API verification">
    Integrate Smart OCR verification programmatically using the REST API:

    1. **Trigger the Smart OCR request** using the [Smart OCR API](/api-reference/vrs/v2/smart-ocr/smart-ocr).
    2. **Pass the document image** and document type in the request payload for processing.
    3. **Receive OCR results** with extracted data, validation status, and quality analysis.

    **Endpoint**: `POST /verification/smart-ocr`

    <Accordion title="Request format">
      ```json theme={"dark"}
      {
        "verification_id": "OCR00123",
        "document_type": "PAN_CARD",
        "image": "base64_encoded_image_string"
      }
      ```
    </Accordion>

    <Accordion title="Response format">
      ```json theme={"dark"}
      {
        "verification_id": "OCR00123",
        "reference_id": 12345,
        "document_type": "PAN_CARD",
        "extracted_data": {
          "pan_number": "ABCDE1234F",
          "name": "John Doe",
          "father_name": "Robert Doe",
          "date_of_birth": "01/01/1990"
        },
        "quality_checks": {
          "image_quality": "HIGH",
          "blur_detection": "PASS",
          "glare_detection": "PASS",
          "document_completeness": "COMPLETE"
        },
        "fraud_checks": {
          "screenshot_detection": "PASS",
          "tampering_detection": "PASS",
          "authenticity_score": 0.95
        },
        "verification_status": "SUCCESS"
      }
      ```
    </Accordion>

    <Accordion title="Error responses">
      ```json theme={"dark"}
      {
        "type": "invalid_request_error",
        "code": "ocr_failed",
        "message": "Document processing failed",
        "details": [
          {
            "field": "image",
            "issue": "Image quality too low for processing"
          }
        ]
      }
      ```
    </Accordion>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

<Note>
  Integrate the [Smart OCR API](/api-reference/vrs/v2/smart-ocr/smart-ocr) into your application to automatically extract and verify document data within your signup or onboarding flow.
</Note>

<snippet>snippets/related-topics-loader.mdx</snippet>

<div class="hidden" data-table-of-contents="bottom">
  <p class="mt-4 font-medium flex items-center gap-2 related-docs-heading">
    <svg width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true" class="w-4 h-4">
      <path d="M3 4h7a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v13a2 2 0 0 0-2-2H3z" />

      <path d="M21 4h-7a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v13a2 2 0 0 1 2-2h7z" />
    </svg>

    <span>Related topics</span>
  </p>

  <ul>
    <li><a href="/docs/api-reference/vrs/v2/smart-ocr/smart-ocr">Smart OCR API</a></li>
    <li><a href="/docs/secure-id/kyc-stack/verify-aadhaar">Aadhaar Verification</a></li>
    <li><a href="/docs/secure-id/kyc-stack/verify-pan">PAN Verification</a></li>
    <li><a href="/docs/secure-id/smart-ocr/faqs">Smart OCR FAQs</a></li>
  </ul>
</div>