Method List

Age Verification

Validate your data against our UK people data sources

Using Wordpress for your website? Get our Age Verification Plugin

Our Age Verification method is the perfect solution to verify age on your website, app or CRM system.

If you sell age restricted products or services it is essential to check the customer’s age. Our system will use UK person data to verify a person is 18 or over.

The age verification method may be accessed from your website or application via XML, SOAP or JSON.


How it works

The method allows the validation of any UK person when surname, forename, postcode and first line of address are all supplied.

Your supplied data will be used to find a match within our vast UK dataset. When a match is found, the method will deliver a validation status of true if the person is over 18, along with the quality of the match. You can even control the level of fuzziness that the method uses, through a series of parameters.

Please see our Age Verification Documentation for more detailed information, including the xml code, results and input parameters required.

API method to use: age_verification
|
Credits per use: 10

Validate your data against our UK people data sources to see if a record, aged over 18, is found.

If your business sells age restricted items you can use our age verification method to validate your data. This could be used during the eCommerce checkout process or on your CRM system.

This method allows the validation of a UK person, by matching your supplied data to our database of current UK persons.

Your data MUST contain:-

  • Surname
  • Forename
  • UK Postcode
  • UK Address(first line)

The method will then attempt to locate the individual in our data. You can control the level of fuzziness that the method will use, by setting a series of parameters.

If a person is found in our data, aged over 18, the method returns a validation status true. We also describe the quality of the match.

If, for example, your data has a record for Ian Whitehead, and our method finds Ian Whithead (note the slight spelling difference) at the same address, we include this element:-

<match_code_surname>FUZZY</match_code_surname>

to indicate that there is a slight spelling difference.

Mandatory Parameters

None of the parameters are case sensitive apart from the api key or javascript key.

Name Description
api_key or javascript_key Use your API key if invoking server-side. If invoking from the browser via JavaScript, generate a JavaScript key using the javascript_key method.
surname The surname of the subject. The case is irrelevant.
forename The forename of the subject.
postcode The postcode of the subject. Ideally this is the full UK postcode, but the method will check a partial code. If postcode_fuzzy is set to true, it will allow the final character of the postcode to be incorrect.

This can be in any case and any format

(such as YO98 9HZ or yo989HZ)
addr1 The first line of the address

Optional Parameters

Name Description
client You can optionally include an identifier for your final client or user. This is logged in your usage log and you will be able to view your usage statistics by client.
output Set to json for a JSON response; the default response is XML. Not applicable to the SOAP API.
callback When using JSON, specify a JSONP wrapper in which the JSON response is to be wrapped.
check_under_18 If set to "true" or "yes" or "y", the method will include persons who are under 18, but will return the status FOUND_UNDER_18 rather than FOUND. If you do not set this parameter, persons under 18 will return the status NOT_FOUND
addr2 The second line of the address
addr3 The third line of the address
place The locality
town The postal town
surname_fuzzy Set to true (default) to allow a slight fuzzy match.
forename_fuzzy Set to true (default) to allow a slight fuzzy match.

Returned Values

The XML response is contained within a <age_verification_res> element.

Name Description
status Returns ok if the operation has succeeded, or error if an error has occurred; Returns the error_code for error details.
error_code Returns the error code when the status is error. See below for error codes.
t2a_version_number The current API version number.
credit_used The number of credits used in order to execute the request.
validation_status Set to:-

NOT_FOUND when the person could not be validated.

FOUND_UNDER_18 when a person under 18 has been validated

FOUND when a person has been validated.

TOO_MANY when the search parameters indicates more than one person sharing the full name.

If you receive a NOT_FOUND response you could try a previous address, if you have one available. Our data contains current and previous addresses for UK people.
match_code_surname

Describes how we matched the surname. Possible values:-

  • FULL when the surname perfectly matched.
  • FUZZY when the surname was slightly incorrect (or a known synonym).
match_code_forename

Describes how we matched the forename. Possible values:-

  • FULL when the forename matched.
  • FUZZY when the forename was slightly incorrect or was a known synonym.
match_code_address

Describes how we matched the address. Possible values:-

  • FULL when the address input perfectly matched the person's address.
  • PARTIAL when the address input partially matched. This occurs if some (but not all) of the words in the address, place and town fields were matched, and they were in the correct order.
  • (None) when the address was not used when matching the person.

Error Codes

Name

Description

missing_surname

Mandatory parameter

missing_forename

Mandatory parameter

missing_addr1

Mandatory parameter

missing_postcode

Mandatory parameter

invalid_postcode

The postcode is not a valid UK postcode.

Note that the format of the postode is flexible – any case, and the space is not mandatory.

See the common error codes.


Worked Example

Mrs Rowena Stanley

26 Braeside Gardens

York

YO24 4EZ

The free test mode may be accessed by the use of the value test for the api_key. The test mode provides free access to a fictional analogue of our real search engine data.

The fictional person above is provided to enable easy and free integration of our API method.

The address is also fictional, although it is an extrapolation of real streets.

Perfect Match Example

Using these parameters to find our dummy record:-

Parameter Value
surname Stanley
forename Rowena
postcode YO244EZ (or YO24 4EZ)
addr1 26 Braeside Gardens
town York

...returned the XML below. Note that the match codes are all FULL for the name and address values. 


<?xml version="1.0"?>
<age_verification_res>
  <mode>normal</mode>
  <t2a_version_number>3.1.0.1</t2a_version_number>
  <validation_status>FOUND</validation_status>
  <match_code_forename>FULL</match_code_forename>
  <match_code_surname>FULL</match_code_surname>
  <match_code_address>FULL</match_code_address>
  <match_code_postcode>FULL</match_code_postcode>
</age_verification_res>


Successful Fuzzy Match Example

In this example the forename has been mis-spelt and by default we allow a small degree of fuzziness on the match. The API indicates that a fuzzy match has been made. You can edit the fuzzy matching criteria with the optional input parameters forename_fuzzy and surname_fuzzy (set them to true or false as needed).

Using these parameters to find our dummy record:-

Parameter Value
surname Stanley
forename Roweena
postcode YO244EZ (or YO24 4EZ)
addr1 26

...returned the XML below. Note that the match code for the forename is FUZZY because of the slight spelling change, and PARTIAL for the address. 


<?xml version="1.0"?>
<age_verification_res>
  <mode>normal</mode>
  <t2a_version_number>2.2.3.8</t2a_version_number>
  <validation_status>FOUND</validation_status>
  <match_code_forename>FUZZY</match_code_forename>  
  <match_code_surname>FULL</match_code_surname>
  <match_code_address>PARTIAL</match_code_address>
  <match_code_postcode>FULL</match_code_postcode>
</age_verification_res>


Exact Match Failure Example

The forename has been mis-spelt but forename_fuzzy and surname_fuzzy are both set to false.

Using these parameters to simulate an exact match failure

Parameter Value
forename_fuzzy false
surname_fuzzy false
surname Stanley
forename Roweena
postcode YO244EZ (or YO24 4EZ)
addr1 26 Braeside Gardens
town York

...returned the XML below. 


<?xml version="1.0"?>
<age_verification_res>
  <mode>normal</mode>
  <t2a_version_number>2.2.3.8</t2a_version_number>
  <validation_status>NOT_FOUND</validation_status>
  <match_code_forename>NO_MATCH</match_code_forename>
  <match_code_surname>NO_MATCH</match_code_surname>
  <match_code_address>NO_MATCH</match_code_address>
  <match_code_postcode>NO_MATCH</match_code_postcode>
</age_verification_res>

There are two ways to authenticate your application with the T2A API. The two implementation examples on this page cover each type of authentication

We recommend using an API key for internal applications and the javascript key for public facing applications where you would want to protect your API key.

Please note: The examples below run on a sandbox environment which return sample data. To quality check the data we provide, up to 3 free searches are available in the demo tab with results showing live [REDACTED] data.

API key

<div class="age-verification-example">
  <form class="age-verification-form">

    <div class="form-group">
          <label for="surname">Surname</label>
          <input type="text" class="form-control" id="surname" placeholder="Person's surname e.g Fawcett">
      </div>

    <div class="form-group">
          <label for="surname">Forename</label>
          <input type="text" class="form-control" id="forename" placeholder="Person's forename e.g John">
      </div>

    <div class="form-group">
          <label for="surname">Postcode</label>
          <input type="text" class="form-control" id="postcode" placeholder="UK Postcode">
      </div>

    <div class="form-group">
          <label for="surname">Address</label>
          <input type="text" class="form-control" id="addr1" placeholder="UK Address (First line)">
      </div>

    <button type="submit" class="btn example-submit">Submit</button>
  </form>
</div>

<div class="results">
  <div id="results-output"></div>
  <a class="results-return" href="#">Back to search</a>
</div>
                
.age-verification-example, .results {
  margin: 20px auto;
  width: 400px;
}

form.age-verification-form, .results {
    background-color: #F6F6F6;
    border: 1px solid #CBCBCB;
    padding: 15px;
}

.example-submit {
    background-color: #F0614C;
    border-radius: 2px;
    font-size: 11px;
    font-weight: 400;
    color: #fff;
    text-transform: uppercase;
    letter-spacing: 0.193em;
    width: 138px;
    height: 41px;
    margin-top: 10px;
}

.results {
  display: none;
}

.results-return {
    font-weight: 600;
    color: #F0614C;
}

#results-output span {
    font-weight: bold;
    text-transform: capitalize;
}

#results-output hr {
    border-top: 1px solid #000;
}

.error {
  font-size: 11px;
  color: #f00;
}

p.not_found {
  font-weight: bold;
  color: red;
}

p.found_under_18 {
  font-weight: bold;
  color: red;
}

p.found {
  font-weight: bold;
  color: green;
}
                
$(document).ready(function(){ 	
    $(".age-verification-form").submit(function(e) {
        e.preventDefault();	

        $('.error', $(this)).remove();

        var surname = $("#surname");        if(!surname.val()) {
                errorBefore("Please enter a surname.", surname);
            }

        var forename = $("#forename");        if(!forename.val()) {
                errorBefore("Please enter a forename.", forename);
            }

        var postcode = $("#postcode");        if(!postcode.val()) {
                errorBefore("Please enter a postcode.", postcode);
            }

        var addr1 = $("#addr1");        if(!addr1.val()) {
                errorBefore("Please enter an address.", addr1);
            }

        if($('.error', $(this)).length) {	
            $('.error', $(this)).first().next('input').focus();
        } else {
    
            $.ajax({
                url: 'https://api.t2a.io/rest/rest.aspx',
                dataType: 'json',
                data: {
                    'method'   : "age_verification",
                    'api_key'  : 'sandbox',
                    'surname' : surname.val(),
                    'forename' : forename.val(),
                    'postcode' : postcode.val(),
                    'addr1' : addr1.val(),
                                'check_under_18' : 'true',
                    'output'   : 'json'
                    },
                success: function(result){
                    if(result.validation_status == "NOT_FOUND") {
                        $('#results-output').append('<p class="output not_found">'+forename.val()+' '+surname.val()+' was not found at the specificed address')
                    };
                    if(result.validation_status == "FOUND_UNDER_18") {
                        $('#results-output').append('<p class="output found_under_18">'+forename.val()+' '+surname.val()+' was found at the specified address, but we cannot confirm they are over 18')
                    };
                    if(result.validation_status == "FOUND") {
                        $('#results-output').append('<p class="output found">'+forename.val()+' '+surname.val()+' was found at the specified address and is over 18')
                    };
                    $('.age-verification-example').hide();
                    $('.results').show(); 
               }
            });
        }
    });
    
    $('.results-return').on('click', function(e){
        e.preventDefault();
        $('#results-output').empty();
        
        $('.age-verification-example').show();
        $('.results').hide();
    });
});

function errorBefore(msg, insertBefore) {
    $('<p class="error">' + msg + '</p>').insertBefore(insertBefore);
}

Javascript key

<div class="age-verification-example">
  <form class="age-verification-form">

    <div class="form-group">
          <label for="surname">Surname</label>
          <input type="text" class="form-control" id="surname" placeholder="Person's surname e.g Fawcett">
      </div>

    <div class="form-group">
          <label for="surname">Forename</label>
          <input type="text" class="form-control" id="forename" placeholder="Person's forename e.g John">
      </div>

    <div class="form-group">
          <label for="surname">Postcode</label>
          <input type="text" class="form-control" id="postcode" placeholder="UK Postcode">
      </div>

    <div class="form-group">
          <label for="surname">Address</label>
          <input type="text" class="form-control" id="addr1" placeholder="UK Address (First line)">
      </div>

    <button type="submit" class="btn example-submit">Submit</button>
  </form>
</div>

<div class="results">
  <div id="results-output"></div>
  <a class="results-return" href="#">Back to search</a>
</div>
                
.age-verification-example, .results {
  margin: 20px auto;
  width: 400px;
}

form.age-verification-form, .results {
    background-color: #F6F6F6;
    border: 1px solid #CBCBCB;
    padding: 15px;
}

.example-submit {
    background-color: #F0614C;
    border-radius: 2px;
    font-size: 11px;
    font-weight: 400;
    color: #fff;
    text-transform: uppercase;
    letter-spacing: 0.193em;
    width: 138px;
    height: 41px;
    margin-top: 10px;
}

.results {
  display: none;
}

.results-return {
    font-weight: 600;
    color: #F0614C;
}

#results-output span {
    font-weight: bold;
    text-transform: capitalize;
}

#results-output hr {
    border-top: 1px solid #000;
}

.error {
  font-size: 11px;
  color: #f00;
}

p.not_found {
  font-weight: bold;
  color: red;
}

p.found_under_18 {
  font-weight: bold;
  color: red;
}

p.found {
  font-weight: bold;
  color: green;
}
                
$(document).ready(function(){ 	
    $(".age-verification-form").submit(function(e) {
        e.preventDefault();	

        $('.error', $(this)).remove();

        var surname = $("#surname");        if(!surname.val()) {
                errorBefore("Please enter a surname.", surname);
            }

        var forename = $("#forename");        if(!forename.val()) {
                errorBefore("Please enter a forename.", forename);
            }

        var postcode = $("#postcode");        if(!postcode.val()) {
                errorBefore("Please enter a postcode.", postcode);
            }

        var addr1 = $("#addr1");        if(!addr1.val()) {
                errorBefore("Please enter an address.", addr1);
            }

        if($('.error', $(this)).length) {	
            $('.error', $(this)).first().next('input').focus();
        } else {
            $.ajax({
                url: 'https://t2a.io/ajax/getExampleJSKey',
                dataType: 'json',
                success: function (result) {       
                        
                    if (result.status)
                    {       
                        $.ajax({
                            url: 'https://api.t2a.io/rest/rest.aspx',
                            dataType: 'json',
                            data: {
                                'method'   : "",
                                'javascript_key'  : result.javascript_key,
                                'domain' : "t2a.io", 
                                'surname' : surname.val(),
                                'forename' : forename.val(),
                                'postcode' : postcode.val(),
                                'addr1' : addr1.val(),
                                'output'   : 'json'
                            },
                            success: function(result){
                                if(result.validation_status == "NOT_FOUND") {
                                    $('#results-output').append('<p class="output not_found">'+forename.val()+' '+surname.val()+' was not found at the specificed address')
                                };
                                if(result.validation_status == "FOUND_UNDER_18") {
                                    $('#results-output').append('<p class="output found_under_18">'+forename.val()+' '+surname.val()+' was found at the specified address, but we cannot confirm they are over 18')
                                };
                                if(result.validation_status == "FOUND") {
                                    $('#results-output').append('<p class="output found">'+forename.val()+' '+surname.val()+' was found at the specified address and is over 18')
                                };
                                $('.age-verification-example').hide();
                                $('.results').show(); 
                            }
                        });
                    }
                }
            });
        }
    });
    
    $('.results-return').on('click', function(e){
        e.preventDefault();
        $('#results-output').empty();
        
        $('.age-verification-example').show();
        $('.results').hide();
    });
});

function errorBefore(msg, insertBefore) {
    $('<p class="error">' + msg + '</p>').insertBefore(insertBefore);
}

This example first needs to call to a file on your server, which will provide the user with an API key from your javascript key.

In our example above we have used a PHP file located at ajax/getExampleJSKey which looks like the example below

    <?php

        $url = 'https://api.t2a.io/rest/rest.aspx'
            . "?method=javascript_key"
            . "&api_key=sandbox" .
            . "&domain=" . $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'];
            . '&ip_address=' . get_user_ip()
            . "&lifetime_minutes=10";

        $result = simplexml_load_file($url);

        if ($result->javascript_key) {
            echo (string)$result->javascript_key;
        }

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