ARTICLE
Digital Identity Checks – is now the time? T
he Law Society, the Chartered Institute for Legal Executives and the Council for Licensed Conveyancers have been investigating the potential for digital identity verification tools. The COVID-19 crisis as well as the advancements generally in technology has fast-tracked the mechanisms for a more secure, efficient and convenient means of identifying parties to a transaction. Although techniques for facial recognition against a passport are available in many areas including through smart phones now, they are not available for conveyancers. Ensuring you ‘Know your Client’ and who you are dealing within an increasingly digital era is essential. The expectation that your client would be locally based and able to come in and see you is very much outdated and it is to be expected that a large proportion of clients will not be within sensible travelling distance of the conveyancer they engage. The verification of the client is vitally important to the trust and confidence in the registration of land at HM Land Registry and in the conveyancing process in general. A series of events with conveyancers, identity service providers and others through the summer months has led to a draft set of requirements being produced which are aimed at encouraging digital identity checks. The virtual events brought together conveyancers and technology suppliers to collect data as to what solutions would be achievable and what barriers may be in place which need to be overcome. It was apparent that the technology already exists to meet the needs and give the security that is required to the conveyancer, the business sector and the consumer. The conclusion was that the pandemic has provided a very strong catalyst for the development of this arena and that the conveyancing market would benefit from it and welcome it. The draft set of requirements is: Encouraging the use of digital technology in identity verification There is widespread demand across the conveyancing market for more resilient, straightforward and convenient identity verification solutions. We believe that there is scope for an alternative higher standard of identity check – one that uses biometric and cryptographic technology, is defined and gives clarity and certainty to the conveyancer that they have discharged their duty on identity verification in connection with land registration applications. The guidance below does not deal with identity checks required by regulatory or representative bodies, or required by law, such as under the money laundering legislation. The Safe Harbour Standard The enhanced level of check is defined by reference to a set of requirements, collectively known as the “Safe Harbour Standard”. The Safe Harbour Standard is founded on the
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principles within the Government’s Good Practice Guide GPG45. The requirements involve biometric and cryptographic checking of identity and verification that the individual or individuals signing of behalf of corporations are the owner of the property or otherwise a genuine party to a registrable transaction. The Safe Harbour Standard when followed, constitutes what is regarded by HM Land Registry as a discharge of the duty to verify the identity of a party to a registrable transaction. A conveyancer who adopts this approach will have fulfilled their obligation to take reasonable steps in relation to the requirement to verify their client’s identity and will reach the “Safe Harbour”. This means that if a conveyancer carries out the steps described in the Standard, HM Land Registry will not pursue any recourse claim against the conveyancer resulting from the registration of a fraudulent transaction on the grounds that identity checks were inadequate. The conditions for meeting the Safe Harbour Standard are set out below. Requirements 1 to 3 must be carried out by all conveyancers acting for a party to the transaction. Requirement 4 is an additional check to be carried out by the conveyancer who represents a transferor, lessor or borrower in the transaction. Requirement 1 – Obtain evidence You must find out if the person you are representing is who they say they are. To meet this requirement, they must hold a form of evidence that can be checked by interrogating cryptographic security features within that evidence. The security features must include an electronically held photo of the identity against which biometric facial recognition checks may be made. Acceptable forms of evidence that meet these requirements are: ■ biometric passports that meet the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) specifications for e-passports; ■ identity cards from an EU or EEA (European Economic Area) country that follow the Council Regulation (EC) No 2252/2004 standards and contain biometric information; and ■ a UK biometric residence permit. Requirement 2 – Check the evidence You must check that the evidence that meets the first requirement is genuine to ensure it has not been forged and is still current. You can do this by using an identity check provider to verify for you that the documentary and cryptographic security features of the evidence are genuine. The identity check provider’s system must read the chip within the evidence using Near Field Communication by providing any
