Scan, read, and extract MRZ data from passports

This guide demonstrates how to extract machine-readable zone (MRZ) data from passports using Nutrient .NET SDK. The MRZ, typically found at the bottom of personal identification documents, is readable via optical character recognition (OCR). Nutrient .NET SDK’s advanced OCR engine enables recognition of MRZ data in machine-readable travel documents (MRTD), including passports, visas, and ID cards.

Extract MRZ information

To extract MRZ information from a passport, follow the steps below:

  1. Create a GdPictureImaging object and a GdPictureOCR object.
  2. Select the image by passing its path to the CreateGdPictureImageFromFile method of the GdPictureImaging object.
  3. Set the image with the SetImage method of the GdPictureOCR object.
  4. Run the OCR process by passing OCRSpecialContext.MRZ to the RunOCR method of the GdPictureOCR object.
  5. Get the result of the OCR process as text with the GetOCRResultText method of the GdPictureOCR object.
  6. Write the output to the console.
  7. Release unnecessary resources.

The following example extracts MRZ information from a passport:

using GdPictureImaging gdpictureImaging = new GdPictureImaging();
using GdPictureOCR gdpictureOCR = new GdPictureOCR();
// Select the image to process.
int imageId = gdpictureImaging.CreateGdPictureImageFromFile(@"C:\temp\source.png");
// Set the image.
gdpictureOCR.SetImage(imageId);
// Run the OCR process.
string resultId = gdpictureOCR.RunOCR(OCRSpecialContext.MRZ);
// Get the result of the OCR process as text.
string mrzData = gdpictureOCR.GetOCRResultText(resultId);
// Write the output to the console.
Console.WriteLine($"MRZ information: {mrzData}");
// Release unnecessary resources.
gdpictureImaging.ReleaseGdPictureImage(imageId);
gdpictureOCR.ReleaseOCRResults();
Used methods and properties
Related topics