A passport MRZ scanner reads the two lines of 44 characters at the bottom of a passport photo page and turns them into clean data: name, passport number, nationality, date of birth, sex, expiry date and personal number. This free scanner does that in your browser, checks every field against its check digit, flags passports that expire within 6 months, and exports the results to Excel, CSV, PDF or JSON. The photo is never uploaded.
How to scan a passport MRZ online
- Open the photo page. That is the page with the photo and the two lines of capital letters, numbers and < symbols along the bottom.
- Upload a photo or use the camera. On a phone, choose Use camera and fit the two MRZ lines inside the box. On a computer, drop one or more photos onto the upload area.
- Check the result. A green label means all five check digits match. A yellow label tells you which field to compare with the passport.
- Export. Download the scanned passports as Excel, CSV, PDF or JSON, ready for a visa form, a booking or your own records.
What does the scanner read from the MRZ?
| Field | Where it comes from | Checked by |
|---|---|---|
| Surname and given names | MRZ line 1 | Format only (names have no check digit) |
| Passport number | Line 2, characters 1 to 9 | Its own check digit and the composite check |
| Nationality and issuing country | Three-letter country codes | Format |
| Date of birth | Line 2, YYMMDD | Its own check digit and a real-date check |
| Sex | M, F or < | Format |
| Date of expiry | Line 2, YYMMDD | Its own check digit, plus the 6-month validity status |
| Personal number (CNIC on Pakistani passports) | Line 2, characters 29 to 42 | Its own check digit and the composite check |
On a Pakistani passport the personal number is the 13-digit CNIC, so the scanner shows it in the usual 35202-1234567-1 format. Details that are printed on the page but not stored in the MRZ, such as father’s name, place of birth and date of issue, cannot be read from the MRZ and have to be copied from the page itself. Our guide on the Pakistani passport number format and how to read the MRZ explains every character.
How does the scanner know the data is right?
OCR makes predictable mistakes: 0 and O, 1 and I, 5 and S, 8 and B look almost the same. The MRZ was designed for this. The passport number, date of birth, expiry date and personal number each end with a check digit calculated with the 7-3-1 rule from ICAO Doc 9303, and a final composite digit covers all of them together.
When a character is ambiguous, the scanner tries the look-alike options and keeps the reading that makes the check digits match, including the composite one. If no reading passes, it does not guess: the card is marked for a person to check. Every scan also gets a validity status, because an expired passport or one with less than 6 months left is the first thing a visa or Umrah application gets rejected for.
Is it safe to scan a passport online?
Most online MRZ readers upload the image to a server. That sends a client’s full identity page to a company you know nothing about. This scanner works differently: the OCR engine is downloaded to your browser and the image is read on your own device. Nothing about the passport is sent to handicraftm.com or anyone else, the free-scan counter is stored only in your browser, and closing the tab clears the results.
Tips for a clean scan
- Avoid glare. Tilt the passport slightly away from overhead lights; reflections on the laminate hide characters.
- Keep it flat and straight. Small tilts are corrected automatically, but a curled page bends the MRZ lines.
- Fill the frame. The MRZ should be at least half the width of the photo.
- Send photos as documents on WhatsApp. Normal WhatsApp photos are compressed and lose the fine detail OCR needs.
Free online scanner or Passport Extractor?
| Free online scanner | Passport Extractor for Windows | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | A few passports now and then | Travel agencies scanning groups every week |
| Scans | 5 a day | No limit |
| Input | Photos and camera | Folders of photos, PDFs and WhatsApp ZIPs |
| Fields | MRZ fields | MRZ fields plus printed fields such as father’s name |
| Doubtful fields | Marked on the card | Review screen that shows the field on the passport image |
| Internet | Needed to load the page | Works fully offline |
| Price | Free | Free trial for 30 passports, then PKR 20,000 once |
Passport Extractor is built by the same team for travel and Umrah agencies that type passport details all day. Read more on the Passport Extractor page, see how it compares in our guide to passport OCR software and scanning passports to Excel, or look at Safar Studio, our travel agency software that reads the MRZ straight into a pilgrim file.
What this scanner does not do
- It reads passports only (the TD3 format). ID cards and visas use shorter MRZ formats.
- It does not check whether a passport is genuine. Valid check digits prove the data was read correctly, not that the document is real.
- It does not read the printed fields outside the MRZ, such as father’s name or place of birth.
Last updated: October 16, 2026
