LexID | Lexis Nexis Instant ID

Overview

Growing your business while satisfying Customer Identification Program (CIP) regulations demands the ability to make effective and efficient decisions on prospective customers.
LexisNexis® InstantID® delivers instant identity verification to drive smarter decisions and keep customer acquisition in focus.

LexID Overview

This guide explains how LexID works, which personal attributes you can provide, and how to interpret the confidence score returned with your LexID.

📘

NOTE

This service is only supported within the United States


1. Personal Attributes

The full list of attributes available:

  • Full Name
  • Address
  • Phone Number
  • Date of Birth (DOB)
  • Social Security Number (SSN)

👍

TIP

Including as much accurate PII as possible (name, address, DOB, SSN) yields better matching results. Minor variations can significantly impact the confidence score.


2. LexID & Confidence Score Output

When you submit PII, you receive:

  • LexID (e.g., 1071604939)
  • Confidence Score (0–100)
    "acquiredAttributes": [
        {
            "provider": "Lexis Nexis",
            "serviceOffering": "Lexis Nexis lexID Only Service",
            "attributeType": "LexID",
            "dateCreated": "01/01/2001 20:42:06",
            "values": {
                "lexID": "1071604939"
            }
        },
        {
            "provider": "Lexis Nexis",
            "serviceOffering": "Lexis Nexis lexID Only Service",
            "attributeType": "LNCDLScore",
            "dateCreated": "05/01/2011 20:42:06",
            "values": {
                "LNCDLScore": "99"
            }
        }
    ],


3. Interpreting the Confidence Score

  • 100
    Only one profile matches the PII you provided.

  • 75 – 99
    Multiple profiles exist, but we’re confident the returned LexID is primary.
    Usually driven by highly specific PII (e.g., SSN).

  • Below 75
    Multiple profiles exist, and we cannot confidently pick a primary.
    Score ≈50 suggests two similarly matching profiles with insufficient separation.

Client Tip: Some clients use a threshold of 80+ for assignment based on their own testing. You can treat 75 the same as 100 for “confident match” purposes.


4. Data Clusters & LexID Lifecycle

  1. Data Cluster
    A collection of PII not yet linked to a unique person.

  2. Primary LexID
    Assigned to a Data Cluster once there’s enough proof (e.g., SSN) of a unique individual.

  3. Secondary LexID
    Created when new PII does not match any existing LexID.

    • With additional PII, secondary LexIDs can merge into primaries.
    • Primary LexIDs have robust data; secondaries are limited until they merge.

5. Best Practices

  • Maximize PII Accuracy: Minor errors (typos, outdated address) can lower scores.
  • Use All Available Fields: The more data points you supply, the stronger the match.
  • Monitor Thresholds: Adjust your confidence threshold (e.g., 75 vs. 80) based on your use case.



Available Assertions (See table below)

AssertionDescription
link.fullName_phoneThe full name provided matches the full name registered to the provided phone number.
link.lastName_phoneThe last name provided matches the last name registered to the provided phone number.
link.phone_addressThe address provided matches the address registered to the provided phone number.
test.phone_landline_mobile_personalThe phone type provided is a mobile phone or a fixed voip phone (ex. not a google voice #)
link.fullName_addressA person with the provided full name lives at the provided address.
link.lastName_addressA person with the provided last name lives at the provided address.
test.candidateNoOFACMatchToNameAndDOBCheck if there is an OFAC match to the provided name and dob (match = fail)
test.watchlistThe identity provided is on a global watchlist (ex. OFAC or FinCEN sanctions)
link.address_SSN (4 or 9 digit)The SSN given matches the address given
link.dob_SSN (4 or 9 digit)DEPRECATED - Lexis no longer offers direct attribute-to-DOB matching. Use link.dob_candidate instead
link.fullName_SSN (4 or 9 digit)The full name given matches the SSN given
link.name_or_address_to_ssn (4 or 9 digit)The full name given matches either the full name or address for the SSN given

Assertions (cont...)

Assertion Name

PASS definition

test.addressIsResidential

Address provided is registered as a Residential Address

test.addressIsNotPOBox

Address provided is not a PO Box

test.addressIsNotBusiness

Address provided is not registered as a business

test.addressIsVacant

Address provided is not vacant

test.address_is_current

Address provided is the best/most recent address for the identity

test.noAddressConflicts

The address given is the most recent address for this person according to their credit file

test.ssnIsValid

The SSN provided is formatted correctly and exists

test.ssnNotDeceased

The SSN is not deceased

test.candidateNotDeceased

The overall identity found for the information provided is not deceased

test.fraudulentActivityAddress

Check if the provided address has been previously linked to fraud

test.ssnMatchesNoOthers

The provided SSN and other data points are collectively unlikely to match any other SSN

link.lastName_DOB

DEPRECATED - Lexis no longer offers direct attribute-to-DOB matching. Use link.dob_candidate instead

link.dob_candidate

Lexis' algorithms will first resolve the "candidate/subject" and only then check if DOB matches that resolved identity.

Must be exact match on month, day and year to PASS.



Acquired Attributes (additional data returned from Lexis Nexis)

Acquired Attribute

Definition

RecordLookupType

The primary source where LexisNexis identified the data.
•A (Phone Listing)
•P (Phone records)
•U (Utility records)
•S (Customer Network)
•I (Internal Proprietary)

PhoneFirstSeen

First month the phone was reported as active.

PhoneLastSeen

Last month the phone was reported as active.

PhoneStatus

Connected, disconnected

PhoneType

Mobile, pager, business

BusinessType

Type of business (if address is reported as biz)
- Prison
- Corporate
- Military
- Commercial or institutional
- Commercial Mailing Agency
- PO box

FlaggedWatchlists

A comma-separated list of all watchlists that were flagged for this identity.

FlaggedWatchlistsDetails

A comma-separated list of reasons why the identity was on each watchlists.

LexID

A unique ID for each identity. Similar to SSN but not considered personal information.

SSNValidityIndicator

•G (Good)
•M (Manufactured from other data found)
•S (Suppressed)
•X (Insufficientinformation)
•O (Issued before the subject's DOB)
•R (Relative’s SSN)
•F (Typographical error)
•B (Bad)
•U (Unknown)
•Z (Possible different owner)




Questions or Support

For further assistance, contact:

[email protected]