Emirates ID: the 15-digit number and the card’s MRZ

The 15-digit number

Emirates ID numbers are printed in four groups:

784 - YYYY - NNNNNNN - C

784      UAE country code (ISO 3166-1 numeric)
YYYY     year of birth
NNNNNNN  seven-digit sequence
C        check digit

The check digit is widely reported to use the Luhn algorithm. The issuing authority does not publish this, so treat it as a sanity check rather than a rule.

The machine-readable zone

The back of the card carries a three-line MRZ in the ICAO 9303 ID-card format. Its check digits use the same 7-3-1 method as passports.

How Mahad OCR reads it

Mahad OCR returns full_name, id_number, nationality, date_of_birth and expiry_date. MRZ check digits are verified where the MRZ is present. Each field is marked ✓ confirmed or ⚠ check it, and anything disputed, unreadable or missing goes to human review.

Only printed data is read: the card’s chip and barcode are not. No check is made against UAE government systems.