TLDR: The Digital Right to Rent check verifies a tenant's identity against a British or Irish passport, or Irish passport card, to help landlords meet their Right to Rent obligations digitally.
Digital Right to Rent checks verify tenant's identities digitally to support a landlord's Right to Rent obligations
From 1 October 2026, landlords and letting agents carrying out digital Right to Rent checks must use a service certified against both the UK Digital Verification Services (DVS) trust framework and the Right to Rent supplementary code, under SI 2026/700. The Digital Right to Rent check is Thirdfort's certified route for this requirement.
What is the Digital Right to Rent route?
There are three ways to check someone's right to rent in England: a manual document check, the Home Office online service (using a share code), or a digital check through a registered right to rent digital verification service provider (RtR DVSP). The digital route is for tenants with a valid British or Irish passport, or an Irish passport card. Instead of you checking the passport in person, an RtR DVSP like Thirdfort verifies it for you.
Who can use the digital route?
The digital Right to Rent route is only available where the tenant holds one of the following documents:
- A British passport
- An Irish passport
- An Irish passport card
If a tenant doesn't hold one of these documents, the digital check cannot be completed. This does not mean the tenant has no right to rent, the landlord or letting agent will need to complete an alternative check, such as a manual document check or the Home Office online checking service.
What does the check include?
- Digital Right to Rent outcome
- Identity document verification
- Facial recognition
- Known fraud check
- Address verification
- Screening for PEPs and sanctions
How is it different from the Original ID check?
- Restricted eligibility and documents: only British and Irish citizens can use it, with an in-date British or Irish passport or an Irish passport card. Any other document, such as a driving licence, another country's passport or an expired document, gives an unsuccessful result.
- Evidence for the landlord: the result includes confirmation that Thirdfort is a registered DVS service, a link to our entry on the register, confirmation that the code was followed, and a clear yes/no identity result.
This guide is for Thirdfort Clients using the new CDD platform. This article may not apply if you have not yet been migrated to the new platform or access Thirdfort via a partner or reseller