> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developer.coincover.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Start identity verification

> Initiates a new identity verification workflow and returns a Verification ID. The user will use this verification_id to spin up a front-end SDK that will guide the user through the identity verification workflow.



## OpenAPI

````yaml /specs/retail.openapi.json post /v1/verification/start
openapi: 3.0.3
info:
  title: Control Orchestrator API
  description: API for orchestrating identity verification and key management workflows
  version: 1.0.0
servers:
  - url: https://orchestrator.control.coincover.com
    description: Production server
  - url: https://orchestrator.uat-control.coincover.com
    description: Development server
security:
  - ApiKeyAuth: []
  - BearerAuth: []
tags:
  - name: Verification
    description: Start, check, and simulate biometric identity verification.
  - name: Keys
    description: Generate, assign, and verify cryptographic keys.
  - name: Backups
    description: Store and recover encrypted backup data.
paths:
  /v1/verification/start:
    post:
      tags:
        - Verification
      summary: Start identity verification
      description: >-
        Initiates a new identity verification workflow and returns a
        Verification ID. The user will use this verification_id to spin up a
        front-end SDK that will guide the user through the identity verification
        workflow.
      operationId: startVerification
      requestBody:
        required: true
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              $ref: '#/components/schemas/VerificationStartRequest'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Verification started successfully
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/VerificationId'
components:
  schemas:
    VerificationStartRequest:
      type: object
      properties:
        user_identifier:
          type: string
          description: User identifier (REQUIRED)
          example: john.doe@example.com
      required:
        - user_identifier
    VerificationId:
      type: object
      properties:
        verification_id:
          type: string
          description: Unique identifier for the biometric verification
          example: inq_abc123xyz
      required:
        - verification_id
  securitySchemes:
    ApiKeyAuth:
      type: apiKey
      in: header
      name: X-API-Key
      description: API key for authentication and authorization
    BearerAuth:
      type: http
      scheme: bearer
      bearerFormat: JWT
      description: ID token as Bearer token

````