Identity verification is required to list on Tutorperch
Identity verification is a condition of publishing a profile. A tutor account remains a private draft until the check has been completed and passed. Profiles do not appear in search results, on cell pages, or in messaging surfaces until that point.
How the check works
The tutor submits a photograph of a government-issued ID document (passport, driving licence, CitizenCard, or biometric residence permit) alongside a short live selfie. Both are captured inside the verification provider's interface, on the tutor's own device.
The provider authenticates the document and runs the face-match. Tutorperch receives the verified first name, last name, date of birth, and the outcome. The document image is held only by the verification provider. The selfie is briefly viewed by a member of our team at profile-photo review, to confirm the photo the tutor uploads is the same person; it is not used as the profile picture and is not retained by us.
How it relates to safeguarding
Identity verification confirms that the person operating the account is the same person shown on the photo ID. It is not a criminal-record check, and on its own it carries no safeguarding finding.
Its function within the broader process is to anchor the safeguarding review that follows. When a tutor submits a DBS, PVG or AccessNI certificate, the name on that certificate is cross-referenced against the identity-verified name. A mismatch halts the submission. Without identity verification in place first, a fraudulent profile paired with a stolen certificate reference would have no point of friction. With it, that pairing fails at the cross-check, because the fraudulent account could not have passed the live face-match against the real certificate holder.
For parents
Identity verification establishes that the person behind a profile is the person they claim to be. For tutoring with under-18s, the additional badge to look for is Safeguarding-Verified, which signifies a manual review of the tutor's DBS certificate (England and Wales), PVG record (Scotland), or AccessNI Enhanced Disclosure (Northern Ireland). That filter is the appropriate shortlist tool when booking child tutoring.