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

# Facial age estimation

> Confirms from a selfie alone that a person is 18 or older, and asks for an ID when the selfie can't.

Facial age estimation answers one question, whether the person is 18 or older, from a selfie alone. Nobody has to show a document unless the selfie can't confirm 18+, and nobody is declined on the selfie alone.

## Where it runs

| Workspace type | Age estimation |
| - | - |
| Facial age estimation | Yes, with a minimum age of 18 |
| Identity (KYC), age verification by ID document | No: the age comes from the document |

## How it works

1. The person takes a selfie in the widget. [Liveness and anti-spoofing](/core-technology/liveness) run on it as on any selfie.
2. Their age is estimated and compared with the minimum age.
3. If the estimate confirms the person is 18 or older, the age check passes.
4. If it can't confirm it, whatever the estimate, the verification does not decline: the widget asks for an identity document in the same verification, and the date of birth on the document decides, as in [Age verification by ID document](/core-technology/age-by-document). Your webhook receives `resubmission_requested` with `reason: null`, and `GET` reports the verification as `documents_required` until the person submits the document. That verification is billed as a document check; see [Pricing](/getting-started/pricing).

## In the API and the webhook

`GET /v1/verifications/{id}/estimation` returns whether the minimum age was passed and how confident the estimate is:

```json theme={null}
{
  "age_threshold": { "minimum": 18, "passed": true, "confidence": 0.9731 },
  "gender": { "value": 0, "confidence": 0.98 }
}
```

The estimated age itself is not returned. See [Reading results](/integration/retrieving-results).

## Reasons

A facial age estimation is declined for a spoof or a blocklist match like any verification; an estimate that cannot confirm the age leads to the document step, not to a decline. After the document step, `verification.age_threshold.failed` declines a person the document shows to be under the minimum age.

## What the person is asked to do

Take the selfie facing the camera, in even light, with nothing covering the face. If asked for a document, photograph the front (and the back, unless it is a passport).


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