Which right to work check API should you use?
Short answer
It depends on who you are checking. For anyone with an eVisa, the check is the Home Office online check with a share code. You can do it by hand on gov.uk, or a share code API runs it from your software: Check Share Code or ukrtwchecker.co.uk. To check British and Irish passports digitally, an employer must use a registered right to work digital verification service provider (RtW DVSP), such as TrustID, Yoti or Credas. A share code check does not need a DVSP; only facial recognition for the photo step does. For share code checks from your own software, Check Share Code has the lowest published price of the services compared here, a sandbox key the moment you sign up, and driving licence checks on the same API.
Sources: the Home Office employer’s guide to right to work checks (1 October 2026), the DVS register and each provider’s own website, read on 23 October 2026. If something here is out of date, tell us at matt@checksharecode.co.uk and we will fix it.
Three ways to check
The first two are the same Home Office check, by hand or from your software. The third is for British and Irish passports checked digitally.
- Who it is for
- gov.uk by hand
- People with an eVisa or other Home Office status, who give you a share code
- Share code API
- The same people, checked from your own software
- RtW DVSP
- British and Irish citizens with a passport or Irish passport card
- What it does
- gov.uk by hand
- You enter the share code and date of birth on gov.uk and save the result as your evidence
- Share code API
- Runs the Home Office online check and returns the result, photo and gov.uk PDF
- RtW DVSP
- Checks the document digitally and can match the person’s face to it
- Needs to be on the DVS register
- gov.uk by hand
- No
- Share code API
- No
- RtW DVSP
- Yes, if you choose to check digitally
- Examples
- gov.uk by hand
- gov.uk/view-right-to-work
- Share code API
- Check Share Code, ukrtwchecker.co.uk
- RtW DVSP
- TrustID, Yoti, Credas
The Home Office says the employer stays responsible for the check whatever technology helps, and does not currently support or endorse technology for online checks. Some DVSPs also handle share codes inside their own flow (see below).
Side by side
- What it is
- Check Share Code
- Share code API
- ukrtwchecker.co.uk
- Share code API
- TrustID
- RtW DVSP
- Yoti
- RtW DVSP
- Credas
- RtW DVSP
- On the DVS register for right to work
- Check Share Code
- No
- ukrtwchecker.co.uk
- No
- TrustID
- Yes
- Yoti
- Yes
- Credas
- Yes
- Share codes
- Check Share Code
- Runs the Home Office check; returns outcome, conditions, photo and PDF
- ukrtwchecker.co.uk
- Runs the Home Office check; image and PDF on request
- TrustID
- Its docs describe downloading the share code document
- Yoti
- Its docs describe fetching the share code details
- Credas
- The candidate gives the code; by default Credas does not fetch the Home Office document (its API lists share code PDF endpoints)
- British and Irish passports
- Check Share Code
- No
- ukrtwchecker.co.uk
- Not found
- TrustID
- Yes
- Yoti
- Yes
- Credas
- Yes
- Published prices
- Check Share Code
- Free: 10 live checks a month. £14 a month for 100, £49 for 500
- ukrtwchecker.co.uk
- Free: 10 checks a month. £19 a month for 100, £69 for 500
- TrustID
- Not published. Pay per check, minimum order 100 checks
- Yoti
- Not on its website. Its G-Cloud price list (public sector) shows £1.80 a passport check, plus set-up and monthly minimums
- Credas
- Not published
- Other checks
- Check Share Code
- Right to rent, immigration status and DVLA driving licence, on the same key
- ukrtwchecker.co.uk
- Right to rent and immigration status
- TrustID
- Right to rent and DBS (on the register)
- Yoti
- Right to rent and DBS (on the register)
- Credas
- Right to rent and DBS (on the register)
- Public API docs
- Check Share Code
- Yes
- ukrtwchecker.co.uk
- Yes
- TrustID
- Yes
- Yoti
- Yes
- Credas
- Yes
- Getting started
- Check Share Code
- Sign up and get a sandbox key
- ukrtwchecker.co.uk
- Sign up
- TrustID
- Quote or demo
- Yoti
- Developer account, verified in 2 to 4 hours; free sandbox
- Credas
- Demo or trial
Other services on the DVS register for right to work include Amiqus, Entrust (formerly Onfido) and Zinc. A provider being on the register says nothing about its share code check, which no provider needs registering for. Check Share Code and ukrtwchecker.co.uk in detail.
Why developers choose Check Share Code for share codes
Each point is from the table above or our own docs.
The lowest published share code price
£14 a month for 100 checks and £49 for 500, against £19 and £69 at ukrtwchecker.co.uk, with extra checks at half the rate on paid plans. TrustID, Yoti and Credas do not publish one for share codes.
Start without a sales call
Sign up and you have a sandbox key, with a test share code for every outcome, so your integration is tested before your first live check. (Yoti and ukrtwchecker.co.uk are self-serve too.)
Built for code
Flat JSON, dates in ISO format, errors as HTTP status codes, and the gov.uk photo and PDF in every response.
Four checks on one key
Right to work, right to rent and immigration status share codes, and DVLA driving licence check codes, through the same API.
Ready for coding agents
llms.txt, an OpenAPI 3.1 file and a Markdown copy of every page, so the agent writing your integration reads the real docs.
Works beside your DVSP
Send share codes to Check Share Code and British and Irish passports to your registered provider. The guide sets the check by the person’s documents, so you can use both.
When another choice is better: if you only check a few people a month, gov.uk by hand is enough. If you already use a DVSP whose flow handles share codes, and one supplier matters more to you than price or a direct API, staying with it is reasonable.
Check by hand on gov.uk if
- You check a few people a month
- You don’t need the result in your own software
Choose a share code API if
- Most of the people you check have an eVisa and a share code
- You want to sign up today, with published prices and a sandbox
- Your developers or coding agent will write the integration
- You also check driving licences (Check Share Code)
Choose a RtW DVSP if
- You check British and Irish passports digitally
- You want facial recognition for the photo step
- You want one provider for document checks across every candidate
Questions
Do I need a certified DVSP for share code checks?
No. The Home Office employer’s guide (1 October 2026) says a registered RtW DVSP is needed only where facial recognition is used to confirm the photo is the person you are hiring. You can also do that step in person or by video call. Using a DVSP is optional, but if you use one it must be on the OfDIA register.
Is Check Share Code a DVSP?
No. Check Share Code runs the Home Office online check with a share code, and DVLA’s check with a driving licence check code, and returns the result as JSON. It does not check passports or match faces.
Can I use a share code API and a DVSP together?
Yes. The guide sets the check by the person’s documents: the online check for anyone with an eVisa, and a manual or RtW DVSP check for British and Irish passports. So a team can send share codes to one service and passports to another.
Where do these facts come from?
Each provider’s own website and developer docs, and gov.uk’s DVS register, read on 23 October 2026. Prices change: check with the provider before you buy. If something here is wrong, tell us at matt@checksharecode.co.uk and we will fix it.
Try the share code check in the sandbox
A test key and a test code for every outcome, before your first live check.