PA reading problem in some documents

Issue

When scanning certain types of electronic documents, such as a UK residence permit, you may encounter a PA: False result in the RFID section, even though all other checks (e.g. authenticity, data integrity, visual and machine-readable data parsing) pass successfully.

This error typically occurs in the following cases:

• The document is signed with a DS certificate based on a non-public or outdated CSCA certificate.
• The required CSCA/DS certificates for the document are missing from your system.
• You are using an outdated document database that does not contain information about current certificates or the structure of the scanned document.

Solution

To resolve the PA: False error, follow these steps:

1. Ensure that your system has the latest CSCA and DS certificates installed:
   • Update the certificates from the official source — the ICAO PKD, if the document is international.
   • If the document is domestic (e.g. an ID card or residence permit), and the required CSCA certificate is not publicly available, consider contacting the issuing authority of the country directly.
2. If you already have the required CSCA certificate, add it manually to the following directory:
   C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Local\Regula\PKD
3. Update your document database to the latest version to ensure correct structure and proper recognition of document types.

Reference

According to ICAO Document 9303, electronic travel documents contain an SOD file, which stores data hashes and a digital signature created using the DS certificate. The DS certificate is, in turn, signed by a CSCA certificate.

Some countries use different CSCA certificates for international and domestic documents. As a result, the PKD contains only CSCA certificates for international documents, while those for domestic use may not be publicly accessible.

For more details on ICAO procedures for electronic document validation, see the official page here.