Sighting original ID: what to record

People search “verify client ID document checklist” when a two-partner firm sights an original at reception and the file note says only “ID seen”. Checked against AUSTRAC’s glossary entry for KYC information on 4 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. This page does not reproduce that guidance. How that sighting differs from customer due diligence is VOI versus CDD. A broader checklist of due diligence steps is the AUSTRAC customer due diligence checklist. The sector map is /tranche-2.

What the note has to carry

KYC information is the information your program collects so you know the customer. Sighting an original is one way a firm meets a step the program already named. AUSTRAC’s glossary is the frame for the phrase. This page does not reproduce it, and it does not set out which documents are acceptable.

The note answers a later question: who compared this person with this original, on this date, and where is the copy the program says you keep. “ID seen” does not answer it. Neither does a private list of fallback documents the program never approved.

• Name the customer on this matter. A sighting for a different file does not travel. Write the matter number next to the note.
• Name the person who looked. Initials nobody can decode are not a name. The partner who later relies on the note needs a person to ask.
• Write the date you looked. A copy with no date cannot be placed against the instructions you had that week.
• Stay inside the program’s categories. If the document is not one the program allows, the step is incomplete. Do not build an alternative list at the desk.

A note, not a document catalogue

The columns are about the record. They are not a menu of identity documents. If a column tempts you to invent a document type, leave the type to the program.

Where the sighting page stops

This page is the record of a sighting. It is not the difference between VOI and CDD, and it is not the full due diligence checklist. Those are VOI versus CDD and the AUSTRAC customer due diligence checklist.

What the client pays

On FreeAML the firm suite is A$0. The firm emails the client a link. Verification is client-pays. On the public list a personal KYC check is A$20 and a company or trust KYB check is A$40. Use KYB when the customer is a company or a trust. A sighting note is not a verification product, and it is not included in the firm suite as a completed check. Confirm the live amounts on FreeAML pricing. FreeAML does not decide that a sighting completes customer due diligence or list alternative identity documents.

Frequently Asked Questions