How to Build a Flutter MRZ Scanner App for Android and iOS

Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) scanning is a critical feature in identity verification, border control, hotel check-in, and know-your-customer (KYC) workflows. Passports and ICAO-compliant ID cards embed personal data in two or three lines of OCR-B printed text at the bottom of the data page — the MRZ. A mobile app that can decode this in real time cuts manual data-entry errors, speeds up workflows, and improves user experience. This tutorial walks you through building a Flutter MRZ scanner for Android and iOS using the Dynamsoft MRZ Scanner SDK . Demo Video: Flutter MRZ Scanner Prerequisites Requirement Version Flutter SDK ≥ 3.8 Dart SDK ≥ 3.8 Android Studio or VS Code Latest Xcode (for iOS builds) Latest A Dynamsoft license key Free 30-day trial You also need a physical Android or iOS device — the MRZ scanner cannot run on an emulator because it requires a real camera. Understanding MRZ formats The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) defines three Travel Document formats un