ICAO Machine-Readable Zone Line 1 (MRZ) Regex for Go

What this pattern does

This page provides a well-structured, multi-part regular expression for matching icao machine-readable zone line 1 (mrz), ported and verified for Go. Identity and credential patterns need both correctness and safety, since they're frequent targets for adversarial input. The snippet below is ready to drop into your Go project — whether you're validating in a Gin handler, a gRPC service, or a command-line tool.

Go Implementation

// ICAO Machine-Readable Zone Line 1 (MRZ)
// ReDoS-safe | RegexVault — Identity & PII > Passport Numbers

package validation

import "regexp"

var icaoMachinereadableZoneLine1MrzRe = regexp.MustCompile(`^P[A-Z<]([A-Z]{3})([A-Z0-9<]{39})$`)

func ValidateIcaoMachinereadableZoneLine1Mrz(s string) bool {
    return icaoMachinereadableZoneLine1MrzRe.MatchString(s)
}

// Example
// fmt.Println(ValidateIcaoMachinereadableZoneLine1Mrz("P<UTOERIKSSON<<ANNA<MARIA<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<")) // true

Test Cases

When to use this pattern

This pattern is drawn from the Identity & PII > Passport Numbers category and carries a ReDoS-safe certification. That matters for Go developers because Go's RE2 engine is inherently safe from catastrophic backtracking, but this pattern has been additionally verified for correctness. RegexVault audits patterns against known backtracking attack vectors, ensuring you have the necessary context before using this regex in a high-stakes production environment.

Common Pitfalls

Technical Notes

MRZ Line 1 for passports: document type (P) + subtype + 3-char issuing country + surname<<given names, padded with < to 44 chars total. Line 2 contains the passport number, nationality, DOB, sex, expiry, and check digits.