Canadian · Validation
IRCC UCI format checker.
Check whether a UCI (Unique Client Identifier) matches the shape IRCC itself publishes — 8 digits or 10 digits — and see what a UCI actually is.
Important, up front: a UCI is a client-file identifier IRCC assigns, not a self-checking number. No check-digit algorithm is published or expected to exist for it. This tool checks shape only.
Inputs
Result
Enter a UCI and press Check.
What a UCI is
A UCI — Unique Client Identifier, also called a client identification number or client ID — is the number Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) assigns to a person's file the first time they interact with the department. IRCC's own Help Centre answer "What is a UCI?" says it plainly: it's on official documents you get from IRCC, and if you're applying for the first time, you won't have one yet (write "N/A" or leave it blank where a form allows).
People look up their own UCI because almost every later IRCC interaction needs it: signing in to an IRCC secure account, checking application status, submitting a new application connected to an existing file, or a lawyer/consultant confirming which file they're representing.
The two real formats
IRCC's Help Centre page gives the UCI exactly two valid shapes, with its own examples:
- 8 digits: "four numbers, a hyphen and four more numbers" — e.g.
0000-0000. - 10 digits: "two numbers, a hyphen, four numbers, a hyphen and four more numbers" — e.g.
00-0000-0000.
No checksum exists on the UCI itself
Unlike a SIN, a UCI has no published check digit and none is expected to exist — IRCC assigns it as a plain client-file identifier, not a self-checking number. This tool can tell you a UCI is the right shape, but only IRCC's own systems (My Account, the IRCC portal, or a request to IRCC) can confirm a specific UCI actually belongs to a real file.
Format check only — not an IRCC lookup
This tool checks shape entirely in your browser. It does not query IRCC, and a shape-valid result is not proof the UCI belongs to a real file. Nothing you type is transmitted, stored, or logged.