Most receptions do not check identity at all. They take a name, and the name is enough, because the visitor is expected and the host will recognise them. A visitor identification system is what you add when that is not enough: when the building is restricted, when the visitor is a stranger to everybody, or when a framework requires that access is validated rather than assumed.
What is actually being checked
Usually one of three things. That the person is expected, which the invitation already proves. That the person is who they say, which needs a document. Or that the person is authorised for the area, which needs a sponsor and a permit. Deciding which of the three your building needs, per visit type, prevents the common mistake of scanning everybody's driving licence because the product offered to.
Scanning a document is a decision with consequences
The moment a reception scans an identity document it is holding a copy of a sensitive record, and that copy has to be retained, protected and eventually deleted on a schedule somebody has written down. Sometimes that trade is right; often the same assurance comes from checking the document at the desk and recording that it was checked, without keeping an image of it. Ask what the product does by default, because defaults tend to keep everything.
What access management adds over identification
Identification says who somebody is. Access management says where they may go and who is accountable for them while they are there. In practice that is a sponsor on the visit, an area on the permit, and an escort status. It is process recorded by software rather than software enforcing process, and it is what an assessment against a control framework will ask you to show.
Keep it proportionate to the door
An office lobby that checks documents for every guest is signalling distrust and slowing every arrival for no measurable gain. A plant room that admits anyone with a name is asking for the incident. The right answer is per visit type rather than per building, and it should be written into the visitor policy so the desk is not making it up at eight in the morning.
Questions people ask about visitor id system
Should a reception scan identity documents?
Only where the building genuinely needs it, and then decide whether to keep the image or just record that a document was checked. Keeping copies has retention and protection consequences.
Is an ID check the same as verification?
No. Looking at a document confirms it was presented. Verifying it is genuine is a different capability, and most reception setups do not have it.
What does a sponsor add to the record?
Accountability. A named member of staff who is responsible for the visitor while they are on site, which is what an assessment will ask about.