AI agent · Public sector · Chase what is missing
Document completeness
The agent checks every submission against the documents the procedure requires, the moment it arrives. The applicant learns the same day what is missing, and officers receive only files that are complete.
Typical volumes for this process, not a client figure.
Files bounce back and forth for missing attachments.
Checked at submission, applicant told immediately what is missing.
Where the time goes today
A permit, licence, grant or benefit procedure comes with a list of required documents, and the list depends on the case. A company needs a current registration extract, an individual an identity document, a building request needs plans and a works estimate, a request made on someone's behalf needs a signed mandate. Submissions arrive with something missing, expired, unreadable or uploaded in the wrong slot. An officer usually finds out days or weeks later, when the file reaches the top of the queue.
The officer then writes to the applicant, sets the file aside, picks it up again when the document arrives, and sometimes finds the new upload is also wrong. Each round trip adds weeks. Service deadlines run or stop depending on whether the file counts as complete, and it is often unclear which date applies. Officers trained to assess the substance of a request spend much of their day checking whether a PDF is the right PDF.
How the agent works
- Derive the listFrom the answers on the form (applicant type, request type, location, amounts), the agent works out which documents this particular case requires, using the procedure's written checklist and its conditions.
- Check each uploadIt opens every file and checks that it is the document it claims to be, readable, complete with all pages and signatures, in date, and in the right person's or company's name. A combined PDF is split and each part identified.
- Tell the applicantWithin minutes of submission it sends the applicant a message listing what is missing or unusable, in plain words, with a description of what an acceptable document looks like.
- Chase on scheduleIf nothing arrives, it sends reminders on the service's schedule, for example on day 2 and day 7, and rechecks each new upload as it lands.
- Hand over or returnA complete file goes to the officer queue with its completeness date recorded. A file still incomplete at the deadline is prepared for return, with the list of what was never supplied, for an officer to confirm.
What stays with a person
The agent decides only whether the required documents are present and usable. It does not judge whether the request should succeed. Officers keep substitute documents (an employer's letter instead of a payslip), exemptions the checklist leaves to their discretion, applicants who say they cannot obtain a document, and anything the checklist does not cover.
Returning a file as incomplete ends the applicant's request, so an officer confirms every return before it is sent, with the history of messages and uploads in front of them. The officer can extend a deadline or accept a document the agent rejected; the override and its reason are recorded.
What it reads, what it produces
| It reads | It produces |
|---|---|
| The submitted form and the answers that drive the checklist | A case-specific list of required documents, each marked present, missing or unusable, with the reason |
| Every uploaded attachment, including scans and phone photographs | Messages and reminders to the applicant, from approved templates |
| The procedure's document checklist and the conditions attached to each item | The completeness date, recorded on the file |
| The case management record: status, deadlines, earlier submissions by the same applicant | Complete files in the officer queue, and draft return notices awaiting confirmation |
| The message history with the applicant |
Controls that come with it
- The checklist is versioned, and each file records which version applied on its submission date.
- Messages use approved templates; the agent fills in the missing items, never the wording of the procedure.
- No file is returned as incomplete without an officer's confirmation.
- An officer can accept a document the agent rejected. Overrides are logged and reviewed monthly to correct the checks.
- Officers open a weekly sample of files marked complete, to catch documents accepted in error.
- Every check leaves a record: document, check applied, result, message sent, time.
How you know it works
- Share of files complete at first submission, and after the first reminder
- Days from first submission to complete file
- Officer messages to applicants about missing documents, per file
- Documents accepted by the agent that the weekly sample finds unusable
- Files returned as incomplete, and how many were later resubmitted
Is your process ready?
- The procedure has a written list of required documents and the conditions that trigger each one. If the list lives in officers' experience, write it down first.
- The submission portal or case system lets software read uploads, set a status and send messages, and the platform's terms allow it.
- Whether a document is present, readable and correct can be confirmed by an officer in seconds.
- Incomplete submissions are frequent enough that the back-and-forth costs officers time every week.
- Officers agree on what counts as acceptable: which copies, how recent, whether a photograph of a document will do.
The five candidacy checks are explained, with an exam, in the free Module 01.
What goes wrong
- The checklist is stricter in the software than in practice, so applicants are asked for documents officers never require. Test it against past files that were accepted.
- Reminders written in officer language read as harsh to the public. Have them reviewed by someone who handles complaints.
- Nobody has settled whether the deadline runs from first submission or from the completeness date. Put it in writing before go-live.
- Validity checks break on documents issued in other countries, whose date formats and layouts differ.
Questions we get
Does the agent assess the application itself?
No. It checks that the documents the procedure requires are present, readable, in date and belong to the applicant. Whether the request should be granted is decided by an officer, on a complete file. Keeping the two separate means the completeness check can run at submission, while the assessment stays with people who know the policy.
What if the applicant cannot provide a required document?
The applicant can reply or upload an explanation instead. The agent recognises that the item has been answered rather than supplied and sends the file to an officer, who can accept a substitute or grant an exemption where the rules allow. The decision is recorded on the file and the reminders for that item stop.
How are the reminder dates chosen?
The service sets them, in line with the deadlines in the procedure; day 2 and day 7 is one example. The agent stops chasing as soon as the file is complete, when an officer takes the file over, or when the deadline passes and a return is prepared. Every message sent is kept on the file.
Can the agent be wrong about a document?
Yes. Poor scans, unfamiliar formats and documents from other countries are the usual causes. When it is unsure, it asks an officer instead of rejecting the upload. The weekly sample of files marked complete catches errors in the other direction. Before go-live, the checks are run against past submissions whose completeness is already known.
Want this agent on your process?
Tell us about your version of this process — volumes, systems, what goes wrong. A person answers with an approach and a price, usually within two working days, or tells you it is the wrong project.