Mosaic automatically checks for duplicate records when you create a new person. You can also run a manual duplicate check from the search screen at any time. The system uses a combination of name matching, date of birth comparison, and address similarity to find potential matches.
How duplicate detection works
Mosaic uses three matching methods to identify potential duplicates:
Soundex (phonetic) name matching, which compares how names sound rather than how they are spelled. For example, "Smith" and "Smyth" would be flagged as a potential match.
Date of birth proximity, which allows a tolerance window around the date of birth to account for data entry errors, such as transposed digits.
Address similarity, which compares address information for additional confidence in the match.
When duplicate detection runs
Duplicate detection runs in two ways:
Automatically - during person creation, before the new record is saved.
Manually - when you run a duplicate check from the search screen.
Review and resolve potential duplicates
When potential duplicates are found, Mosaic displays a list of matching records.
Review the list of potential matches.
Compare the details of each match with the person you are trying to create or find.
If a match is the same person, select the existing record to avoid creating a duplicate.
If no match is the same person, confirm and proceed with creating a new record.
📌 Note: If you discover duplicates after records have already been created, you can merge them. See Merge duplicate person records for more detail.
Reduce duplicates
To help keep the database clean:
Always search before creating a new person.
Try different name spellings and partial dates of birth when searching.
Use the Person reference field for a direct lookup when you know the Mosaic ID.