diff --git a/backend/app/Core/Flows/DriverRegistrationFlow.php b/backend/app/Core/Flows/DriverRegistrationFlow.php
index 3b66250..377dd78 100644
--- a/backend/app/Core/Flows/DriverRegistrationFlow.php
+++ b/backend/app/Core/Flows/DriverRegistrationFlow.php
@@ -398,8 +398,8 @@ class DriverRegistrationFlow extends BaseFlow
         }
 
         $ocrData = json_decode($rawOcr, true);
-        if (!$ocrData || (empty($ocrData[$requiredJsonKey]) && !array_key_exists($requiredJsonKey, $ocrData))) {
-            error_log("[DriverRegistrationFlow] Missing required key '$requiredJsonKey' in OCR response: " . $rawOcr);
+        if (!$ocrData || empty($ocrData[$requiredJsonKey])) {
+            error_log("[DriverRegistrationFlow] Missing or empty required key '$requiredJsonKey' in OCR response: " . $rawOcr);
             return new FlowResult($failMessage, $step);
         }