Identification of individuals is a standard tool used to study animal behavior and ecology. Numerous studies based on photographic identifications of various marine mammal populations have been successfully conducted. The objective of this study was to validate a photo-identification method for spotted seals. We tested the method using 4,939 photographs gathered in 30 field surveys from 2006 to 2008 on Baekryongdo, Korea. In 2006, 20 individuals were identified and cataloged using unique spot patterns on their left chick pelages as a natural marker. In 2007 and 2008, three and nine individuals, respectively, were recaptured, with six individuals continually recaptured during the entire survey period. We confirmed that the spot patterns of spotted seal pelages were constant in shape and location throughout time. These characteristics offered an opportunity to consistently identify individuals within a population over the long survey period. The use of photo-identification has great potential for mark-recapture studies.