Nadra to issue facial recognition-based verification certificates from Jan 20

• Will be useful where fingerprint-based verification impossible.
• Facial-recognition certificate will be valid for period of seven days.
• Certificates to be available via e-Sahulat franchises in future.

ISLAMABAD: The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) on Wednesday said that it will commence issuing facial recognition-based biometric verification certificates at all its registration centres from January 20, 2026.

The service, the authority said, will cater to those citizens whose fingerprint-based verification is not possible.

The service will become available as the government has amended the National Identity Card Rules to expand the definition of biometrics. In addition to fingerprints, facial photographs, and iris scans have now been legally recognised as valid biometric identifiers.

Expanding on the procedure, the Nadra said that if fingerprint-based biometric verification fails at the service provider’s end, the citizen will visit the nearest registration centre to have a fresh photograph taken.

This photograph will be matched with the image already available in Nadra’s records. Upon successful verification, the authority will issue a certificate containing the purpose of verification, the citizen’s recent photograph alongside the photograph on record, CNIC number, name, father’s name, a unique tracking ID and a QR code.

The certificate issued, it added, will be valid for a period of seven days, where a citizen will be able to submit it to the relevant institution where biometric verification is needed, and the institution concerned will incorporate the certificate into its records and verify it online through Nadra.

The facility will address situations where due to age or certain medical conditions, the fingerprints of many citizens gradually fade over time and when such citizens approach banks, SIM card franchises, housing societies, or seek services related to property transfer and other transactions where biometric verification through fingerprints is mandatory, they often face significant difficulties.

Meanwhile, in future, Nadra said that the facial image-based biometric verification certificates will also be available through its e-Sahulat franchises. Following the formal launch of the Digital ID, this facility will be made available for all services through the Pak-ID application.

Furthermore, the authority has also requested all regulators, relevant public institutions and private sector organisations to progressively upgrade their hardware and software in accordance with approved standards to enable the use of this biometric verification service.

In the first phase, technical upgrades to institutional software applications will be required to allow the integration of facial recognition-based biometric verification certificates issued by Nadra.

In the second phase, it will be necessary for institutions to install cameras at service counters or integrate cameras into existing KYC biometric machines.

“Upon full implementation, citizens will be able to avail this facility directly at the relevant institution without the need to visit a Nadra Registration Centre” remarked the authority.