National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has introduced a new facial recognition based biometric verification system to help citizens who face difficulties with fingerprint verification due to old age or medical conditions.

 

Despite facilitation policies by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), many people, especially senior citizens, struggle to verify their fingerprints when visiting banks, telecom franchises, housing societies or during property transfers.

 

In several cases, poor quality fingerprint machines at service points also cause repeated verification failures. 

 

To address this issue, the federal government has directed NADRA to introduce an alternative biometric solution, and amended the National Identity Card Rules to expand the definition of biometrics.

 

Under new rules, facial recognition and iris scans now hold legal recognition as valid biometric identifiers.

 

Based on this legal change, NADRA has rolled out technical upgrades that allow biometric verification through facial recognition and contactless fingerprints. The system already works at NADRA Registration Centres and on the Pak ID mobile application for services under NADRA’s control.

 

While authorities are currently using it for Islamabad registered vehicle transfers and online passport applications, NADRA also plans to issue proof of life certificates for federal pensioners under this system in the near future.

 

From January 20, NADRA will start issuing facial recognition based biometric verification certificates at all its registration centres for citizens whose fingerprints cannot be verified. Any citizen can obtain this certificate from a NADRA Registration Centre by paying a fee of Rs20.

 

The process works in a simple way. If fingerprint verification fails at a bank or any other institution, the citizen will visit the nearest NADRA centre. NADRA staff will take a fresh photograph and match it with the photo already stored in NADRA’s database. Once verification is successful, NADRA will issue a certificate that includes the citizen’s recent photo, the photo on record, CNIC number, name, father’s name, purpose of verification, a unique tracking ID and a QR code. The certificate will remain valid for seven days.

 

The citizen will submit this certificate to the institution concerned, which can verify it online through NADRA and keep it as part of its records. 

 

In the future, NADRA will also offer this service through e-Sahulat franchises. After the formal launch of Digital ID, citizens will be able to access the facility directly through the Pak ID mobile application for all services.

 

NADRA has confirmed that it is fully ready to implement the system. However, the authority has asked regulators, government departments and private institutions to upgrade their software and hardware to support facial recognition verification.

 

In later stages, service points will need to install cameras or integrate them into existing biometric machines.

 

If citizens face any issues with the availability of this service after January 20, they can file complaints with the relevant institution.