ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan has amended its National Identity Card Rules to legally recognize facial and iris scans as biometric identifiers, clearing the way for the National Database and Registration Authority to issue NADRA facial recognition verification certificates nationwide starting Jan. 20. Officials say the shift is designed to keep people from being locked out of basic services when fingerprint checks fail because prints have worn down, changed with age or are difficult to capture on common readers, Jan. 4, 2026.
Under the new process, citizens whose fingerprint verification fails at a bank, telecom counter or government office will be directed to a NADRA registration center for a fresh photograph. The image will be matched against NADRA’s records and, if confirmed, the authority will issue a certificate listing the purpose of verification, the citizen’s name, computerized national identity card number, or CNIC, two photos, a tracking ID and a QR code, according to Dawn’s report on the rule change. The receiving institution is expected to store the document and verify it online through NADRA.
NADRA facial recognition certificates: what changes Jan. 20
Each NADRA facial recognition certificate will cost 20 rupees and remain valid for seven days.
Receiving institutions will verify the certificate online through NADRA, instead of relying solely on fingerprints at the counter.
NADRA says the option will expand to e-Sahulat franchises and, after the planned Digital ID launch, wider use through the Pak-ID mobile application.
Because the certificate relies on a photo check, NADRA has asked regulators, public agencies and private organizations to update hardware and software so they can capture and validate facial images at service counters. A two-phase plan calls first for software integration of NADRA’s certificates, then for cameras to be added to counters or built into know-your-customer machines, a rollout outlined by Gulf News. Without those upgrades, the authority has warned, customers may still have to complete verification at NADRA centers rather than at the point of service.
Local coverage has cast NADRA facial recognition as relief for people who repeatedly fail thumbprint verification, but it also leaves a key step in the citizen’s hands: traveling to a registration center after a failed scan. Geo News said the federal rule change formally expands the definition of biometrics, while The Express Tribune reported NADRA says it is “fully prepared” to issue certificates and urged institutions to be ready for the Jan. 20 start.
This is not NADRA’s first attempt to move beyond a single biometric. In 2023, the authority began rolling out iris-based verification at major centers, Dawn reported at the time, and Arab News said officials had already added facial image matching to strengthen fingerprint checks. A separate push to use face tools for proof-of-life and pension verification was discussed in 2024, according to a 2024 report on planned facial recognition for pensioners.
Industry publication Biometric Update said the updated specifications also cover contactless fingerprint capture and were prompted in part by worn prints and “substandard or low-quality fingerprint readers.” For citizens, the Jan. 20 launch means NADRA facial recognition becomes a fallback option when fingerprints fail, while institutions that rely on biometrics face a tight deadline to add cameras, update systems and train staff.
