NADRA
Last Updated: August 2026
Three things about NADRA biometrics are widely misreported, and each one changes what you actually have to do. A blood relative’s biometrics are needed only for a first registration, not for a renewal. From abroad the requirement is not biometric at all. And since July 2026 you can switch off third-party access to your biometric data from your phone, which is the part almost no guide mentions.
What NADRA actually captures
More than the usual description. NADRA’s Registration Policy, setting out what happens on a reprint or a renewal, states that photograph, fingerprints and iris are captured and updated. The iris scan is routinely left out of third-party accounts of the process, which tend to stop at ten fingerprints and a photo.
Your photograph is the one element with no exemption anywhere in NADRA’s published rules. Asked directly whether an applicant may refuse to have a photograph taken, NADRA answers no, and states that photograph capture is mandatory. Fingerprints, as below, do have a documented exemption route. The photograph does not.
A relative’s biometrics are for fresh registration only
This is the correction that saves the most wasted trips, and NADRA makes the point in three separate documents.
| NADRA source | What it says |
|---|---|
| Registration Policy, new CNIC | Biometric verification of a parent or blood relative, listed against a fresh registration |
| Registration Policy, renewal | Renewal requires the CNIC number. No relative is named at all |
| Mobile Registration Van instructions | “Presence of Blood relatives for biometric verification (Only in case of Fresh Registration)“ |
So if you are renewing, reprinting or replacing a card, you are not required to bring a relative to be scanned. NADRA is issuing against a record it already holds. See renewing a CNIC and replacing a damaged or lost card.
From abroad, the rule is not biometric
NADRA marks biometric verification by a parent or blood relative as applying to inland offices only. For an applicant abroad, the corresponding requirement is verification of the application form by any ID holder. Not a parent, not a relative, any holder of a Pakistani identity document.
If you have been putting off an application because nobody in your family can reach a NADRA centre in Pakistan, that is not the obstacle you thought it was. Our guide to dealing with NADRA from abroad covers the rest of the differences, including the extra identity document required on every overseas service.
What the PakID app does on your own phone
Some biometric steps genuinely happen on your device. These are NADRA’s own descriptions of the app’s features.
| Feature | NADRA’s description |
|---|---|
| Biometric Verification | “Authenticate your identity using fingerprint scanning via your smartphone camera.” |
| Live Photo Capture | “Take a real-time photo that meets ICAO standards for official identification purposes.” |
| Digital Signature Capture | “Sign documents electronically using your device’s touchscreen for secure submissions.” |
Two NADRA statements sit in tension here, and both are genuine. Its PakID page says you can renew or reprint an existing card “without visiting a NADRA centre”. Its CNIC page says biometric verification and photograph “may require a visit to a NADRA Registration Centre”. NADRA does not publish what decides between them. The reading that fits both is the nature of the service: a renewal is checked against biometrics NADRA already holds, so a phone can authenticate you, while a first registration has no such record to check against. Treat the visit as possible rather than ruled out, and see our PakID app guide.
You can switch biometric access off
Published by NADRA on 7 July 2026 and almost entirely missing from guides on this topic. The PakID app carries a Block or Enable Biometric Verification feature which, in NADRA’s words, “lets you control who can access your personal data and biometric information stored with NADRA”.
The context NADRA gives is third-party verification. Services that rely on NADRA data, such as opening a bank account, can verify your identity when required, and “this feature lets you switch that access off whenever you want”. It is reversible and it is yours to control. NADRA’s own illustration of the result describes biometric verification as having “been blocked for all applications other than PakID”.
Be clear about what this is not. It does not cancel your card. NADRA does not cancel a CNIC on request, and a card is impounded only on the direction of a competent court. What blocking does is stop your biometrics being used to authenticate you to third parties. If a card has been lost or stolen, this is the protective step that genuinely exists, and our guide to a lost or stolen CNIC covers what to do next.
If your biometrics cannot be captured
There is a documented exemption, and it is more specific than “explain it to the officer”. NADRA’s published answer covers an applicant with a mental disability who cannot give biometrics or a signature: yes, registration can proceed, on production of a disability certificate. NADRA names which issuers it accepts.
- CRPD
- PCRDP
- The Social Welfare Department of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, or of Gilgit-Baltistan
- A foreign institute
Take the certificate with you. The exemption exists but it is document-gated, and an officer is not going to waive a biometric requirement on a description of a condition.
If NADRA holds no record of your family
A different problem with a different route. Where both parents are deceased and NADRA has no record, identity is established through any registered sibling. If there is no registered sibling either, NADRA’s published answer is biometric witness of two individuals, preferably immediate relatives, subject to scrutiny and field verification. Note the direction of that: the biometrics needed are the witnesses’, not extra ones from you.
If you cannot travel to a centre
NADRA runs Mobile Registration Vans, which it describes as processing applications “just like a NADRA Registration Center”, and biometric update is on their published service list. Two details are worth knowing: applicants in remote areas may request NADRA to schedule a visit, and “standard NADRA fee will be charged, no extra charges for MRV services”. NADRA also notes it may cancel or reschedule a van visit without notice.
Prisoners are handled separately, through special arrangements or mobile registration units, subject to authorisation from the prison authority. The van schedule is at nadra.gov.pk/mrvSchedule, and our guide to finding a NADRA office covers the centre finder.
What it costs
Nothing by itself. Biometric capture is part of whichever service you applied for and has no separate line on NADRA’s fee schedule, so the number that matters is the fee for the service. NADRA states the processing clock starts once the fee is paid. See CNIC fees.
Correcting the biometrics already on your record is also one of the ten fields NADRA changes with no documents at all. Its Registration Policy lists “biometric and signature” among them, and adds that no attestation is required in change cases. See updating your NADRA record.
Common mistakes
- Bringing a relative to a renewal. Blood-relative biometric verification is for fresh registrations only.
- Believing biometrics can never be done remotely. PakID scans fingerprints through the phone camera.
- Believing the app always avoids a visit. NADRA says one may still be required and does not publish when.
- Expecting a photograph to be waived. It is mandatory, with no published exemption anywhere.
- Arriving without the disability certificate. The exemption is real but document-gated.
- Confusing blocking biometric verification with cancelling a card. The first is yours to do at will, the second NADRA does not offer.
- Paying extra for a mobile van visit. NADRA states there is no extra charge.
The capture list, the fresh-registration limit, the inland-only remark and the no-document change fields are from NADRA’s Registration Policy, version RP-6.0.1, issued 15 October 2025. The photograph, disability, witness and prisoner answers are from NADRA’s published CNIC FAQ. The app feature descriptions are from its PakID page, and the blocking feature from its Block or Enable Biometric Verification guide, version 1.0, published 7 July 2026. Mobile van terms are from NADRA’s MRV services page. All read on 29 August 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to common questions about this topic.
Do I need a blood relative present to renew my CNIC?
No. NADRA limits biometric verification by a parent or blood relative to fresh registration, and states this in three separate documents. Renewal requires the CNIC number. A relative is not named in the renewal requirements at all.
What biometric data does NADRA actually capture?
Photograph, fingerprints and iris. NADRA’s Registration Policy states all three are captured and updated. Most third-party descriptions mention only fingerprints and a photograph.
Can biometric verification be completed on a phone?
Partly. NADRA’s PakID app lists fingerprint scanning via your smartphone camera, ICAO-standard live photo capture and digital signature capture as features, and says renewals and reprints can be done “without visiting a NADRA centre”. Its CNIC page separately says a visit may still be required, and NADRA does not publish what decides between the two.
Can I refuse to have my photograph taken?
No. Asked this directly, NADRA answers no and states that photograph capture is mandatory. It is the one element with no published exemption, even where a fingerprint exemption applies.
What happens if my fingerprints cannot be captured?
NADRA publishes an exemption route for an applicant who cannot give biometrics or a signature because of a mental disability. It requires a disability certificate from CRPD, PCRDP, the Social Welfare Department of Azad Jammu and Kashmir or Gilgit-Baltistan, or a foreign institute. Take the certificate with you, as the exemption is document-gated.
Can I stop banks and other services using my biometrics?
Yes. The PakID app carries a Block or Enable Biometric Verification feature, published by NADRA on 7 July 2026, which in its words lets you control who can access your personal data and biometric information stored with NADRA. NADRA says the feature lets you switch that access off whenever you want, and it is reversible.
Does blocking biometric verification cancel my CNIC?
No. It stops your biometrics being used to authenticate you to third parties. NADRA does not cancel a CNIC on request, and a card is digitally impounded only on the direction of a competent court.
What is required if I am applying from abroad?
Not a relative’s biometrics. NADRA marks biometric verification by a parent or blood relative as applying to inland offices only. From abroad the requirement is verification of the application form by any holder of a Pakistani identity document.
