UPSC to introduce mandatory face authentication for all recruitment exams

All candidates appearing for recruitment examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will now be required to undergo face authentication at examination centres, officials confirmed on Saturday.

According to the Commission, the move is aimed at further strengthening the credibility and security of the examination process. A notification on the UPSC website stated that facial authentication will be mandatory for all candidates at the venue.

UPSC conducts several high-stakes recruitment examinations for government services, including the Civil Services Examination, which selects officers for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS), among



others.

The decision follows the successful implementation of a pilot project that tested an artificial intelligence-based facial authentication system during the NDA and NA II Examination 2025, as well as the CDS II Examination 2025, held on September 14 last year. The pilot was conducted at select examination centres in Gurugram.

Under the system, candidates’ facial images captured at the centre were digitally matched with the photographs submitted during the application process. UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar had said the technology significantly improved efficiency, reducing candidate verification time to about 8–10 seconds per person, while also adding an additional layer of security to prevent impersonation.