Policy paper

Live facial recognition standard operating procedures

The standard operating procedures explains the requirements for setting up and deploying live facial recognition (LFR).

• From: Home Office and Immigration Enforcement
• Published: 5 November 2025
• Last updated: 24 February 2026 — See all updates

This was published under the 2024 to 2026 Starmer Labour government

Documents

Live facial recognition standard operating procedures (accessible version)

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Live facial recognition standard operating procedures

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Details

This SOP outlines the steps for planning and using live facial recognition (LFR) technology during enforcement operations.

Published 5 November 2025

Last updated 24 February 2026 — Show all updates

1. 24 February 2026

   Updated to version 2.0 of the guidance.

2. 5 November 2025

   First published.