Palm Vein Reader Biometric Identification

When you go to take the GMAT® exam, you will provide your palm vein pattern as proof of identification.

Before you take the GMAT exam, you will be required to have your palms scanned by a sensor that records the unique pattern formed by your palm veins. The new technology ensures that each test taker has a single GMAT record, preventing people from taking the test for others.

The palm vein reader is part of the Graduate Management Admission Council’s ongoing efforts to maintain test integrity and ensure that the GMAT exam is a fair measure of everyone’s ability.

How it Works

The PalmSecure sensor, made by Fujitsu, is easier to use and less intrusive than fingerprinting identification: You simply hold your palm several inches above the two-inch-square sensor for several seconds. Because the blood veins in your palm stay in the same position as you age and through sickness or injury, the pattern record remains unique to you.
 
Palm vein recognition systems protect access to highly sensitive information and are used in some hospitals in the United States and in automated teller machines in Japan. Because the palm vein pattern readers use digital encryption specific to a user’s system, they provide an extra layer of privacy and assurance that the patterns cannot be used for identification by anyone else in any other context.

Testing Center Procedures

You will be required to bring a valid photo ID to the testing center and have a photograph taken in addition to having both palms scanned. The GMAT admission process also requires you to sign a digital signature pad.

Read the Palm Vein Recognition FAQs.