Abstract: The present invention provides apparatus and method for verifying the identity of a person by comparing that person's face (or selected facial features) with an image generated using data stored on an identification card, badge, tag or other escort memory carried by the person. Both automatic and manual verification apparatus are disclosed, and both employ principal component methods that reduce the amount of data required to be carried by the bearer to under 100 bytes. The process of verifying identity involves combining data from the small escort memory with other image-related data that are general in nature and that are stored at the verification location. The system of the present invention is expected to find use in a wide variety of cases where a person's identity is to be established (e.g.