The Myth of the Goats: How Many People Have Fingerprints that are Hard to Match?

Published

September 13, 2005

Author(s)

R. A. Hicklin, Craig I. Watson, Brad Ulery

Abstract

The proportion of people who have fingerprints that are particularly hard to match (also known as "Goats") is a topic of great interest in biometrics, especially for those involved in the design, development, or evaluation of fingerprint-based identification or verification systems. There have been a variety of statements made in the recent past that a small percentage of people (usually 2 %) cannot be fingerprinted due to poor quality fingers. This study shows these statements are based on misconceptions: the fact that some small percentage of fingerprints may be hard to match does not mean that a corresponding percentage of people are hard to match.

Citation

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 7271

Report Number

7271

NIST Pub Series

NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR)

Pub Type

NIST Pubs

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

fingerprints, goats, quality, verification, hard to match

Citation

Hicklin, R. , Watson, C. and Ulery, B. (2005), The Myth of the Goats: How Many People Have Fingerprints that are Hard to Match?, NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=150390 (Accessed October 18, 2025)