An input fingerprint image consists of ones and zeros pixels representing light and dark pixels which in turn correspond to ridge and valley formations. This image is compared with a reference file fingerprint to verify the identity of the input fingerprint. The reference file has two relatively small segments which are subfields of the entire field of pixels that constituted the original fingerprint image for the individual involved. Two substantially larger domain sub- fields are extracted from the input fingerprint image. The center of each segment corresponds to the center of a respective one of the domains. Each segment is scanned over its corresponding domain to determine the position of maximum ones correlation and maximum zeros correlation between each segment and its corresponding domain. These four positions together with the correlation values associated with each of these four positions are subjected to various criteria to provide positive or negative verification of the input image relative to the reference file. These criteria include (a) positional closenes to one another, (b) exclusion of the positions from a predetermined border of the domain, (c) closeness of the correlation values of certain of the positions, and (d) magnitude of the sum of the ones correlations and zeros correlation for certain of the positions.