diff --git a/src/backend/libpq/hba.c b/src/backend/libpq/hba.c
index baf7860369..755b28b32b 100644
--- a/src/backend/libpq/hba.c
+++ b/src/backend/libpq/hba.c
@@ -1632,7 +1632,11 @@ parse_hba_line(TokenizedLine *tok_line, int elevel)
 	 */
 	if (parsedline->auth_method == uaCert)
 	{
-		parsedline->clientcert = clientCertCA;
+		/*
+		 * For auth method cert, client certificate validation is mandatory, and it implies
+		 * the level of verify-full.
+		 */
+		parsedline->clientcert = clientCertFull;
 	}
 
 	return parsedline;