36C77618Q9237-006.pdf

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VA Card Types and Requirements

Last Updated: July 13, 2010

The PIV Card is issued to VA Applicants who require unsupervised, full-time, logical and/or physical access for a continuous period more than six months or 180 aggregated days in a one year period. In accordance with OMB Directive M-05-24, the physical access requirement includes VA or other federally owned or leased space, whether for single or multi-tenant occupancy, and its grounds and approaches, all or any portion of which is under the jurisdiction, custody, or control or the VA or other Federal agency.

In addition, FIPS 201, along with OPM regulations (Title 5 Code of Federal Regulations, Parts 731 and 732), and Executive Order 10450, Security Requirements for Government Employment, provide that all federally employed personnel are subject to a background investigation.

According to FIPS 201, the minimum requirement to be issued a PIV badge is a successfully adjudicated Special Agreement Check (SAC) and an initiated National Agency Check with Written Inquiries (NACI).

The determining factor as to the type of card issued is an examination of an Applicant’s access requirements. Factors to consider are the duration of access and access to sensitive data, information systems, and restricted areas. The card type issued is decided independent of VA employment position (Employee, contractor, or affiliate) or job description.

There are individuals in the VA organization that will not qualify for the PIV card and will therefore be issued a Non-PIV card. Non-PIV Card Holders typically are employed for less than 6 months but still may have access requirements to VA facilities, sensitive data, and/or information systems in the course of their daily work. The Non-PIV Card will have a physical topography that is visually distinguishable from the PIV card.

One variation of a Non-PIV card is the Flash Badge. The Flash Badge allows only common physical access to VA grounds and facilities. The Flash Badge requires the Applicant to present only one issued photo ID and does not require a SAC/NACI or higher level background investigation. The Flash Badge will appear topographically different from both the PIV and Non-PIV cards described above. The Flash Badge may be issued with an expiration date of up to one year. Issuance of a Flash Badge without a photo ID is optional at the discretion of the PCI Manager.

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The following table is a matrix that depicts access and processing requirements for PIV, Non-PIV and Flash Badge card types:

Table 1: Card Access and Process Requirements

PIV Card Access Requirements PIV Card Processing Requirements More than 6 months or more than 180 aggregate days in a one year period

Logical Access

Sensitive Records Access

Restricted Physical Access

Common Physical Access

NACI Initiation (or higher BI)

Required

SAC

Required

Number of IDs

Required VA E-mail Required

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 2 Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 2 No

Non-PIV Card Access Requirements Non-PIV Card Processing Requirements Less than 6 months or less than 180 aggregate days in a one year period

Logical Access

Sensitive Records Access

Restricted Physical Access

Common Physical Access

NACI Initiation (or higher BI)

Required

SAC

Required

Number of IDs

Required VA E-mail Required

Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes 2 Yes

Yes Yes Yes No Yes 2 No

Flash Badge Access Requirements

Flash Badge Processing Requirements Common physical access only for less than

6 months or less than 180 aggregate days in a one year period

Logical Access

Sensitive Records Access

Restricted Physical Access

Common Physical Access

NACI Initiation (or higher BI)

Required

SAC

Required

Number of IDs

Required VA E-mail Required

Yes No No

1; PCI

Manager can waive required ID

No

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The following information describes the criteria for Applicants (employee, contractor, or affiliate) who will receive a PIV card, a Non-PIV card, or a Flash Badge. The criteria are based on the card Applicant's access requirements for physical and/or logical VA resources, as determined by the Applicant's job duties and/or employment duration. Specific background investigation and access requirements are identified for each of the types of ID cards.

PIV Card Access Requirements: Unsupervised, full-time, logical and/or physical access for more than 6 months OR more than 180 aggregate days in a one year period. (IAW OMB M-05-24, VA Directive 0710, and Draft VA Handbook 0735)

ID Requirements: Two IDs compliant with PIV Guidelines

Background Investigation Requirements: Favorable SAC completion and NACI initiation

Non-PIV Card Access Requirement: Unsupervised, logical and/or physical access for less than 6 months OR less than 180 aggregate days in a one year period. (IAW OMB M-05-24, VA Directive 0710, and Draft VA Handbook 0735)

ID Requirements: Two IDs compliant with PIV Guidelines

Background Investigation Requirements: Favorable SAC completion

Flash Badge Access Requirement: Common physical access ONLY for less than 6 months OR less than 180 aggregated days in a one year period. (IAW OMB M-05-24, VA Directive 0710, and Draft VA Handbook 0735)

ID Requirements: One ID compliant with PIV Guidelines

Background Investigation Requirements: None