Federal credentialing services | GSA Countdown to America's 250th Anniversary: close Official websites use .gov .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS lock or means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Federal credentialing services Get your personal identity verification card (also known as a credential, common access card, LincPass, smart card, badge, and so on, depending on your agency). For applicants Make an appointment Credentialing post office sites See required documents Get appointment help Contact for help Enhance security, reduce identity fraud, and protect the privacy of government employees and contractors by onboarding with the USAccess program For agency customers Join our program Maintain your existing center View price list About your PIV card Your PIV card is compliant with the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 and the Federal Information Processing Standards and provides a secure and reliable form of government identification. Federal employees and contractors use PIV cards to access facilities and systems. Proper card storage Do not store your card in your wallet, purse, or any unapproved plastic card holder or sleeve, as this may damage the card. You must store it in the electromagnetically opaque sleeve or holder provided at pickup. Contact your sponsor if you did not get an approved PIV card holder. Your card’s features All PIV cards have common visual elements that are printed in the same location regardless of the agency. Information that’s visible on your card includes: Your agency seal Your agency’s return address A picture of your face Your physical characteristics (height, eye color, and hair color) The expiration date of the physical card Your full name Your agency A serial number Chip contents The integrated circuit chip on your card stores: x509 PKI digital certificates such as PIV authentication, card authentication, digital signature for documents, and encryption for emails. Two interoperable fingerprint templates. A digital image of your face. If a recipient’s email provider can accept PKI for digitally signed emails or documents, the recipient can verify a sender’s digital signature and view and open documents. The physical card expires after five years but the certificates expire three years from the date of activation. Contact your sponsor if you need your card reissued before then. Tell us what you think Print Page Email Page Top Choose a location Error, The Per Diem API is not responding. Please try again later. No results could be found for the location you've entered. Get my location OR State City (optional) OR ZIP Rates for Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories and possessions are set by the Department of Defense. Rates for foreign countries are set by the Department of State. Choose a date Select fiscal year OR Travel start date (mm/dd/yyyy) Travel end date (mm/dd/yyyy) Rates are available between 10/1/2023 and 09/30/2026. The End Date of your trip can not occur before the Start Date. Additional terms and conditions Traveler reimbursement is based on the location of the work activities and not the accommodations, unless lodging is not available at the work activity, then the agency may authorize the rate where lodging is obtained. Unless otherwise specified, the per diem locality is defined as "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city, including independent entities located within those boundaries." Per diem localities with county definitions shall include "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city as well as the boundaries of the listed counties, including independent entities located within the boundaries of the key city and the listed counties (unless otherwise listed separately)." When a military installation or Government - related facility(whether or not specifically named) is located partially within more than one city or county boundary, the applicable per diem rate for the entire installation or facility is the higher of the rates which apply to the cities and / or counties, even though part(s) of such activities may be located outside the defined per diem locality.