Section J Attachment 4 - FEMA Directive 121-1 FEMA Personal Identity Verification Guidelines

DIRECTIVE 121-1

PERSONAL IDENTITY VERIFICATION GUIDANCE

I.

Purpose
Establish policy and procedures for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) preparation, issuance, use, and disposition of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Cards for all eligible FEMA employees and qualified contractors as required by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12). HSPD12 requires the development and implementation of a mandatory, government-wide standard for secure and reliable forms of identification. The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), part of the Department of Commerce, issued Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 201-1, which outlines the requirements for all Federal employees and contractors to be issued a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Card for access to Federal facilities.

II.

FIPS 201-1 requires that the process begin with the initiation of a National Agency Check with Written Inquiries (NACI) or other Office of Personnel Management (OPM) or National Security community investigation required for Federal employment. This requirement may also be satisfied by locating and referencing a completed and successfully adjudicated NACI. At a minimum, the FBI National Criminal History Check (fingerprint check) shall be completed before credential issuance.

III.

The provisions of this Directive apply for issuance of identification credentials to all eligible FEMA employees and qualified contractors. Eligible FEMA employees and qualified contractors are defined as persons who have or are expected to have at least one hundred and eighty (180) days of service with FEMA or require access to FEMA logical assets (e.g. Federal information systems, laptops, desktops, local area network). This directive does not apply to FEMA credentials, identification issued to FEMA employees and contractors with less than 180 days of service, or FEMA visitor passes. This directive is not intended to eliminate or modify any employment suitability and background investigation requirements established by law, Executive Order, DHS directives, or FEMA Instruction 1220.1.

Scope

Policy and Procedures

A. FEMA employees and contractors, who require physical access to FEMA facilities and currently have or expect to have at least one hundred and eighty (180) days of service with FEMA, will be issued a PIV Card.

B. All eligible employees and qualified contractors will be entered into the issuance process by a PIV Sponsor. For FEMA employees the PIV Sponsor must be a Human