As an Administrative Officer (AO), you will be assigned candidates/applicants at NIH who require access to NIH resources such as physical access to facilities/doors and logical access to information systems. AOs are typically assigned to candidates from their Institute or Center. AOs will need to sponsor a request in the NIH Enterprise Directory (NED) for the candidate in order for the candidate to start the process in receiving an NIH badge and account needed to access such resources.
Candidates who require more than 6 months of physical and/or logical access to NIH resources are subject to a background investigation commensurate with the duties and responsibilities of the position they hold at NIH. Please note that you should not be encouraging candidates who require more than 6 months of physical and/or logical access to NIH to use the Gateway Center. Please note that there may be candidates who do not require physical or logical access to NIH but may still require a background investigation due to the work they are performing on behalf of NIH. It is recommended that AOs sponsor these records at least 6-8 weeks in advance of the individual's start date, to allow time for DPSAC prescreening.
Please note: NED will automatically terminate open tasks 120 days (approximately 17 weeks) after the sponsorship date, effective August 19, 2023. To avoid onboarding issues related to terminated tasks, please make sure that an individual’s task is complete (e.g., badge is issued) before the automatic termination deadline, which is 120 days after the individual’s sponsorship date. A terminated task cannot be restored, so if the individual's task is not completed within 120 days, AOs/ATs will need to recreate a previously terminated task in NED.
Only certain NED requests are processed by DPSAC:
- Sponsored HHS PIV Badge Requests (Long term, more than 6 months; Employees, Contractors, Fellows, Guest Researchers, etc.)
- Sponsored Restricted Local Access (RLA) Badge Requests (Foreign Nationals in the U.S. less than 3 years; Short Term less than 6 months; Summer Students)
- Employee classification changes requiring a badge change or DPSAC prescreening (i.e. conversion from non-FTE to FTE)
- Please note: Submitting and sponsoring the conversion in NED will send a new conversion case to DPSAC for processing. All conversions from contractor to FTE will require applicants to complete DPSAC prescreening, which may include a new fingerprint submission, an updated OF-306 and possibly a new investigation if the applicant's previous investigation does not meet or exceed the Position Sensitivity Level required for the new position. Prescreening may take some time to complete as it depends on the applicant, so it is recommended to submit the conversion at least one month in advance. Additionally, the current contractor badge for a contractor converting to FTE will remain active until the new FTE badge is issued.
- Background Investigation Position Sensitivity/Risk Level upgrades/downgrades
- Critical Data Changes requiring a badge change or DPSAC validation (Name change or Citizenship change)
The following requests are processed by the NIH Police:
- Legacy badges for Special Government Employees (these individuals undergo an NCIC check)
- Extended Visitor Badges for patients, service providers, blood donors, etc. (these badges do not require NED entries)
Badge Types:
The badge type requested is determined by employee classification, citizenship status and duration of access needed:
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Long-term (greater than 6 months) physical & logical access:
- Subject to prescreening & background investigation and will receive either:
- Personal Identity Verification (PIV) badge (U.S. Citizens)
- Restricted Local Access (RLA) (Non-U.S. Citizens/under 3 years U.S. Residency)
-
Blue Stripe PIV (Non-U.S. Citizens/over 3 years U.S. Residency)
- Short-term (less than 6 months) physical & logical access:
- Subject to a fingerprint check (SAC) and will receive the short term RLA badge
Badge Classification Chart:
(DPSAC is currently revising the Badge Classification chart to help further explain the different badge types.)
Information Regarding Alternative Login Token (ALT) Cards
An Alternate Logon Token (ALT) Card is a smart card used by NIH system administrators (Secondary (AA) Account holders) for privileged access to NIH computers and information systems. ALT Cards are also used by individuals who have PIV cards from other Operating Divisions (OpDivs) but who need logical access to NIH IT resources; it does not open gates or doors. An ALT Card contains one digital certificate, the authentication certificate, which is linked to the card holder's Secondary (AA) Account. For more information on ALT Card requests, please visit the "ALT Card: General Information" page.
Please note: DPSAC does NOT request, process or approve ALT Cards. If an individual needs an ALT card at the NIH, they must have an active PIV card at the NIH or within another HHS Operating Division and they must have an active NIH account. To request an ALT card at NIH, the individual will need to submit the request to the individual’s Institute, Center or Office (ICO) Administrative Officer (AO), who will need to create an account and sponsor the individual for an NIH Account through the NIH Enterprise Directory (NED). The AO will then submit a request for the ALT card via the NIH IT Service Desk. Once the account is approved, then the ICO will create this account. Generally, the ICO ALT Card Distributer will receive the request and process the individual’s ALT card using the Credential Workstation (CWS) software. However, in some cases, the ICO ALT card distributor may not have a CWS, and in those cases only, DPSAC can assist with adding the certificates to an approved ALT card.
Once the individual’s request is approved, the individual will be notified via email from HHSIdentity to pick up the approved ALT card and download the certificate. The individual can find the appropriate ICO’s ALT Distributor to pick up the approved ALT card. For further assistance using the ACU to download the ALT card certificate, please see Access Card Utility (ACU): Update ALT certificate. For further information on ALT cards, please visit this general article on ALT Cards and the ALT Card FAQ for the latest guidance on how to request an ALT card.
Physical Access Only
If an individual requires physical access to the NIH campus, the individual's Administrative Officer (AO) should submit a request to the NIH Division of Physical Security Management (DPSM) Access Control group to program the individuals’ Agency PIV card for physical access to NIH campus gates and doors.
