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Personal Identity Verification of Federal Employees and Contractors PIV

PIV Standards and Supporting Documentation

Each title heading is clickable - clicking each title will expand/collapse the list of standards & supporting documents.

  • SP 800-78-5 Cryptographic Algorithms and Key Sizes for Personal Identity Verification 
    (July 2024) 
  • SP 800-76-2 - Biometric Data Specification for Personal Identity Verification
    (July 2013)
  • SP 800-73-5 - Interfaces for Personal Identity Verification (3 Parts)
      Part 1 of SP 800-73-5PIV Card Application Namespace, Data Model and Representation
      Part 2 of SP 800-73-5 -  Part 2- PIV Card Application Card Command Interface
      Part 3 of SP 800-73-5  - Part 3- PIV Client Application Programming Interface 
    (July 2024)
  • NIST IR 7676 - Maintaining and Using Key History on Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Cards
    (June 2010)
  • Cybersecurity White Paper (CSWP 4) - Best Practices for Privileged User PIV Authentication
    (April 2016)
  • SP 800-156Representation of PIV Chain-of-Trust for Import and Export
    (May 2016)
  • SP 800-116 Revision 1A Recommendation for the Use of PIV Credentials in Physical Access Control Systems
    (June 2018)
  • NIST IR 7863 - Cardholder Authentication for the PIV Digital Signature Key
    (June 2015)
  • SP 800-85A-4 - PIV Card Application and Middleware Interface Test Guidelines (SP 800-73-4 Compliance) 
    (April 2016)
  • SP 800-85B - PIV Data Model Conformance Test Guidelines
    (July 2006)
  • DRAFT SP 800-85B-4 - PIV Data Model Conformance Test Guidelines
    (August 2014)
  • SP 800-96 - PIV Card / Reader Interoperability Guidelines
    (September 2006)
  • SP 800-87 Revision 2 Codes for the Identification of Federal and Federally-Assisted Organizations
    (April 2018)
    Please email Agency Code update requests to [email protected]
  • SP 800-79-2 - Guidelines for the Accreditation of Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Card Issuers (PCI’s)
    (July 2015)
  • SP 800-166 - Derived PIV Application and Data Model Test Guidelines
    (June 2016)
  • SP 800-157 - Guidelines for Derived Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Credentials
    (December 2014)
  • NIST IR 8055 - Derived Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Credentials (DPC) Proof of Concept Research 
    (January 2016)

Foundational publications are earlier work (NIST Interagency Reports - NISTIR) that demonstrated various capabilities of PIV card/system. Many of the concepts/outcomes in these NISTIRs are reflected in the current version of the PIV Standard and/or associated Special Publications.

  • NIST IR 7284 - Personal Identity Verification Card Management Report
    (January 2006)
  • SP 800-104 - A Scheme for PIV Visual Card Topography (this document is now incorporated in FIPS 201-3)
  • NIST IR 7452 - Secure Biometric Match-on-Card Feasibility Report
    (November 2007)
  • NIST IR 7337 - Personal Identity Verification Demonstration Summary
    (August 2006)

Created May 24, 2016, Updated December 30, 2025