Get appointment help

You should receive an email from your agency sponsor telling you that it’s time to make an appointment to enroll, activate, update, or pick up a PIV card.

If the credentialing center nearest you does not have sufficient availability, you can look at other nearby credentialing centers. GSA does not control appointment availability. Contact your agency sponsor for assistance.

Tips for making appointments

All emails regarding PIV cards will come from the HSPD-12 Admin account. Check your spam folder if you do not see an email.
“Only” or “dedicated” sites are only accessible to that agency’s employees and contractors. Do not make an appointment at a site marked “only” or “dedicated” unless your agency operates the site.
“Shared” sites are open to all.
You will need to pick your appointment type, date, and time and provide your contact information.
After you input all of your information and submit the request, you’ll receive an email to confirm the appointment. The email has important information about the place, date, time, how to get to the site, and what to bring with you.
Some sites do not offer online booking. Contact your sponsor, agency HSPD-12, or identity management program office for further information about the availability of these stations.

Tips for rescheduling or canceling appointments

It’s possible that a center will cancel your appointment on short notice and you’ll need to reschedule.

Find an existing appointment in the online scheduler.
Enter your confirmation number (included in your confirmation email) and your email address.
Follow the steps to reschedule or cancel the appointment.

Prepare for your appointment

Enrollment appointment

This appointment is after you receive an email called Sponsorship Complete, Credential Renewal/Re-Issue Notification, or another notice to enroll or re-enroll.

You will have your photo and fingerprints taken. You need to bring your identity documents, two non-expired forms of ID, with you.

If you need your PIV card shipped to a different location to be picked up, email your sponsor.

Card pick-up and activation appointment

This appointment is after you receive an email called Credential Ready for Pick-Up or another notice to pick up or activate your new credential. You will establish a PIN for your new card.

You will have to pick up your card. Do not make an appointment to pick up your card until you get an email notifying you that it’s ready to be picked up and activated.

To check the status of your card, contact your agency’s identity management program office, your agency’s help desk, or your agency sponsor to see where your card is.

You must:

Make the appointment at the location listed in your email notification.
Bring a non-expired ID that includes your photo.

If there was a temporary password in the notification email, bring it with you. You can activate your card yourself by:

Entering the new card into the reader.
Typing in the temporary password from your email message.
Scanning your fingerprint.
Typing in a new PIN you will use to access online government systems.

If your email did not have a temporary password in it, someone on-site will help you activate your card.

Card update or PIN reset appointment

This appointment is after you receive an email called Credential Ready for Certificate Update or another notice to update your existing card.

You can use this appointment to update or re-key your certificate or reset the PIN on your credential.

You must bring your PIV card with you.