Government employee ID

Physical PIV (personal identity verification) cards or CACs (common access cards) are secure options for federal government employees and military personnel. These cards, with encrypted chip technology, are resistant to phishing and difficult to hack if stolen.

How to set up government employee ID

1. Enter your federal government email address and follow the link in the confirmation email.

2. Confirm your email address by clicking on the link in the email you receive.

3. On the “First authentication method setup” page, select the “government employees” option.

4. Create your password.

5. When prompted, present your government employee ID.

6. A dialog box may pop up and prompt you to select a certificate. Login.gov does not know which certificate you should select. We can only advise you to pick one and if it doesn’t work, to try another one.

7. You might be asked to enter the PIN associated with your government employee ID. This is something Login.gov does not have control over.

8. Once you have set up your government employee ID, you are required to set up another authentication method (security option) as a recovery method.

Setting up your PIV/CAC Card on an existing Login.gov account

1. Go to https://secure.login.gov/.

2. Sign in to your account using your username, password, and authentication method.

3. On the “Your account” page, click on “Add federal employee ID” under “Your authentication methods”.

4. Enter your government employee ID into the reader and click on “Add PIV/CAC card”.

5. A dialog box may pop up and prompt you to select a certificate. Login.gov cannot determine which certificate you must select. We can only advise you to pick one and then try another if it doesn’t work.

6. You might be asked to enter the PIN associated with your PIV/CAC. This is a PIN that you have set up with your PIV/CAC credentials.

Related articles

• Issues with Government employee ID
• Authentication methods
• Issues creating an account

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