United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Protecting People and the Environment
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Level 1 Credentials

Levels of Authentication

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum M-04-04, (E-Authentication Guidance for Federal Agencies) dated December 16, 2003, defines four levels of authentication Levels 1 to 4, in terms of the consequences of the authentication errors and misuse of credentials. Level 1 is the lowest assurance and Level 4 is the highest. This guidance describes four identity authentication assurance levels for e-government transactions. Each assurance level describes the agencyís degree of certainty that the user has presented an identifier (a credential in this context) that refers to his or her identity.

In this context, assurance is defined as:

  • the degree of confidence in the vetting process used to establish the identity of the individual to whom the credential was issued; and,
  • the degree of confidence that the individual who uses the credential is the individual to whom the credential was issued.

The four assurance levels are:

  • Level 1: Little or no confidence in the asserted identity's validity.
  • Level 2: Some confidence in the asserted identity's validity.
  • Level 3: High confidence in the asserted identity's validity.
  • Level 4: Very high confidence in the asserted identity's validity.

The External Credentialing Service currently supports the following types of credentials for access to different NRC applications:

  • Level 1 - Digital Certificate credentials for EIE General Forms, Adjudicatory Proceedings and Criminal History, and the NRC Emergency Response Data System.
  • Level 1 - One Time Password credentials for NMSS State Communication Portal.
  • Level 3 - One Time Password credentials for NMSS Integrated Source Management Portfolio.

Level 1 Credentialing Process Overview

Credentialing Process for Access to NSTS
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Step 1: Online Enrollment

Time Estimate: No more than 10 minutes to complete this step
  1. Visit the Web-based External Credential Service.
  2. Click on the link corresponding to the application for which you need to obtain access.
  3. Follow the guidance provided to enroll for your digital certificate. The Level 1 Enrollment Guide is available for review and provides details on the enrollment process

Step 2 will be completed by the NRC and no action is required by applicant.

Step 3: Credential Activation

After approving the identity package, the NRC will email you information on how to access the credentialing Web site and collect your digital authentication certificate.
The Level 1 Credential Activation Guide is available for review and provides details on the certificate collection process

Page Last Reviewed/Updated Wednesday, August 7, 2013