What is a PIV Card? A “Personal Identity Verification” credential is a card used government-wide to control access to Federally Controlled Facilities and information systems at the appropriate security level.
One veteran was worried that prior convictions while he was serving were going to prevent him from obtaining a PIV card:
I recently got hired by a state as a veteran representative and it requires the use of a PIV Card.
During my hiring process with the state I was subject to a background check (no fingerprints) and they said it came back and proceeded hiring me. They didn’t indicate what came back and the state no longer requires disclosure and banned the box.
For the PIV I know I will be subject to fingerprints for FBI background and I know my military conviction will come back.
Background: When I was in the service I had an affair with a coworker. Over a year later I got tossed into an investigation which produced false allegations and a year after that I went through a general court martial for violations of Article 93, 120 & 120c. I was acquitted on all charges except one for Article 93 and 120c which was a wrongful conviction (93, 120, 120c were all tied into each other and we proved I was innocent). My case is still in appeals so no resolution on that front yet. An affair sparked everything but that is not the charges. To save her own skin and take advantage of special programs she accused me of sex assault and they added maltreatment and indecent exposure to the charges all for the same affair.
We proved I was innocent and the affair was consensual and I still got convicted on maltreatment and IE. Acquitted on SA.
I didn’t do any time and was still able to finish my contract and discharge honorably.
I got out, went back to school in person at a prestigious university and graduated Magna Cum Laude. My wife and I also have a child together (same wife from when this all took place).
I have a letter of explanation written and ready to go along with my 214 and college transcript. My unit Commander from that time also told me if I ever needed a letter of recommendation he would write me one because he knows I got screwed. I reached out to him to see if he would follow through with it so fingers crossed.
My question is do I still have a chance at getting a PIV Card? The affair happened 7 years, investigation 6 years, conviction 5 years ago.
PIV vs CAC
A Common Access Card (CAC) is for personnel or contractors of the Department of Defense (DoD). This allows personnel access to DoD installations or computer systems. Other branches or federal agencies outside of the DoD use a separate but similar authentication and identification system – the PIV card.
Eligibility for this card is generally based on the need for physical or logical access to federal facilities or IT systems for at least six months. This includes federal employees, government contractors, and members of the armed forces. However, agencies may have different eligibility requirements for specific categories of people, such as short-term employees. For example, at the VA, you may need a PIV card if you need access to VA facilities or information systems.
Obtaining a PIV Card with Military Convictions
Just like a security clearance, PIV card applicants are graded against adjudicative criteria and can be issued a final determination to be granted a card or issued an interim PIV eligibility determination. Adjudicative guidelines for PIV Credential Eligibility decide whether, “There is proof that the person is who s/he says s/he is; if terrorism or information technology security concerns exist; and if there are any other issues that indicate issuance of a PIV credential to an individual will pose an unacceptable risk to any of the following: i. The life, safety, property or health of employees, contractors, vendors or visitors to a Federal facility; ii. The Government’s physical assets or information systems; iii. Records, including privileged, proprietary, financial or medical records; or the privacy of the individuals whose data the Government holds in its systems.”
More on the PIV issuance process can be read here.
As always, it depends. Applicants will be based on the whole person, and passage of time is always the best mitigating factor. In this case, the fact that the applicant was forthcoming about all of the details is also favorable. PIV credentials often come down to a general assessment of reliability and trustworthiness, and ability to maintain proper protocols around protected information or facilities.
Much about the clearance process resembles the Pirate’s Code: “more what you’d call guidelines than actual rules.” This case-by-case system is meant to consider the whole person, increase process security, and allow the lowest-risk/highest-need candidates to complete the process. However, it also creates a lot of questions for applicants. For this reason, ClearanceJobs maintains ClearanceJobsBlog.com – a forum where clearance seekers can ask the cleared community for advice on their specific security concerns. Ask CJ explores questions posed on the ClearanceJobs Blog forum, emails received, and comments from this site.
