Identity Proofing and Vetting for Common Access Card (CAC) Issuance

1.  Background.  Reference (a) defines the policies
governing the issuance of (PIV) credentials, including the Common
Access Card (CAC). References (b) and (c) reinforce these
requirements and ensure they are applied uniformly across the
Department of War (DoW) and all military services. Recent emphasis
is intended to address Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting.
system (DEERS) records that do not meet Federal Identity Proofing
Documentation requirements.
1A.  The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) identified CAC holders
across the department whose DEERS records lacked the required
Identity documentation for compliant CACS.  As a result, DMDC
initiated a phased notification effort via email to all affected
Service Members with a government and/or personal email stored in
DEERS.  The email notifications were sent systematically beginning
in January 2026.  As of July 2026, approximately 21,584 Marines'
DEERS records have not been brought into compliance.
2.  PURPOSE.
This MARADMIN reiterates federal ID proofing and vetting
requirements for CAC issuance.  Our goal is to enforce compliance,
ensure verification of all CAC holders, and direct the recovery of
missing identity documents.
3.  Identity proofing requirements.
As outlined in section 2.7 of reference (a), applicants must meet
the following requirements for PIV/CAC issuance:
3a. The applicant shall appear in person at least once prior to CAC
issuance.
3b. The applicant shall present two original forms of identity
source documents.  The documents must:
3b(1) Be validated by trained staff to ensure they are genuine and
authentic, not counterfeit, fake, or forgeries.
3b(2) Not be expired or cancelled.
3b(3) Be issued/relate to the applicant.
3c. If identity documents reflect different names, formal proof of
name change must be provided.
3d. At least one identity source document must be a valid government
-issued picture ID and may not be a CAC.
3e.  The DoW list of acceptable identity documents
can be found at https://www.cac.mil/portals/53/documents/list_of_
Acceptable_documents_2025.pdf
4.  Current CAC holders and Real-Time Automated Personnel
Identification System (RAPIDS) processing.
Current cardholders whose DEERS records are identified as non-
compliant will be required to ensure proper identity documentation
is provided in person at a RAPIDS site.  To locate the nearest
facility, Marines may utilize the RAPIDS site locator website at:
Https://idco.dmdc.osd.mil/idco/.
4a.  Cardholders who fail to have two valid identity source
documents scanned into the DEERS record are at risk of CAC
cancellation and/or forfeiture.
5.  Applicability.  This MARADMIN is applicable to all Active-Duty
and Select Reserve members in possession of a DoW Marine Corps-
sponsored CAC.
6. Release authorized by Mr. Gregory T. Goldstein, Director, Marine
and Family Programs Division.