U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Https

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Osy
  3. Credentialing

Was this page helpful?

Official Badges and Credentials

Department Administrative Order 207-11 prescribes a uniform Official Credential for the Department of Commerce for:

  • Law and regulatory enforcement units and offices authorized to conduct official law enforcement and non-law enforcement investigations.
  • Special agents, enforcement officers, and other personnel performing law enforcement and non-law enforcement duties.
  • Personnel implementing policies and procedures on the issuance and use of official credentials and badges.

In those cases where the director for security has assurance that the requestor of the specific credentials has current clearances and training to effectively execute the requisite duties of the occupied position, the director for security shall sign all Form CD-277s authorizing the bearer to carry out official law enforcement duties in the Office of Export Enforcement, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Office of the Secretary, and the Office of Security. 

The director for security shall also sign Form CD-277s for non-law enforcement positions and for retired law enforcement officers. The inspector general shall sign all Form CD-277s in the Office of Inspector General, including those for retired law enforcement officers.

For official credential and badge requests:

  1. All requests for credentials and badges will be submitted on OSY’s Credential Request Form, routed through the applicable bureau POC to the Plans, Programs and Compliance Division (PPCD). PPCD serves as the Departmental Issuing Official on behalf of the director for security. 
  2. All retirement credential requests for applicable law enforcement positions will first be submitted for acknowledgment that no serious disciplinary problems exist, on the Certification Regarding Issuance of Retired Credentials Form. Following a satisfactory review and acknowledgment from the above-mentioned offices, a credential request form for retirement credentials can then be submitted by the bureau points of contacts (POCs) to PPCD for routing through OSY. OSY will verify that there are no ongoing investigations or serious disciplinary problems and that all applicable national security information and sensitive compartmented information de-briefs have occurred. After a satisfactory review and acknowledgment from OSY, the retirement credential request can proceed for processing.

PPCD maintains an accountability register that includes the bearer's name, Form CD-277 and/or badge number, date of issuance, geographic area where the bearer is assigned, and final disposition of returned forms and badges. An inventory of all issuances shall be conducted semi-annually, and an inventory report provided to the director for security annually by December 31.


Lost/Stolen Badge and Credential Reporting Procedures:

Credentials and badges are assigned federal property. It is the responsibility of a credential and badge holder to maintain possession, accountability, and protection of said property. If your issued credential and/or badge is lost or stolen:

  1. Immediately report all lost/stolen badge(s) and/or credentials to your supervisor, Field Servicing Security Office (FSSO), and your POC.
  2. The POC will notify PPCD with a written explanation of circumstances.
  3. File a report with the local police in the event of lost/stolen badges and credentials.
  4. Credentials and badges lost/stolen off of federal property requires a local police report.
  5. Credentials and badges lost/stolen on federal property require a police report by the federal police organization responsible for your facility. Federal Protective Services is responsible at facilities leased by General Services Administration and the OSY-NIST Police Services Group is responsible at NIST campuses. 
  6. The report must include the credential/badge holder’s full name, assigned badge number, credential serial number, and details surrounding the event. 
  7. Lost or stolen credentials and badges must be entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) by the police organization developing the police report. The request for an NCIC submission will be made by the affected employee or Department operating unit at the time the police report is generated.
  8. Within 10 business days, the employee will submit a completed lost/stolen credential and badge form to their POC for validation and submission to OSY. The police report will also be included with this submission.

POCs will email the initial report detailing the circumstances of the lost/stolen property, police report with the NCIC report number and the lost/stolen credential and badge form to [email protected]. If any of these documents contain personally identifiable information (PII) or sensitive PII, please send them via secure email in Kiteworks.

More formation on field offices is available on the OSY website.