Federal Port Security Credential Now Available Nationwide
All TWIC Enrollment Sites Are Now Open and Ready for Business
Sept. 17, 2008
TSA Public Affairs: (571) 227-2829
WASHINGTON – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) today announced that all Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) fixed enrollment sites are open and ready for worker registration. Port and longshore workers, truckers and others nationwide are now able to enroll in the Department of Homeland Security's TWIC program at any one of the nearly 150 sites.
"The completion of standing up every enrollment center is a testament to the progress of this important security program," said Maurine Fanguy, TWIC program director for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). "We encourage workers to visit one of these sites as soon as possible to ensure their cards are in-hand in the coming months."
The TWIC program's goal is to ensure that any individual who has unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities and vessels has received a thorough background check and is not a security threat.
To date, TSA has enrolled more than 500,000 workers in the program. The 149 fixed enrollment centers will ultimately vet more than 1.2 million maritime transportation system workers by April 2009. In addition to fixed sites, more than 200 mobile enrollment sites have been deployed, registering workers at their places of employment.
Workers at select ports will be required to have a TWIC to come to work as early as October 2008. Compliance will be phased in by Captain of the Port Zones between Oct. 15, 2008 and April 15, 2009, after which all ports must be in compliance and all workers requiring unescorted access to secure areas of a port must possess a TWIC.
Workers are able to pre-enroll for TWIC online at www.tsa.gov/twic or the Coast Guard's Homeport site, http://homeport.uscg.mil. Pre-enrolling speeds up the process by allowing workers to provide biographic information and schedule a time to complete the application process in person. This eliminates waiting at enrollment centers and reduces the time it takes to enroll.
For more information about TWIC and a complete list of enrollment sites, please visit our Web site at www.tsa.gov/twic.
