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CFATS Personnel Surety Program

The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) is a risk-based regulatory program that sets the standards for security at the Nation’s high-risk chemical facilities. Personnel surety, the vetting of facility personnel and unescorted visitors who have or are seeking access to restricted areas and critical assets at high-risk chemical facilities, is a key aspect of chemical facility security.

Risk-Based Performance Standard 12 - Personnel Surety

A CFATS-covered facility must submit for the Department of Homeland Security’s (the Department or DHS) approval a security plan that contains security measures that meet all applicable Risk-Based Performance Standards (RBPS) developed by DHS. Under RBPS 12 – Personnel Surety, facilities are required to account for four types of background checks on facility personnel and unescorted visitors who have or are seeking access to restricted areas and critical assets at high-risk chemical facilities. These checks include:

i) Measures designed to verify and validate identity;
ii) Measures designed to check criminal history;
iii) Measures designed to verify and validate legal authorization to work; and
iv) Measures designed to identify people with terrorist ties.

Parts i – iii of RBPS 12 have been in effect for all covered facilities since the inception of the CFATS Program; but in August 2015, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the Department’s Information Collection Request (ICR) enabling the Department to begin implementing part iv, screening for terrorist ties for Tier 1 and Tier 2 facilities. The CFATS Personnel Surety Program enables regulated chemical facilities to meet this requirement.

Risk-Based Performance Standard 12(iv) - Personnel Surety Program

On December 18, 2015, a notice was published in the in Federal Register to inform Tier 1 and Tier 2 high-risk chemical facilities covered under CFATS of the implementation of the CFATS Personnel Surety Program. The notice provides information on:

  • Statutory and regulatory history;
  • Four options available to facilities in order to comply with RBPS 12(iv);
  • Program requirements and details;
  • Chemical Security Assessment Tool (CSAT) user roles and responsibilities; and
  • Privacy considerations.

DHS is rolling out the program in a phased manner. High-risk chemical facilities will be individually notified as to when the Department will expect them to begin implementing RBPS 12(iv) in accordance with their security plans.

The recently approved ICR authorizes the Department to collect information about affected individuals from high-risk facilities (or their designees) in Tier 1 and Tier 2 for three years. The Department intends to seek approval to collect information from Tier 3 and Tier 4 facilities in a future ICR.

DHS is dedicated to providing compliance assistance to facilities in the CFATS program to ensure a smooth implementation of the Personnel Surety Program. Please email CFATS@hq.dhs.gov with any questions.

Options Available For Risk-Based Performance Standard 12(iv) Facility Compliance

The Personnel Surety Program Notice posted in the Federal Register describes four options for facilities to consider in implementing RBPS 12(iv). Facilities may propose additional options of their own design as part of their security plan to meet this RBPS, and DHS will review them on a facility-by-facility basis. In December 2014, Congress noted in Section 2102(d)(2)(B)(ii) of the Homeland Security Act (PDF, 60 pages - 102 KB) that facilities choosing to meet the performance standard via a visual inspection of credentials (Option 4 below) should take that visual verification has inherent limitations and provides less security value than the other options available; therefore, facilities should consider other means of verification of a credential’s validity. To help facilities determine the best approach for them, the Notice also describes the benefits and limitations of the four options listed.

  • Option 1- Direct Vetting: High-risk chemical facilities (or their designees) may submit certain information about affected individuals to the Department through a Personnel Surety Program application in CSAT.
  • Option 2 - Use of Vetting Conducted under Other DHS Programs: High-risk chemical facilities (or their designees) may submit information to the Department (via the Personnel Surety Program application in CSAT) about affected individuals possessing the appropriate credentials to enable the Department to electronically verify the affected individuals’ enrollments in other DHS programs.
  • Option 3 - Electronic Verification of Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC): High-risk chemical facilities (or their designees) will be able to use electronic readers, like TWIC readers, to verify the validity of existing credentials.
  • Option 4 - Visual Verification: High-risk chemical facility may identify individuals with terrorist ties using any Federal screening program that periodically vets individuals against the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) if:
    • The Federal screening program issues a document or credential;
    • The high-risk chemical facility is presented a credential or document by the affected individual; and
    • The high-risk chemical facility verifies the credential or document is current in accordance with its SSP.

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Last Published Date: April 18, 2016

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