As of June 3, 2014, the website for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced it is experiencing a delay in the production and delivery of new TWIC cards. This delay is expected to be temportary, although no further details regarding timeliness were offered.
The delay, according to TSA, affects new enrollments, card replacements, and Extended Expiration Date (EED) cards.
The announcement suggests that the cause of the delay is due to updates and upgrades to TWIC cards, currently produced by the Government Printing Office. New cards will have several subtle differences from older TWIC cards. For example:
- Card front's expiration date format is now YEAR MONTH DAY (YYYYMMMDD) example: 2016APR22
- A period "." will be added after the name's middle initial on the card front
- TWIC Card version moved to above the magnetic stripe (“TWIC v2.3 MM.YY”) on card back
- The smaller 1D bar code above the magnetic stripe has been replaced by a card stock identifier sequence.
- The label “ID One PIV (1107253)” has been added above the magnetic stripe.
- The printing below the larger 1D barcode now includes the System Code (7099), example: 70991234
As a result of the transition to the TIM system, the TWIC Certificate Authority (CA) changed. TWIC readers programed to check the TWIC Certificate Revocation List (CRL) must be redirected to the new CA. The technical advisory for this change was also previously posted to the TWIC website. The direct link to the advisory is here.
