NIST Releases Initial Public Draft (IPD) SP 800-230, Additional SLH-DSA Parameter Sets for Limited Signature Use Cases

NIST is seeking public comments on the initial public draft (ipd) of Special Publication (SP) 800-230, Additional SLH-DSA Parameter Sets for Limited-Signature Use Cases. This document serves as a technical extension to FIPS 205 by specifying six additional parameter sets for security levels 1, 3, and 5. These variants are specifically tailored for use cases that require fast verification and reduced signature sizes, such as the signing of software, firmware, and digital certificates. These optimizations are achieved by establishing a strict limit of 2^24 signatures per signing key; therefore, these sets are not approved for general-purpose use.

NIST requests feedback on the suitability of these additional parameter sets, specifically asking reviewers to identify applications for which these variants might incur unacceptable performance or to suggest alternative sets that are better suited for such use cases. Users must perform a thorough evaluation to ensure that the signature limit is never exceeded during a key's lifetime. Please submit comments to SP800-230-comments [at] nist.gov (SP800-230-comments[at]nist[dot]gov) by June 12, 2026.