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FIPS 201 defines the requirements and characteristics of government-wide interoperable identity credentials for use in applications that provide access to federally controlled facilities and information systems. FIPS 201 supports multiple types of authenticators, including authenticators on smart cards (also known as PIV Cards). The 3-part SP 800-73 contains the technical specifications to interface with PIV Cards to retrieve and use identity credentials. This document — SP 800-73pt3-5, Interfaces for Personal Identity Verification: Part 3 – PIV Client Application Programming Interface — contains technical specifications for the PIV client application programming interface to the PIV Card. [Supersedes SP 800-73-4 (February 2016): https://www.nist.gov/manuscript-publication-search.cfm?pub_id=920323]
Ferraiolo, H.
, Mehta, K.
, Francomacaro, S.
, Chandramouli, R.
and Gupta, S.
(2024),
Interfaces for Personal Identity Verification Part 3 – PIV Client Application Programming Interface, Special Publication (NIST SP), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-73pt3-5, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=957976
(Accessed October 6, 2025)