DoD Directive 1000.25 (CAC)

US Department of Defense directive establishing the Common Access Card as the standard identity credential for military personnel.

DoD Directive 1000.25 established the Common Access Card as the U.S. Department of Defense's standard credential for active-duty members, reservists, civilian staff, and contractors. The card pairs a contact smart chip with a magnetic stripe and printed photo to serve physical access, network logon, and digitally signed email. It is built on the federal PIV framework and carries separate PKI certificates for authentication, signing, and encryption.