Extending your chip
A LincPass is a very important tool for access to USDA computers and applications. Please take a look at the attachments and information below to ensure that your LincPass card certificate chip is extended, if required.
We have heard from numerous employees that were successful in extending their chip, and the common theme is that they were either in the office or they have strong internet service at home. Some employees who were not successful in extending the chip were not in the office or their internet service does not have strong signals, especially during high internet usage.
If you are not successful in extending your LincPass certificate, the system will indicate your credentials have been revoked. If your certificates are revoked you will need to make an appointment at the nearest LincPass activation office at: http://www.fedidcard.gov
Additional background
A new process for rekeying/updating your LincPass has been established. You can now rekey/update the certificates on your LincPass/PIV card without going to an enrollment center.
Question: How do you know that your certificate needs an update?
Answer – You will receive an email notification from “” with a subject of “USAccess – Credential Ready For Certificate Update”. This email is sent 6 months prior to the deadline to update your certificate. Failure to complete this action will cause your card to be terminated and you will have to work with a sponsor to have a new card issued.
The Self-service LincPass Card Update” job aid that CEC/TSD has compiled is attached. This is a two-minute process, so please do not try to multitask while doing the update. If the process is not followed you may have to visit an enrollment center to update your card.
If you need any help with this “desktop rekey” process, contact your local CEC IT support staff, or call the helpdesk: CEC/TSD HelpDesk Phone: 877-873-0783
After you have completed the rekey, you need to remove the old certificates from yourcache. Refer to the attached document, “LincPass Job Aid – Clearing Cached Certificates…”