Activating a USDA eAuthentication Employee Account with Level 2 Access: An account with Level 2 Access provides access to all the portals and applications that are covered by an account with Level 1 Access, and also provides the ability to conduct official electronic business transactions with the USDA via the Internet. You must have a valid email address to register for an employee account with Level 2 Access.   New USDA Employees To register for an eAuthentication account with level 2 access, you will need to receive a Registration email. If you are a newly hired USDA Federal employee and have received a registration email, do the following: Open the registration email. This email was sent to the email address that you provided to your Agency Registration Lead (ARL). Click on the link in the email. This link will open your browser window and navigate to the Activate Your Employee Account page. Input the information requested. Follow the remaining steps as instructed. To register for an eAuthentication Employee account with Level 2 access, you will need to receive a Registration email. If you have not received this email, or no longer have this email, do the following: Contact an Agency Registration Lead for your agency. Click on the link below to display a list of ARLs. http://www.eauth.egov.usda.gov/AgencyRegistrationLeads.html Provide the ARL with an email address. The ARL will confirm your email address, or if none exists, you will need to provide them a valid personal or government issued email address. Wait up to 24 hours for the registration email to arrive. All updates to emails are batch processed; therefore, it may take up to 24 hours for this email to arrive Note: If you do not receive the Registration email, check your "junk" folder, as some email applications may incorrectly place this email there. If you have questions regarding how to do this, contact the ITS Service Desk at eAuthHelpDesk@ftc.usda.gov or call 800-457-3642. Follow the steps under "New USDA Employees" above. Definitions of Terms: Agency Registration Lead: The person(s) designated by each USDA agency to coordinate the employee registration process as defined for their specific agency. They serve as a point of contact to their employees to provide agency specific registration information, guidance and HR contacts. The Agency Registration Lead also communicates specified registration requirements and processes to their agency HR staff and IT staff as necessary. The Agency Registration Lead provides agency specific information, guidance and HR contacts as needed to their employees. A listing of Agency Registration Leads can be found at this link: http://www.eauth.egov.usda.gov/AgencyRegistrationLeads.html Human Resources (HR) Representative: The person(s) designated by a USDA agency with the authority and responsibility to process, access and/or enter official personnel and employment related information for an individual employee. Please contact your Agency Registration Lead if you are unsure of your HR Representative. A listing of Agency Registration Leads can be found at this link: http://www.eauth.egov.usda.gov/AgencyRegistrationLeads.html User ID Please create a permanent User ID that you will remember. The User ID must be a minimum of 6 characters and cannot exceed 20 characters. The User ID is not case sensitive. It may contain letters, numbers, and these special characters: . _ - @ If your agency has indicated a specific format, please follow the format recommended in the USDA eAuthentication Employee Account Creation Memo. For example, your first initial and last name (e.g. jsmith). Your input will be verified to determine that it is a unique User ID. If it is not, you will be provided with an alternative, or you can input a different User ID. Password Please create a password that you will remember. Your password is case sensitive. Required Characters: 9 to 12 characters long At least one uppercase letter (A, B, C, etc.) At least one lowercase letter (a, b, c, etc.) At least one of these characters:      1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9      ! # - $ % * = + : ; , ? ~ Restricted Information (Do Not Use) Dictionary Words Profile Information: Your name, Mother's Maiden Name, Date of Birth, PIN, Phone Number, Email, etc. Note: We will require you to change your password every 180 days. The next two information fields are created for security purposes. Please enter the following information and keep it for your records. If you need assistance with the USDA eAuthentication service or forget your password, you will need to provide the answers to these three security questions to the ITS Service Desk. Mother's Maiden Name Please enter your Mother's Maiden Name. Please do not enter any spaces or punctuation. PIN Please create a four digit personal identification number (PIN) that you will remember. NOTE: You cannot use a zero as the first digit.