Create an Account Help

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.

Note for New USDA Employees:

There is a delay in the processing of employee payroll and personnel information to the National Finance Center (NFC). It may take a new Federal USDA Employee up to 4 weeks to receive a salary check. New Federal USDA Employees should wait the 4 weeks or until you receive a salary check for the employee payroll and personnel information to be processed. A listing of Agency Registration Leads can be found at this link: http://www.eauth.egov.usda.gov/AgencyRegistrationLeads.html

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 actions 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

Assistance with entering Information on the USDA eAuthentication Employee Account Creation/Activation Pages:

The following information collected will be used to activate your USDA eAuthentication Employee Account with Level 2 Access. The information you enter will be compared to your personnel and payroll information at the National Finance Center (NFC). The information you enter into the USDA eAuthentication Account Activation screens must match exactly your personnel and payroll information at NFC. If you are unsure of your personnel or payroll information at NFC, please contact your HR Representative.

Documents Required to Complete the USDA eAuthentication Employee Account Creation/Activation Process:

In order to complete this process, you will need to have the following documents available to you before you start the process:

Earnings and Leave Statement (E&LS) AD-334: Earnings and Leave Statements are either received in the mail or are accessed over the internet via the Employee Personal Pages, at https://www.nfc.usda.gov/personal/index2.asp .

Personnel Action Form (PAF) SF 50-B: Personnel Action Forms are received by USDA employees whenever there is any change in their employment status or conditions, and are received at least once a year. On the Personnel Action Form, the Duty Station Code can be found in Box 38 , the Agency in Box 22 and the Service Comp. Date in Box 31 . If you are unable to locate any historical Personnel Action Forms, you should contact your Human Resources (HR) representative to receive this information.

First Name

Please enter your first name exactly as it appears in your Earnings and Leave Statement AD-334. Please do not enter any spaces, punctuation, or suffixes.

Middle Initial

Please enter the first character of your middle name. The middle initial is limited to one character.

Last Name

Please enter your last name exactly as it appears in your Earnings and Leave Statement AD-334. Do not enter any spaces, suffixes, or punctuation. For example, if your last name is D'Arcy-Smith, please enter Darcysmith.

Social Security Number

Please enter your full 9 digit Social Security Number in the boxes provided.

Home Address State

Please select your home state from the drop down box EXACTLY as it appears on your most recent Earnings and Leave Statement AD-334.

Home Address City

Please select your home city from the drop down box EXACTLY as it appears on your most recent Earnings and Leave Statement AD-334.

Agency Name

Please select your primary USDA agency affiliation from the drop down box exactly as it appears in your Earnings and Leave Statement AD-334. If you work for more than one agency please select your primary agency affiliation. If your agency is not listed, please select the option closest to what you think the correct choice is.

Duty Station Code

Please enter your duty station code exactly as it appears in Box 38 of your most recent Personnel Action Form SF-50.

Service Comp. Date (Leave)

Please enter your Service Comp. Date (Leave) exactly as it appears in Box 31 on your most recent Personnel Action Form SF-50.

Net amount of your last paycheck

Please enter the net amount shown on latest Earnings and Leave Statement AD-334 , $####. ##.

Pay Plan, Grade and Step

Please enter your current grade and step exactly as it appears on your most recent Earnings and Leave Statement AD-334.

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).

Password

Please create a password that you will remember. Your password is case sensitive.

All passwords in eAuthentication (for Level 1 and Level 2 accounts) must adhere to the following criteria:

9 to 12 characters long
Contain at least one uppercase letter
Contain at least one lowercase letter
Contain at least one of the following:

In addition:

Your password may not contain your first name, last name, User ID, Mother's Maiden Name, Date of Birth, 4-digit PIN, security questions or answers.
Do not use dictionary words, spaces, or tabs.
Your password will expire after 180 days.

Please enter your USDA email address and ensure that it is correct. The email address provided will be used to confirm your identity and to activate your account initially. As part of the USDA eAuthentication Employee Account with Level 2 Access Creation/Activation, you will receive an email with a link. You must be able to receive this email and follow the instructions to activate your account. Your email address will also be used to contact you for assistance with your eAuthentication account.

The next three 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. Your Mother's Maiden Name will be used as one of three security questions to assist with recovering a forgotten password.

Please create a four digit personal identification number (PIN) that you will remember. Your PIN will be used as one of three security questions to assist with recovering a forgotten password. NOTE: You cannot use a zero as the first digit.

Date of Birth

Please enter your date of birth using the following format, mm-dd-yyyy, all numeric. Your date of birth will be used as one of three security questions to assist with recovering a forgotten password.