Frequently Asked Questions

On this page you can find answers to common questions about NIEF, including who can participate and how it works.

Table of Contents

Who owns and operates NIEF?

NIEF is operated by the National Identity Exchange Federation Center, a nonprofit subsidiary of the Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation. The NIEF Center is managed and staffed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), which has supported the information sharing needs of the U.S. public safety community for over 30 years.

Who can participate in NIEF?

NIEF participation is open to U.S.-based public safety and justice organizations at the federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial levels. It is also open to vendors and service providers that support those agencies, as well as auditors and assessors that perform security, compliance, or interoperability assessments for them.

Can vendors or service providers participate in NIEF?

Yes. Vendors and service providers that offer identity, access, or information sharing solutions to the public safety community may participate in NIEF. They typically do so either as Information Sharing Participants (e.g., by operating SAML or OpenID Connect services) or as Trustmark Providers (e.g., by issuing trustmarks based on security or policy assessments).

Is participation limited to U.S.-based organizations?

Yes. At this time, only organizations based in the United States are eligible to participate in NIEF.

Is NIEF part of the U.S. federal government?

No. NIEF is not currently affiliated with any federal government program. However, it originated from the Global Federated Identity and Privilege Management (GFIPM) program, and has received funding and endorsement over the years from other federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and the White House.

What is the value of participating in NIEF?

NIEF helps participating agencies securely share information with trusted partners across organizational boundaries. It improves interoperability, reduces integration costs, and supports scalable, standards-based collaboration using Federated ICAM technologies and the trustmark framework. NIEF also allows participants to control who they trust—there’s no central authority making trust decisions on your behalf.

How much does it cost to participate in NIEF?

There are currently no membership fees charged by NIEF. However, participation may involve internal costs for your organization. For example, participants may need to:

  • Develop or configure software to comply with NIEF’s technical specifications
  • Maintain and support systems integrated into NIEF
  • Expand help desk or IT support for broader user access

Some participants (such as service providers or trustmark issuers) may also charge other participants for access to their services, but NIEF itself does not charge participation fees.

What is a trustmark?

A trustmark is a digitally signed, machine-readable statement that confirms an organization or system conforms to a specific set of well-defined requirements. Trustmarks help agencies make trust decisions based on verified credentials instead of assumptions or manual agreements. For more information, visit the Trustmark Initiative (TMI) website.

Does NIEF store or transmit our agency’s data?

No. NIEF does not store or broker any data. It does not transmit, collect, or monitor any information sharing transactions. Instead, NIEF provides the infrastructure and tools agencies use to establish trust and connect securely with their chosen partners.

How can I find out if a partner agency is already in NIEF?

You can check the list of active participants and services in the NIEF Trustmark Binding Registry. The registry includes detailed information about who’s participating and what services they offer.

How can I find out what services are available through NIEF?

The NIEF Trustmark Binding Registry also shows which services are available (e.g., SAML IDPs, relying parties, OpenID Connect services), along with the trustmarks associated with each service.

How can my organization participate in NIEF?

To get started, email us at help@nief.org. We’ll walk you through the onboarding process and help you determine the best path based on your organization’s role and goals.

What is the NIEF Implementer Guidance and how should my agency use it?

The NIEF Implementer Guidance provides a structured set of technical and policy recommendations for public safety organizations participating in NIEF, based on the types of data sharing transactions in which they plan to participate. It helps agencies determine which trustmarks they may need based on the type of data they share and their role in the trust relationship (e.g., Identity Provider, Service Provider, etc.) This guidance is optional but highly recommended, especially for agencies that want to demonstrate rigor and interoperability. Your agency can can use it to inform your system design, policy documentation, audit readiness, and trustmark acquisition decisions as you work through the process of building a robust information sharing capability.

What is a trust interoperability profile (TIP)?

The NIEF Implementer Guidance page contains links to a large number of technical requirements documents called trust interoperability profiles, or TIPs. A TIP is basically a machine-readable blueprint that defines the set of trust requirements needed for a specific type of system or operational role in a trusted information sharing transaction with information sharing partners in NIEF. TIPs come from the trustmark framework, and they help automate trust decisions by bundling together sets of related trust requirements into reusable packages. You can see our detailed implementer guidance by data category in our table of NIEF Implementer Guidance Profiles by Data Category, or you can explore all of our published TIPs in the NIEF Trust Policy Authoring Tool.

Do I have to follow the Implementer Guidance to participate in NIEF?

No. The Implementer Guidance is not mandatory. NIEF does not impose universal technical or policy requirements on its participants. Instead, NIEF provides the infrastructure for agencies to make their own trust decisions based on trustmarks and policies. That said, following the guidance makes it easier for your agency to interoperate with others and to be trusted more broadly across the federation.

How do I know which trustmarks my system needs?

Start by reviewing the NIEF Implementer Guidance page on this website. It maps common public safety data categories to recommended trust policy rules for different roles (e.g., SAML Identity Provider, OpenID Connect Relying Party, etc.) You can also consult with the NIEF team by contacting us at help@nief.org for implementation support or an onboarding conversation that is tailored to your organization’s needs.