Identification Requirements to Enter West Point.
Here you will find detailed information on who is permitted to access, and what the identification requirements are to enter West Point. These requirements do not effect Department of Defense identification card holders.
Questions? Click here for our » Frequently Asked Questions
☆ A listing of the current state-by-state compliance is available at » REAL ID Act Status of States & Territories. Please read this website carefully, several states have not received extensions or their extensions have expired. ☆
Escorted Visitors: Escorted visitors are persons who enter West Point accompanied by a qualified escort. Escorted visitors do not need to visit the Visitor Control Center but must remain with the qualified escort and have in their possession an approved form of identification at all times.
DoD Identification Card: If you are in possession of a valid (not expired) Department of Defense-issued identification card, you may enter West Point and other federally controlled installations.
Qualified Escorts: Qualified escorts are Department of Defense identification card holders. This includes Common Access Card holders (Military, Civilian Government employees and contractors) or Teslin identification card holders (Retirees, their spouses and Military dependents.) A qualified escort must accompany each individual he or she is escorting and can only escort up to 15 individuals.
Visitors: If you are not a Department of Defense issued identification card holder you must obtain an Automated Installation Entry (AIE) by filling out an »AIE Credential Request Form and visiting our Visitor Control Center at 2107 New South Post Road, West Point, NY 10996, Tel: (845) 938-0390 or (845) 938-0392. Click here for the » Map Location of Visitor Control Center.
The Visitor Control Center is open Monday-Sunday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. When the Visitor Control Center is closed, visitors will be directed to proceed to Stony Lonesome Gate for a background check and temporary pass. If you do not have a Department of Defense issued identification card, you will be considered one of three categories: Escorted Visitors, Foreign Visitors and Unescorted Visitors. A current driver’s license or passport will suffice for identification, but effective October 1, 2020 driver’s licenses and identification cards from specific territories and states that do not comply with the REAL ID Act of 2005 are not to be used as the sole source for identity verification to access Federal installations. A listing of the current state-by-state compliance is available at REAL ID Act Status of States & Territories.
Foreign Visitors: Foreign visitors must be escorted at all times by a qualified escort in order to enter the installation. That requirement can be met by either entering with a DoD identification card holder or taking a bus tour with an assigned guide provided the bus tour agency presents a valid legible manifest. See below for bus tour information.
Unescorted Visitors: Unescorted visitors are persons 18 years of age and above without a valid (not expired) Department of Defense-issued identification card. Unescorted visitors are asked to report to the Visitor Control Center at 2107 New South Post Road, West Point, NY 10996 to apply for a West Point AIE Credential. The Visitor Control Center is open Monday-Sunday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. When the Visitor Control Center is closed, visitors will be directed to proceed to Stony Lonesome Gate for a background check and temporary pass .
Click here for the » Map Location of Visitor Control Center.
To expedite the process of obtaining an AIE credential, We encourage you to fill out and bring a completed AIE Credential Request form with you.
Click here to download the form »Local Area Credential Request.
Local Area Credential expiration dates vary due to the length of stay and type of visitor. Please inquire at the Visitor Control Center when applying for your credential. Commercial and private delivery vehicles (e.g., household goods shipments, large package deliveries) who arrive Monday – Sunday from 6 a.m. – 10 p.m. will report to the Visitor Control Center to be issued an AIE credential. If a delivery vehicle arrives after 10 p.m. they should proceed directly to Stony Lonesome Gate for a background check and temporary pass.
Click here for the »Map Location of Stony Lonesome Gate.
Requirements for Unescorted Visitors: For visitors 17 years of age and above you will need to have in your possession a valid photo ID (e.g., a driver’s license) containing biographical information such as name, address, gender, eye color and height. Generally, a current driver’s license or passport will suffice for identification, but driver’s licenses and identification cards from specific territories and states that do not comply with the REAL ID Act of 2005 are not to be used as the sole source for identity verification to access Federal installations.
Acceptable primary forms of identification, not including a driver’s license, are:
• United States Passport or United States Passport Card.
• PIV Card (personal identification verification) Issued by the Federal Government.).
• PIV-I Card (personal identification verification- interoperable) issued by the Federal Government
• U.S. military ID (all members of the U.S. Armed Forces [including retirees and dependent ID card holders] and veterans).
• Veterans’ health identification card issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
• DHS "Trusted Traveler" cards (GLOBAL ENTRY, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST).
• TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Credential).
· Merchant Mariner card issued by DHS/U.S. Coast Guard (USCG).
· Driver license issued by the U.S. Department of State.
· Border Crossing Card (FORM DSP-150).
· U.S. Certificate of Naturalization or Certificate of Citizenship (FORM N-550)
· U.S. permanent resident card/alien registration receipt card (FORM 1-551).
· Foreign passport with a temporary (1-551) stamp or temporary (1-551) printed notation on a machine readable immigrant VISA.
· U.S. refugee travel document or other travel document or evidence of immigration status issued by OHS containing a photograph (permit to re-enter Form 1-327 and refugee travel document Form 1-571).
• In the case of a nonimmigrant alien authorized to work for a specific employer incident to status, a foreign passport with Form I-94 or Form I-94A bearing the same name as the passport and containing an endorsement of the alien’s nonimmigrant status, as long as the endorsement has not yet expired and the proposed employment is not in conflict with any restrictions or limitations identified on the form.
On October 1, 2020 anyone who does not possess a driver’s license or identification card compliant with the REAL ID Act of 2005 is not allowed access onto West Point unless they have a secondary form of identification (see approved list below). A listing of the current state-by-state compliance is available at » REAL ID Act Status of States & Territories.
Bus Tours: Visitors who elect to sign up for a scheduled West Point bus tour will be escorted on the installation by an assigned tour guide. For information on scheduling a bus tour, call West Point Tours, Inc. at (845) 446-4724 or visit their website » West Point Tours Website.
The Visitor Control Center is located at 2107 New South Post Road, West Point, NY 10996, Tel: (845) 938-0390 or (845) 938-0392.
When the Visitor Control Center is closed, visitors will be directed by electronic signs to proceed to the Thayer Gate.