TWIC card

TWIC card: A TWIC, or Transportation Worker Identification Credential, is the TSA-issued card required for unescorted access to secure areas of maritime facilities and vessels. Truck drivers who pick up or deliver at ports and some marine terminals need one. Source

Who needs one

TSA requires a TWIC for workers who need unescorted access to secure areas of the nation's maritime facilities and vessels, and most Coast Guard credentialed mariners. Source For truck drivers, that usually means container drayage, port pickups and deliveries to marine terminals, including many chemical and fuel terminals on the water.

Fee and enrollment

The enrollment fee is $124 for new applicants, with a reduced rate of $93 for some, as TSA listed it in October 2026, and the fee is valid for five years. Applicants can pre-enroll online, then visit an enrollment center with identity documents to give fingerprints and a photo. Source

TWIC and the hazmat endorsement

A state may issue a hazmat endorsement only after TSA finds the driver poses no security threat, or when the driver holds a valid TWIC. Source Drivers who need both should ask at enrollment how one assessment can serve the other.

In practice EXAMPLE

A tanker driver is offered a load from a chemical terminal on a port. The terminal requires a TWIC for unescorted entry. Without one, the driver would need an escort or couldn't take the load at all. They pre-enroll online that week so the card is ready for future port work. Check what license your rig needs with the CDL checker, and see tank truck equipment and long haul trucks.

Keeping it current

Track the expiration date on your card and renew before it runs out, because an expired card at a port gate means a missed pickup. TSA lists renewal fees separately from new enrollments, and replacement cards for lost or damaged ones have their own fee. Keep the card with your CDL and medical card, and know that some terminals also require their own site orientation or safety training in addition to the TWIC.

If you plan to haul hazmat at ports, ask at enrollment how your TWIC and hazmat endorsement assessments work together, since TSA runs both.