Last week the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the final rule for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program put in place after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The move is designed to boost security at an estimated 4,000 transportation facilities in the country.

Under the program, all workers at the nation's transportation facilities will be required to undergo criminal background checks and carry DHS-issued smartcard credentials that include their photographs and a fingerprint template. The credentials will be required for unescorted access to secure areas of ports and vessels.

The TSA is an agency in the DHS.

The final rules published last week spell out the enrollment process for TWIC as well as disqualifying crimes, usage procedures, fees and other requirements for workers, port owners and operators. Enrollment for the program will start in March "at a small number of ports" and be phased in throughout the remainder of the year at ports around the country, a DHS statement said,

Workers will be notified when and where to apply for the IDs before the program begins. Once the TWIC cards are issued, DHS will then set a deadline by which the workers will be required to carry the cards with them for unescorted access. The final rules incorporate suggestions from four public meetings held around the country by the TSA and the U.S. Coast Guard in 2006, according to the DHS.