Early Access — Open for developer integration testing

NIST 800-63 Identity Assurance Mapping

Effective Date: June 23, 2026Last Updated: June 23, 2026Version: 1.0

Scope

This artifact explains how CAIRL's verification code system maps to NIST SP 800-63 identity proofing concepts for institutional review. Legacy tier names are included only as translations for older materials. This is not a federal certification, agency authorization, or blanket compliance claim.

NIST SP 800-63 separates identity proofing (IAL), authentication (AAL), and federation assertions (FAL). This page addresses only the identity proofing / enrollment assurance layer.

Executive Mapping

CAIRL codeWhat CAIRL meansNIST IAL postureExternal claim language
A-0Legacy: StoredUser-controlled secure storage without completed proofing.Below IAL1 / not proofed.A-0 evidence; no assurance claim.
A-ILegacy: VerifiedAutomated document or attribute checks support the claimed identity.IAL1-aligned where evidence is validated and associated to the applicant.A-I attributes; IAL1-aligned proofing posture.
A-IILegacy: CertifiedDocument validation, face match, liveness, fraud checks, and audit evidence complete successfully.IAL2-aligned when required evidence, validation, verification, notice, records, and privacy controls are in force.Designed to support IAL2-aligned remote identity proofing.
S-IILegacy: AuthenticatedA-II proofing plus human review, escalation, virtual notary, in-person notary, or equivalent supervised review.Higher-assurance workflow; IAL3 only by separate scoped engagement with physical-presence and trained-representative controls.Human-reviewed proofing available; IAL3 requires separate scope.

The legacy "Verified" tier name maps to A-I only as a historical translation. Current public assurance language should use the verification-code system and approved CAIRL trust-badge vocabulary.

IAL2-Aligned Checklist

Before CAIRL or a partner describes a workflow as IAL2-aligned, the relying-party use case, applicant notice, evidence quality, identity validation, liveness / association method, fraud review, audit trail, retention posture, and claim-minimization boundary must all be in scope.

Claim Guardrails

Approved public language is limited to scoped alignment:

  • A-II workflows are designed to support IAL2-aligned remote identity proofing when scoped controls and relying-party requirements are in force.
  • S-II workflows add human or supervised review; IAL3 is available only by separate scoped engagement.
  • Legacy Stored, Verified, Certified, and Authenticated names may be used only as translations for A-0, A-I, A-II, and S-II.

CAIRL does not claim to be NIST certified. See the Trust Center for related artifacts.