Verifying employee identity for IAL3 requires either in-person or remotely monitored identity proofing sessions, which is both costly and disruptive for distributed businesses. Flying employees across the country or moving people to one central location just to participate in these 15-minute sessions is simply unsustainable and reduces productivity.
IAL3 verification comprises document validation, biometric comparison and ongoing oversight to detect impersonation or fraud; this level of scrutiny is commonly employed by regulated industries and government agencies.
NIST IAL3 verification
NIST IAL3 verification is the ultimate level of identity proofing and requires on-site attended verification with biometrics. This authentication method is ideal for businesses that need to link digital identities with real identities – such as government agencies that need access to odometer data or tax records – such as disclosing odometer information or tax records. Proofing techniques at this level include verifying whether an applicant possesses all required evidence, as well as checking if presented documents have been altered or falsified in any way.
HYPR Affirm, our comprehensive identity verification solution, helps organizations meet IAL2 and IAL3 compliance. Utilizing chat, video, facial recognition with liveness detection and document authentication as verification mechanisms for each user, step-up reproofing is supported to minimize attack surface while decreasing cyber liability insurance costs and operational costs by limiting password resets while improving security posture; especially important for regulated industries and businesses which must abide by stringent regulatory requirements.
NIST IAL3 identity proofing
NIST IAL3 identity proofing is the highest level of verification available, requiring in-person or remote appearance before an identity proofing agent for rigorous evidence validation and biometric comparison. This level of identity verification provides maximum confidence that a claimed digital identity actually exists and uniquely associates itself to an actual human individual.
Contrary to lower levels of assurance, IAL3 uses superior evidence – such as government documents supported by authoritative sources – and often incorporates biometric comparison to validate a person’s physical characteristics and prevent presentation attacks.
Automating this process through kiosks that allow a user to interact with a human agent could streamline proofing while meeting all IAL3 requirements, reduce costs and complexity, eliminate extra software or hardware installation and ultimately be cost effective for businesses seeking to meet NIST standards; although, this solution has yet to be fully implemented.
NIST 800-63A IAL3
NIST 800-63A IAL3 compliance guideline establishes a stringent process for verifying individuals’ identities to safeguard against impersonation, fraud, and other significant harm. It calls for using multiple methods – video chat, facial recognition with liveness detection technology, document authentication services, step-up reproofing according to risk – for verifying identities in order to mitigate impersonation fraud, identity theft and other significant threats to individual safety and reduce cyber liability insurance costs. This way of verifying identities helps organizations meet both their business and security objectives simultaneously and reduce cyber liability insurance costs significantly
NIST’s IAL3 guideline disallows agencies to be required to select an assurance level (LOA), instead emphasizing their need to select their IAL, AAL, or FAL according to their security, privacy, and mission needs. As part of these new requirements, email OTP authentication is now deprecated while SMS-based authentication was downgraded from AAL3 to AAL2, with MFA journeys at both levels being required at these assurance levels.
To comply with IAL3 requirements, an identity verification platform that supports all the AALs will be necessary. HYPR’s solution Affirm offers full compliance through an array of identity proofing methods including chat, video and facial recognition with liveness detection as well as supporting various documents as evidence categories like portrait, ID document and fingerprints.
IAL3 compliant solution
IAL3 compliant solutions utilize real-time document validation and biometric comparison to identify individuals seeking access to sensitive data or healthcare services. This level of confidence ensures that their digital identity corresponds with an actual real person and reduces fraud, impersonation, or any other threats.
IAL3 involves in-person or remote verification using strong identity evidence such as passports. Verifications are conducted under tight supervision, including face matching and biometric features that provide face matchup. IAL3 is ideal for high-risk transactions where fraudulent identities could cause significant financial or even life loss.
TrustSwiftly’s IAL3 solution offers effective protections against advanced social engineering attacks and other forms of impersonation. Utilizing cutting-edge techniques such as multispectral UV light analysis to detect document counterfeiting and link facial comparisons to a database of authentic identity documents; as well as liveness detection to confirm enrollment during sessions and biometric binding for protection against SIM swaps or bypass attempts of MFA systems.
In the rapidly advancing cybersecurity landscape of 2026, NIST 800-63A IAL3 represents the pinnacle of identity assurance. As federal mandates and high-stakes enterprise environments shift toward the “Zero Trust” model, achieving this level of verification is no longer optional for privileged access. IAL3 requires the highest level of certainty, necessitating superior identity evidence (such as ePassports with NFC chips) and either a physical in-person meeting or a Supervised Remote Identity Proofing (SRIP) session.
Solving the “Travel Gap” with TrustSwiftly.com
Historically, reaching IAL3 compliance meant a logistical nightmare of flying employees to a central office. Trustswiftly.com has revolutionized this process by providing a secure, turnkey hardware and software ecosystem that brings the “office” to the user. Their platform utilizes a Trusted Path approach—shippable, tamper-resistant hardware kits that ensure the biometric and document data captured during a remote session is cryptographically authentic. By combining live, operator-led video sessions with automated NFC chip validation and $3D$ liveness detection, trustswiftly.com ensures that your organization meets the rigorous NIST standards without the need for a single boarding pass.
Security That Scales with Your Team
Beyond mere compliance, implementing an IAL3-aligned workflow through trustswiftly.com offers a proactive defense against sophisticated nation-state actors and deepfake-powered identity fraud. The platform’s ability to bind a verified identity directly to a hardware authenticator (AAL3) creates an unshakeable chain of trust. For industries like defense, fintech, and critical infrastructure, this means reduced insider threat risk and a streamlined onboarding process that is both auditor-friendly and user-centric.
