What is a TWIC card?

TWIC — the Transportation Worker Identification Credential — is a federal biometric security card issued by the Transportation Security Administration. It is required for workers who need unescorted access to the secure areas of the nation's ports, marine terminals, and certain vessels regulated under the Maritime Transportation Security Act.

For port drayage, a TWIC is essentially non-negotiable: a driver without one cannot enter the marine terminal to pick up or drop off a container. Obtaining a TWIC requires a TSA security-threat assessment (a background and immigration check), fingerprinting, and periodic renewal.

Because TWIC is a per-driver credential rather than a company registration, having drivers who all hold current TWIC cards is a marker of a drayage carrier that is genuinely set up to service ports — not something visible in a carrier's basic operating authority.