West Point Visitors Now Required to Check In

WEST POINT – Starting July 22, non-Department of Defense visitors will be required to check in at the Visitor Control Center to be issued local access credentials to gain entry to the installation. These changes bring West Point into compliance with Department of the Army access control requirements.

“We expect delays at the gates as people learn about the new requirements,” Lt. Col. Brian Heverly, director of emergency services, U.S. Army Garrison, West Point, said. “We ask for patience and assistance in passing this new information along to members of the community, visiting family members, alumni and friends of West Point.”

This change impacts non-DOD card holders who desire unescorted access to visit cadets, friends, family, the hospital, sporting events, concerts and other programs not deemed special events. It also affects companies with employees who require unescorted access to conduct business on West Point, such as delivery drivers.

The VCC is now open Monday through Sunday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. After 10 p.m., guests must enter through Stony Lonesome Gate where they will be issued a 24-hour pass. All visitors must undergo on-the-spot background checks in compliance with the National Crime Information Center–Interstate Identification Index prior to being issued credentials.

West Point has designated special events allowing visitors to gain access to the installation with a valid stateside driver’s license or government-issued ID card.
Special events include:
* Home football games
* Ticketed sporting events
* Eisenhower Hall events
* May graduation
Access requirements:

Non-DOD visitors should fill out a local area credential request form at: https://westpoint.edu/visiting-west-point and bring the completed form to the VCC located at 2107 New South Post Road in Highland Falls, N.Y.

In addition, visitors should bring a state-issued driver’s license compliant with the Real ID Act of 2005. Check compliance at: http://worldpopulationreview.com/states/real-id-compliant-states/

Those without a valid driver’s license, will need one of the following:
* U.S. passport or U.S. passport card.
* Permanent resident card or alien registration receipt card (Form 1-551).
* Foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp or temporary I-551 with a printed notation on a machine-readable immigrant visa.
* Employment authorization document that contains a photograph.
* U.S. Military or draft record.
* U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card.
* Transportation Worker Identification Card.
* Native American Tribal Document.
* In the case of a nonimmigrant alien authorized to work for a specific employer incident to status, a foreign passport with Form I-94 or Form I-94A bearing the same name as the passport and containing an endorsement of the alien’s nonimmigrant status, as long as the endorsement has not yet expired and the proposed employment is not in conflict with any restrictions or limitations identified on the form.

For more information, call 845-938-0390 or 845-938-0392.

About West Point
The U. S. Military Academy at West Point is a four-year, co-educational, federal, liberal arts college located 50 miles north of New York City. It was founded in 1802 as America’s first college of engineering and continues today as the world’s premier leader-development institution, consistently ranked among top colleges in the country. Its mission remains constant-to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the nation as an officer in the U. S. Army.