Two airport personnel in orange safety vests chat by a yellow vehicle on the tarmac, with a plane and terminal in the background.

Nominated Officer vs Authorised Signatory

What's the difference between a Nominated Officer and an Authorised Signatory?

At a MAG, both roles are critical to the Security ID Scheme, but they operate at different levels of responsibility and accountability.

The Nominated Officer is accountable for the organisation’s compliance, while the Authorised Signatory is responsible for ensuring each individual pass application is correct, accurate and justified. 

Nominated Officer = Overall owner of the system
Authorised Signatory = Gatekeeper for individual passes

Nominated officer	Description
Overall role	Responsible for overall management and compliance of the ID Pass scheme within organisation
Level of responsibility	Strategic / organisational level
Accountability	Full responsibility for meeting MAG ID Pass Standard requirements
Authority	Has authority to: Appoint signatories and remove passes if required
Managing people	Oversees and manages Authorised Signatories
Vetting responsibility	Ensures the organisation has robust screening processes in place

Nominated officer	Description
Security leadership	Provides leadership and promotes security culture across the organisation
Application role	Doesn't usually process individual applications
Compliance and audits	Ensures full cooperation with audits and investigations
Key risk control	Manages insider risk and organisational controls
Pass lifecycle control	Ensures passes are properly managed and returned when no longer needed

Authorised Signatory	Description
Overall role	Responsible for processing and sponsoring individual ID Pass applications
Level of responsibility	Operational / application level
Accountability	Accountable for ensuring each applicant is suitable and has a legitimate need for access
Authority	Has authority to: Submit applications and approve access levels
Managing people	Supports applicants and pass holders
Vetting responsibility	Ensures each applicant has completed correct checks and vetting

Authorised Signatory	Description
Security leadership	Applies security standards in day-to-day application decisions
Application role	Completes and submits applications via Airport Gateway
Compliance and audits	Supports audits and provides information on applications
Key risk control	Verifies individual suitability and accuracy of applications
Pass lifecycle control	Manages the issue, renewal, and changes for individual passes