Cardinal MFA Update – SMS and Phone Options End April 27

The Cardinal Project sent this bulletin at 03/25/2026 10:32 AM EDT

This communication is being sent to all Cardinal users at agencies that are not part of the VITA COV Network (Non-COV).

Effective Monday evening, April 27, 2026, the Virginia IT Agency (VITA) will retire the SMS (text message) and phone call options for multi-factor authentication (MFA) for Cardinal logins.

To avoid being unable to access Cardinal, especially with Open Enrollment approaching, please switch to a supported MFA method before the April 27 deadline. This is required for all users currently using text message or phone call authentication to log in.

MFA Options for Cardinal

MFA Option	Best For	Platform	Notes
Okta Verify	Most users	Mobile Application (iOS/Android)	Can be used when accessing Cardinal from a desktop, laptop, smartphone, or tablet.
*Google Authenticator or Other TOTP Applications** *Time-Based One-Time Password	Users with existing authenticator apps accessing Cardinal from a desktop, laptop, smartphone, or tablet.	Mobile Application (iOS/Android)	Users will need to choose Google Authenticator as your method; the resulting QR code is compatible with most third-party security apps. (Google Authenticator, Duo, Rapid Identity, Microsoft Authenticator, etc.)
Okta FastPass	Users who prefer not to use a smartphone or do not have a smart phone	Desktop	Requires Agency IT Support for installation
Yubikey	Users requiring a physical hardware security key	Desktop/Mobile	Requires users to login to the Okta Dashboard prior to accessing Cardinal.

For instructions on setting up multi-factor authentication for Cardinal login, click the button below.

Setup MFA

Support Resources

The following resources have been updated to reflect these changes:

Cardinal System Access Guide
Cardinal Active Employees Registration Guide (applicable for all new Non-COV agency employees and contractors with Cardinal access)
Cardinal Inactive Employees Registration Guide (applicable for all terminated or retired employees)

Regards,

The Cardinal Team

Questions

If you have technical or functional questions, submit a help desk ticket by emailing vccc@vita.virginia.gov and include the following information:

Subject: Cardinal – <brief summary for routing>

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