Credentials link a person or vehicle to your community's access control hardware so gates and doors open for the right people. MyWatchtower manages credentials for both supported providers — Brivo and HID — in one consolidated interface under Access > Credentials, so the workflow is the same regardless of which hardware your community runs.
Credential formats
- Brivo communities issue credentials in the formats enabled for the community (for example card and barcode formats). Each format defines its own field values, such as a card number and a facility code — the facility code pre-fills from your community settings.
- HID communities issue Card and PIN credentials, with digits-only values pushed out to the door controllers.
- Vehicle credentials tie a credential to a registered vehicle (shown by make, model, and plate), so the vehicle itself is the recognized holder.
Separate from hardware credentials, communities can also issue entry QR codes and kiosk PIN codes for visitors, and communities with camera integrations can pair license-plate recognition with registered vehicles. Those are covered in their own articles.
Who can hold a credential
Every credential belongs to a property and a holder type: Resident, Guest, or Vendor. Any holder type can carry either a permanent credential (no expiry) or a temporary one with an effective date range — guests and vendors are no longer required to have an expiry date. Credential lists label each credential TEMP or PERM so validity is visible at a glance.
What a credential opens
- In Brivo communities, access comes from Groups: the holder joins groups, and each group grants its doors on a schedule.
- In HID communities, access comes from Access Levels attached to the credential itself; every access level pairs doors with schedules, and changes are queued out to the controllers.
Creating a credential
Credentials are issued through the unified creation wizard (Create Credential):
- Step 1: Enter Details — pick the property, choose who holds it (Guest, Vendor, or Resident), and optionally link a vehicle.
- Step 2: Select Format & Groups/Access Levels — choose the credential format, fill in its field values, pick groups or access levels, and set validity (permanent, or an effective date range).
- Step 3: Review — confirm everything and issue the credential.
At least one group (Brivo) or access level (HID) must exist before credentials can be created.
Suspension, reassignment, and removal
- Suspend / Unsuspend immediately revokes or restores access at every access point. In Brivo communities, suspending one credential suspends all of that holder's credentials.
- Assign / Reassign / Unassign — available on both providers — moves a credential between holders; an unassigned credential stops working until reassigned, and a reassignment must stay within the same community.
- Edit opens a shared edit dialog used for both providers.
- Delete permanently removes a credential; HID deletions are queued for removal from the controllers.
Good practices
- Revoke or suspend credentials as soon as a resident moves out, a vendor contract ends, or a device is lost.
- Give a permanent credential only where it is genuinely warranted; a dated credential ends on its own.
- Keep vehicle details current so vehicle credentials and plate recognition stay accurate.
- Not every community enables every format — availability depends on your hardware, so ask your community management about options.