Brivo Access Credentials
Cloud access with the AES-secured Unified Credential — a facility guide to how Brivo issues credentials and where standard open prox still fits its panels.
Can you buy third-party Brivo Access Credentials cards?
Brivo is a cloud-managed access platform whose flagship credential, the Unified Credential, is an AES-secured 13.56 MHz smart card built on the open LEAF file structure and provisioned through Brivo — so it's ordered through your Brivo administrator, not an outside supplier. Brivo panels also accept standard open 125 kHz proximity, and that open-format stock is what American Key Cards supplies.
- 13.56 MHz / 125 kHz
- Frequency
- Cloud-managed access control — AES-secured 13.56 MHz Unified Credential (open LEAF file structure), with legacy 125 kHz prox support
- Technology
- 3
- Bit formats
- 1+
- OEM part nos.
- Brand channel
- Order from
Brivo pioneered cloud access control, and its credential model reflects that: the Unified Credential is provisioned through Brivo's platform and its security lives in Brivo's ecosystem. This page explains how Brivo credentials are issued, what the Unified Credential is, and where standard open prox still fits — the side we can supply. We don't sell the Unified Credential; we do supply the open proximity stock Brivo panels accept.
How Brivo manages credentials
Brivo runs access control from the cloud: administrators manage users, doors, and credentials in Brivo's platform, and the Unified Credential is provisioned there against the building's account. Its protection is AES-based and, notably, built on the open LEAF file structure — an industry effort toward portable, interoperable secured credentials — but the provisioning still happens inside Brivo's ecosystem, which is why the secured credential isn't available from a card vendor.
The operational upside is the usual cloud story: instant revocation, mobile credentials, and multi-property management from one console. Credential supply for the secured card runs through Brivo or your integrator.
Unified Credential, dual-tech, and legacy prox
Brivo's Unified Credential comes as a secured smart card and also in a dual-technology version that carries both the secured smart credential and a legacy proximity credential on one card — handy for sites straddling old and new readers. And Brivo panels have long accepted standard open 26-bit proximity from the common access-control brands, which is what makes Brivo a popular retrofit onto existing prox estates.
That open 26-bit prox is a standard, supply-able format. So a building can run Brivo's cloud management immediately using its existing prox credentials, then migrate to the secured Unified Credential over time — a phased path where open prox does the interim work.
Where American Key Cards fits
We supply the standard open 26-bit proximity credentials Brivo panels accept — not the Unified Credential, which is provisioned through Brivo. That's exactly the stock a property manager needs when running Brivo in prox mode or migrating an existing prox population onto Brivo hardware.
Unsure whether your credentials are the secured Unified Credential or open prox? Your Brivo administrator can confirm from the platform, or send us a photo and we'll identify which side of the line it's on — and supply the open-prox stock if that's what your panels use.
Brivo Access Credentials specifications
- System brand
- Brivo
- Technology
- Cloud-managed access control — AES-secured 13.56 MHz Unified Credential (open LEAF file structure), with legacy 125 kHz proximity support
- Frequency
- 13.56 MHz / 125 kHz
- Credential platform
- Brivo Unified Credential: an AES-secured 13.56 MHz smart card built on the open LEAF file structure, provisioned through Brivo; Brivo panels also accept standard open 125 kHz proximity
- Bit formats
- Brivo Unified Credential (AES-secured 13.56 MHz smart card, LEAF ecosystem), Brivo dual-tech Unified Credential (secured smart + legacy prox on one card), Standard 26-bit Wiegand H10301 (legacy proximity mode)
- OEM part numbers
- B-BUC3-56-SC50 / -SCP50 / -F50 (Brivo Unified Credential, ordered through Brivo)
Specifications reviewed August 2026
How to order Brivo Access Credentials credentials
The Brivo Unified Credential is provisioned and ordered through Brivo's access-control platform by your building's Brivo administrator or integrator; its encryption is provisioned in Brivo's ecosystem, so an outside supplier cannot produce it. Where your Brivo panel accepts standard open 125 kHz proximity, American Key Cards supplies that open-format stock.
Brivo panels widely accept standard open 26-bit proximity credentials in legacy mode — that open-format stock we supply (see our standard 125 kHz proximity cards). The AES-secured Brivo Unified Credential is provisioned through Brivo.
Editorial reference page. American Key Cards is an independent credential supplier and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Brivo. We do not sell Brivo's secured credentials (we supply only the open, standard-format proximity credentials described above); brand and product names appear only to identify the technology discussed, and all trademarks remain the property of their respective owners.
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View compatible cardsBrivo Access Credentials — FAQ
What credential does Brivo use?
Its flagship is the Unified Credential — an AES-secured 13.56 MHz smart card on the open LEAF file structure, provisioned through Brivo. Brivo panels also accept standard open 26-bit proximity in legacy mode, which is a supply-able format we provide.
Can I use standard prox cards with a Brivo system?
Yes — Brivo panels widely accept standard open 26-bit proximity credentials, which is why Brivo retrofits onto existing prox buildings so easily. That open-format stock is what we supply. The secured Unified Credential comes from Brivo.
Can a third party supply the Brivo Unified Credential?
No. It's provisioned through Brivo's platform and its encryption lives in Brivo's ecosystem, so only Brivo or your integrator can supply it. We provide the open-prox credentials Brivo panels accept alongside it.
How does American Key Cards help Brivo sites?
We supply the standard open 26-bit proximity stock Brivo panels accept — ideal for prox-mode operation or during a migration onto Brivo hardware — and we'll help you tell the secured Unified Credential apart from open prox. The Unified Credential itself is ordered through Brivo.