NIST 800-171 3.1.16 (AC.L2-3.1.16): Wireless Authorization

Authorize wireless access prior to allowing such connections.

NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2, requirement 3.1.16

CMMC Level 2 practice AC.L2-3.1.16Published 2026-11-11

What 3.1.16 means in practice

Before any wireless network connects to the system, you know it exists and someone has approved it. Keep an inventory of authorized access points, the rules for connecting to them, and a way to find rogue access points that nobody approved.

SPRS points and the CMMC POA&M

CMMC Level 2 practice: AC.L2-3.1.16
SPRS points: 5 points. When it is not met, the DoD Assessment Methodology subtracts 5 from the score of 110.
CMMC POA&M: Not allowed. It is worth 5 points, and 32 CFR 170.21(a)(2)(ii) admits only requirements worth 1 point, with one exception: 3.13.11 when encryption is used but not FIPS validated.
Scoring note: If the system permits no wireless access, mark Met: Annex A subtracts nothing. Keep a policy and procedure that stops it being turned on by accident: without one, a Medium assessment takes 1 point.

Sources: NIST SP 800-171 DoD Assessment Methodology, version 1.2.1 (June 24, 2020), Annex A; 32 CFR 170.21, Plan of Action and Milestones requirements.

What an assessor checks for 3.1.16

NIST SP 800-171A gives 2 determination statements for 3.1.16, each found satisfied or other than satisfied. Determine if:

3.1.16[a] wireless access points are identified.
3.1.16[b] wireless access is authorized prior to allowing such connections.

NIST SP 800-171A (June 2018), assessment objectives for 3.1.16

Evidence that shows 3.1.16 is met

The wireless access policy and its usage rules.
An inventory of authorized wireless access points and networks.
Records of wireless scans for unauthorized access points.

How PolicyCortex gathers the evidence

No PolicyCortex collector reads the evidence for 3.1.16. Your team provides the evidence listed above.

Related pages

Calculator: SPRS score calculator: mark 3.1.16 and the other 109 requirements and see the score.
Sample package: Sample package: an SSP, a POA&M and an evidence chain the product generated from demonstration data.
Family: All 22 Access Control requirements (3.1).
Previous: 3.1.15: Privileged Remote Access
Next: 3.1.17: Wireless Protection
All requirements: All 110 NIST SP 800-171 requirements, by family.

Related records

Guides and articles describe the work. The evidence that work produces is described in three proof pages, the architecture page, and the two pages on authorization.

proof.state: Proof of State. What the environment was, as of a date someone else picks: point-in-time records, content hashed and chained.
proof.change: Proof of Change. Who or what altered the environment, under what authority, with before and after state hashes.
proof.agency: Proof of Agency. What a machine was permitted to do before it acted, what it did, and what would have stopped it.
architecture: Architecture. How the chain is built and where the evidence is stored in each delivery mode.
authorization: Continuous ATO. How an authorizing official's decision is recorded with its package, and how the authorized system is checked against it every hour.
baseline: NIST SP 800-53. The Low, Moderate and High baselines as evidence, with the SSP, SAR and POA&M generated from one record.