The Verkada anti-passback feature allows you to increase the security of an area by ensuring that each user enters the area and then exits the area before they can enter again. Using anti-passback, you can prevent users from entering an area and then passing their badge back to someone else to use to enter the same area. Additionally, anti-passback can help enforce a badge-out policy, whereby users must badge when the exit an area or else they will violate anti-passback when they try to re-enter.
Anti-passback rules are based on the configuration of an access control area. An access control area is configured for a site, and is defined by a set of entrance doors and exit doors. Learn more about how to configure an access control area.
In Canada, anti-passback and areas are only supported on the AC12.
Double entrance and double exit violations
Anti-passback works by monitoring whether a user is properly exiting an area that they have entered, before they attempt to enter again. Similarly, it monitors whether a user is properly entering an area they have exited, before they attempt to exit again. In other words, anti-passback looks for violations when a user attempts to enter an area twice in a row, or exit an area twice in a row.
If a user has access granted to an entrance door, and then badges at an entrance door again without having access granted to an exit door in between, they will receive a double entrance violation.
Similarly, when a user has access granted to an exit door, and then badges at an exit door again without having access granted to an entrance door in between, they will receive a double exit violation.
Types of anti-passback
Verkada access control supports hard anti-passback and soft anti-passback:
Soft Anti-Passback
A user who receives a violation maintains their normal access to entrances and exits of the area, even before the violation is cleared.
Hard Anti-Passback
A user who receives a violation is denied access at all entrances and exits of the area until the violation is cleared.
Carefully consider the consequences when you enable hard anti-passback. The hard anti-passback rules can result in users unknowingly having anti-passback violations and being denied access.
Carefully consider the configuration of your area's entrances and exits, and properly communicate the intended badging policy to users before turning on hard anti-passback. If a user is in violation, that violation can only be cleared by an Access Site Admin or Access Site Manager of the site. Learn more about Roles and Permissions for Access Control.
Verkada's support team is unable to grant access to or clear the violation of a user who is in anti-passback violation.
Set up anti-passback for an access control area
Before you can set up anti-passback rules, you must configure an access control area.
In Verkada Command, go to All Products > Access
.Select a site from the All Sites dropdown.
At the top, click Area.
At the top of the area details page, click Area Settings to see the current area configuration. To update the configuration, click the gear icon and follow the steps.
Select hard anti-passback or soft anti-passback.
Designate any access groups that you want to be exempt from anti-passback rules for this area.
Carefully consider which access groups should be anti-passback Exempt Groups. We recommend that you add security personnel, and anyone who needs unimpeded access at all times, as an exempt group.
Manage anti-passback violations
To manage anti-passback violations, use the area details page (see instructions above). There, you can navigate to the People in Violation tab to see who currently has an anti-passback violation.
Review anti-passback violations
To review an anti-passback violation, click a user in violation to open the violation timeline review page. On this page, you can examine the events leading up to and following the violation.
Clear anti-passback violations
You can clear an anti-passback violation from the People in Violation tab, or from the violation timeline review page.
Set up alerts for anti-passback violations
You can set up alerts that will trigger notifications for anti-passback violation events. To do this, follow these directions to set up an access control alert, and configure the alert for anti-passback violations.
Essential safety practices
When you select hard anti-passback, your area must allow free egress in the case of an emergency.
Hard anti-passback results in a user who is in violation having access rejected at all entrances and exits of the area. Therefore, for safety purposes, it is essential that such user is able to safely exit the area in the case of an emergency.
Free emergency egress
Free emergency egress can be achieved in a variety of ways, such as:
Mechanical egress via a crash bar or handle
Break-glass request-to-exit (REX) that drops power to a maglock
You can configure Verkada access control to produce a door forced open (DFO) event when the emergency egress is used rather than properly badging at the exit. This DFO event can be optionally configured to trigger an AUX out signal, which can be connected to a strobe or siren. In this way, you can disincentivize use of the emergency egress mechanism in non-emergency scenarios.
Free emergency egress must be enabled via a system that is independent of fire alarm pull stations. See below for example access control free emergency egress devices.
Need more help? Contact Verkada Support.