US housing agency seeks information on biometric fingerprinting services

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Personnel Security Division (PSD) announced that is conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support a nationwide fingerprinting services contract that it valued at least $25 million.

HUD said in the “vendor must be able to capture one-time biometrics from the applicant,” submit to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Criminal Justice Information Service with all results being transmitted to HUD for review.

HUD said, “PSD would utilize the captured prints for credentialing, i.e., integration into USAccess and PerSIST.”

The vendor also must be Secure Web Fingerprint Transmission (SWIFT) compliant and approved by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA).

USAccess is a shared service that provides Personal Identity Verification (PIV) credentialing services and support for over 100 federal agencies. Employees and contractors can securely update PIV credentials at established locations throughout the country.

PerSIST is an enterprise personnel security case management system that automates activities associated with the tracking of personnel security investigations for HUD.

The SWFT program enables cleared organizations listed in the National Industrial Security Program Database, Department of Defense components, and federal agencies to submit electronic fingerprints and demographic information through SWFT to DCSA’s Fingerprint Transaction System for individuals who require an investigation by DCSA for a personnel security clearance.

“The result of this market research will contribute to determining the method of procurement,” HUD said, adding that “based on the responses to this source notice/market research, this requirement may be set-aside for small businesses or procured through full and open competition, and multiple awards may be made.”

PSD currently utilizes a 2-year pilot program with Field Print, LLC which is in its second year and will expire on September 13, 2025.  In the first year, HUD said 33 fingerprints were taken. HUD said it “desires a fee-for-service” base contract with a one-year option, and estimates that the number of fingerprints required would be 200 per year.

The contractor’s service location(s) also must be available in all 50 states to include Puerto Rico.

Article Topics

background checks  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  fingerprint recognition  |  Secure Web Fingerprint Transmission (SWIFT)  |  U.S. Government  |  USAccess