CBP moves to modernize fingerprinting at national scale

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is preparing to hire a single contractor to run a nationwide electronic fingerprinting program that supports hiring, security vetting, and related personnel needs across the agency.

The draft solicitation is structured as a single blanket purchase agreement for recurring fingerprint services for CBP’s Office of Human Resources Management and other offices.

CBP is seeking quotes with a total price under $9 million, though the agency makes clear that figure is not a hard ceiling or floor. The government can still choose a quote above or below that amount if it decides the proposal offers the best value and funds are available.

The contractor will be responsible for fingerprinting services of all CBP employees, contractors, consultants, and applicants who must undergo fingerprinting as part of a routine background investigation.

CBP is looking for a company that can manage the whole process from beginning to end. That means providing fingerprint collection sites, trained staff, the computer equipment used at those sites, the scheduling system, the electronic transmission of the prints, and a web-based tracking and reporting system that CBP personnel can access remotely.

The scale of the requirement is significant. CBP says the number of fingerprint requests could vary sharply from day to day and, at times, the agency may send several thousand requests in a single day. Those requests are tied not only to new hires, but also to periodic investigations of current employees and reinvestigations of contractors.

The contractor is supposed to provide fingerprinting within a 60-mile radius of a candidate’s zip code. If no facility is available within that distance, the company must notify the contracting officer’s representative within one business day and then gets two more business days to find an acceptable site.

If that still fails, it must get approval for an alternative solution. That requirement shows CBP is trying to reduce travel burdens on applicants while keeping the fingerprinting process moving quickly.

The timeline requirements are also strict. Within one business day of receiving a fingerprint request, the contractor must identify a potential facility and make the first contact attempt with the candidate.

Within three business days of the initial request, the contractor must coordinate the appointment, and the actual fingerprinting is supposed to happen within ten business days of CBP’s request.

Candidates must be able to self-schedule through a web based system that runs all day, every day, and they must also be able to cancel up to 24 hours before the appointment. The contractor is expected to use phone calls, voicemail, email, and text messages to reach candidates.

CBP also wants close visibility into every step. The contractor’s system must let CBP see the status of each request, all contact attempts, appointment attendance, fingerprint capture data, and billing information in real time through web services and a portal.

After fingerprints are captured, the electronic files and associated candidate data must be available in the contractor’s system within one business day so CBP can retrieve and forward them for further processing. This is less a simple field service contract than a data intensive workflow contract tied closely to federal personnel security systems.

Security and privacy are a major part of the job because the system would handle sensitive personal information, including biometric data. The Statement of Work requires compliance with Department of Homeland Security and CBP security policies, the Privacy Act, and rules for safeguarding personally identifiable information.

It also requires web services that meet federal security and privacy guidelines, encrypted transmission of personally identifiable information, and a testing environment that mirrors production so CBP can check system changes before they go live.

If there is a privacy or security incident, the contractor must report it quickly, investigate it, notify affected individuals when directed, and provide identity and credit monitoring services for at least 18 months.

The contractor will have no more than 60 days after the award is made to become fully operational. During that window, it will have to clear personnel as required, train staff, test its database and web services, prepare invoice files, and ensure authorized CBP personnel can access the system.

Once ordering begins, CBP signals that it may keep sending fingerprint requests continuously, subject to hiring needs and available funding.

CBP says it intends to make a single award using a fixed unit price structure, and is expected to run for five years, with an estimated ordering period from June 24, 2026, through June 23, 2031.

Article Topics

background checks  |  biometrics  |  CBP  |  DHS  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  procurement  |  U.S. Government