eApostille_Request_for_Information__RFI__-_FinalV2.docx

Katie Hobbs Arizona Governor

Elizabeth Alvarado-Thorson ADOA Director

David Steuber State Procurement Administrator

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Description: e-Apostille service to enable constituents to apply online for Apostilles without traveling to Phoenix in person or requesting service by mail.

Date: September 19, 2025

Procurement Officer:

Arizona Department of Administration State Procurement Office

Shawnesy Summers, EPS Procurement Manager Shawnesy.Summers@azdoa.gov

Response Due: October 9, 2025 @ 3:00 PM AZ Time

GENERAL INFORMATION

In accordance with Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) § 41-2555, Office of Arizona Secretary of State hereby gives notice via this Request for Information (RFI), that it is seeking responses, feedback, suggestions and comments regarding the items set forth herein.

In accordance with Arizona Administrative Code (A.A.C.) R2-7-G301, responses to an RFI are not Offers (as defined in A.A.C. R2-7-101(34)) and cannot be accepted to form a binding contract. To the extent allowed by law, information contained in a response to an RFI shall remain confidential until the procurement process is concluded or two (2) years from the RFI’s due date have lapsed, whichever occurs first.

If information in the RFI submission is considered proprietary, trade secret, or otherwise confidential, please follow the instructions regarding confidential information below to maintain the confidentiality beyond the conclusion of the RFI process.

Respondents are solely responsible for expenses associated with responding to the RFI. The State of Arizona is under no obligation to the respondents with respect to the outcome of this RFI; there is no guarantee that this RFI will lead to a solicitation.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Inquiries

All questions related to this RFI must be submitted through the State’s eProcurement System, Arizona Procurement Portal (APP) (https://app.az.gov/) using the Discussion Forum tab. All inquiries must be marked as Q&A and addressed to the Procurement Officer identified as the solicitation’s owner. Any other contact shall be directed to the Procurement Officer listed in APP. Questions should reference the applicable page and paragraph number.

DEADLINE FOR Q&A: October 2, 2025 @ 3:00 PM AZ Time

2. Pre-Solicitation Meeting(s)

Pre-Solicitation meeting will not be conducted.

3. Submission of RFI Response

a. If you ARE already registered at (https://app.az.gov/), you can view and respond via the website.

b. If you ARE NOT registered at (https://app.az.gov/), please access the website to either a) view the RFI (no registration required) or 2) respond to the RFI (registration required).

c. If you are registering for the website, on the login page, there are documents titled “How to Register for APP.az.gov…” and “How to Respond to Bids…” which will lead you through the registration and submission of a response.

d. If you have difficulties with logging in, registering, or submitting a response please call the APP Help Desk at 602-542-7600 and they will help you work through the process.

e. The general process for replying to an RFI via (https://app.az.gov/) is:

1) Access (https://app.az.gov/)

2) Create a user account which includes a simple supplier profile (in the registration process you will be asked to indicate specific commodity codes, at a minimum, please select (“55121621 – Notary Seals”).

3) Access the RFI via the RFI Reference number above

4) Follow the directions for the submission of a response

5) Upload your submission documents

6) If you need help, please call the APP Help Desk at 602-542-7600 is available from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Monday-Friday.

7) If you have questions regarding the RFI contents, you can submit them to me via the Discussion Forum tab. This will help with the management of the RFI.

f. Any submission contents considered by the respondent to be proprietary or confidential shall be clearly marked as such. In response to such requests, the State will make reasonable efforts to maintain the confidentiality of these materials to the extent permissible by law. However, should the State be required to release these materials, the State will provide the respondent reasonable notice in advance of doing so in order to allow the respondent time to take any action to prevent these materials from being released.

g. Respondents should, at a minimum, address those items listed in the “Requested Items” section of the RFI. Information should be provided in the same relative order as requested in the RFI for consistency and continuity. Responses should be as detailed as possible. Respondents may provide supplemental information in addition to those items requested.

h. RFI Responses must be submitted electronically through the State’s eProcurement system before the due date and time identified in APP.

i. Placeholder for page limits. For example, “Responses to the Requested Items section may not exceed five pages (per item). Any information that extends beyond the first five pages will not be reviewed as part of this RFI.”

j. The State may request respondents to provide a presentation as it relates to their response.

k. APP Support: To assist in the submission of a response, additional resources offered by the State Procurement Office and Quick Reference Guides available. This information can be found at https://spo.az.gov/app/supplier/training. Additional assistance is available through the APP Help Desk. The Help Desk can be contacted via email at app@azdoa.gov or via telephone support at (602) 542-7600.

PURPOSE/INTRODUCTION

The Office of the Arizona Secretary of State is by statue the sole agency in Arizona for providing Apostilles. The Office receives over 21,000 Apostille requests per year.

Currently in Arizona, a constituent may acquire an Apostille service by either:

1) Mailing in an Apostille request to the Office of the Arizona Secretary of State.

· Processing a mail-in request will require ~2-3 weeks.

· Processing cost is $3 per Apostille.

2) For same-day service, a constituent will need to travel to one of the SOS offices:

· Arizona is a geographically large state, with only two SOS offices (Phoenix and Tucson).

· Constituent (or their emissary) will need to appear at one of the offices on a normal business day and during normal business hours.

· Processing cost is $3 per Apostille, with an additional $25 expedite fee.

· To ensure CSR access across the hundreds of constituents seeking services and who visit our offices each day, a limit is placed of six documents allowed to be processed per visit.

The Arizona SOS Office has become aware of a service whereby Apostilles can be secured via the online medium, and in ‘real time’. Our understanding is that ~6 other Secretary of State offices have piloted and / or begun using an ‘e-Apostille’ service. The Arizona SOS would like to learn more about the capabilities and workings of such e-Apostille services.

OVERVIEW

The Office of the Arizona Secretary of State is seeking to introduce an e-Apostille / online Apostille service which will enable constituents to apply online for Apostilles.

Such e-Apostille service must comply with the technical, security, regulatory and privacy requirements of The Hague Convention, the international governing body for Apostilles.

The supplier of this service must be a US-based company, and must comply with US PII laws and regulations.

REQUESTED ITEMS

For supplier of an e-Apostille service, we are seeking information on:

1. The features and capabilities of your e-Apostille service?

2. An outline of ‘how’ – at a higher level – this service is provided to consumers and then performed?

3. Indicative costs to end-consumers?

4. Indicative costs to partner institutions (i.e. Offices of Secretary of State)?

5. Ability to comply with The Hague Convention’s technical, security, regulatory and privacy requirements for e-Apostilles?

6. Ability to comply with US laws and regulations around protection of PII?

State Procurement Office | 1400 W Washington St, Ste 3100 Phoenix, AZ 85007 | 602-542-5511 | spo.az.gov image2.png image1.png