eSignatureRFI_26-43231500-RFI.pdf

4050 Esplanade Way

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0950 850-488-2786

Ron DeSantis, Governor

Tom Berger, Secretary

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Request for Information Electronic Signature (eSignature) Solutions

26-43231500-RFI

I. PURPOSE:

The Department of Management Services, State Purchasing, hereby issues this Request for Information (RFI) as defined in section 287.012(22), Florida Statutes. The Department is seeking information from vendors for Electronic Signature (eSignature) Solutions.

The RFI process is used to gather information on whether to competitively procure the services sought and if so, to determine which solicitation process to use. The Department may also use the information provided by the vendor community to determine general, special, or technical specifications to include if the Department does issue a competitive solicitation for these services.

This is not a “competitive solicitation”, as defined in section 287.012(6), Florida Statutes. Vendor responses to this RFI will be reviewed for informational purposes only and will not result in the award of any contract.

II. BACKGROUND:

Electronic Signatures In Florida, Chapter 668, the Electronic Signature Act of 1996, authorizes the use and acceptance of electronic signatures and section 668.004, Florida Statutes states the force and effect of electronic signatures as: “Unless otherwise provided by law, an electronic signature may be used to sign a writing and shall have the same force and effect as a written signature.”

As such, state agencies accept and utilize electronic signatures (or eSignatures) to conduct business in a variety of ways, including but not limited to, contracts, applications, and official records. While acceptance of eSignatures is universally permitted, agencies implement their own method, process, or system to collect eSignatures.

State Term Contracts Currently, there is no State Term Contract (STC) for eSignature Solutions. Agencies typically purchase from an Alternate Contract Source (ACS) via resellers for such solutions.

State Term Contracts: A state term contract is a contract that is competitively procured by the Division of State Purchasing for selected products and services for use by agencies and eligible users. Florida agencies and eligible users may use a request for quote to obtain written pricing or services information from a state term contact vendor for commodities or contractual services available on a state term contract from that vendor. Use of state term contracts is mandatory for Florida agencies in accordance with section 287.056, Florida Statutes.

Pursuant to Rule 60A-1.001, Florida Administrative Code, eligible users of state term contracts include:

a. United States government departments, commissions, agencies, and instrumentalities thereof, having a physical presence within the State of Florida;

b. This state’s constitutional, judicial branch, and legislative branch entities, and instrumentalities thereof;

c. Instrumentalities of this state’s executive branch agencies;

d. State universities and colleges, their boards of trustees, and the board of governors, as described by Sections 1000.21, 1001.60 and 1001.71, F.S., and instrumentalities thereof;

e. Political subdivisions, including counties, cities, towns, villages and districts, as described by Section 1.01(8), F.S., and instrumentalities thereof;

f. School districts, as described by Section 1001.30, F.S., and instrumentalities thereof;

g. Independent, nonprofit colleges or universities located within the State of Florida and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools;

h. For purposes of insurance contracts procured pursuant to Section 287.022, F.S., only state universities, as described by Section 1000.21, F.S., are eligible users.

Alternate Contract Sources: An alternate contract source is a contract let by a federal, state, or local government that has been approved by the Secretary of the Department of Management Services, based on a determination that the contract is cost-effective and the best value to the state, for use by Florida agencies for purchases, without the requirement of competitive procurement. Alternate contract sources are authorized by subsection 287.042(16), Florida Statutes, as implemented by Rule 60A-1.045, Florida Administrative Code.

III. REQUESTED INFORMATION:

Given the information provided in the Purpose and Background sections, please answer the following questions. If your company can offer multiple eSignature solutions, provide answers for each solution:

A. Company & Product Overview

a. Please provide a high-level overview of your company, including years in business and experience providing enterprise eSignature solutions.

b. What eSignature solutions do you offer? Summarize key differences between product tiers or modules.

B. Delivery, Compatibility, & User Interface

a. Describe if the eSignature solution is cloud-based, on-premise, or available in multiple deployment models.

b. Describe and summarize the eSignature solution’s:

i. Compatibility with common web browsers.

ii. Compatibility with common operating systems.

iii. Compatibility with users and signers using desktop, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

iv. Additional compatibilities not listed above.

c. What, if any, add-ons are needed for the eSignature solution?

d. Describe the signer’s experience for the eSignature solution. Does the signer need an account or have to login?

C. Licensing, Pricing, & Scalability

a. What licensing/pricing models (per envelope, per user, enterprise, unlimited-use, etc.) is offered for the eSignature solution for the sole purpose of digital signatures (standard signature needed for documents)?

b. How would the eSignature solution’s pricing scale (bulk discount offerings) for a STC mandatory for agencies and optional for eligible users?

c. Are there optional licensing options, add-ons, or modules we should be aware of?

d. Is the eSignature solution available directly from the original equipment manufacturer

(OEM) and/or available via resellers?

e. If you are the OEM, are you willing to contract directly with the State for a STC or do you only sell via resellers?

D. Additional Functionality & Capabilities

a. Describe the functionality the eSignature solution provides for Administrators and users.

b. Describe and summarize the eSignature solution’s:

i. Support of different types of signatures (electronic, digital, remote online notarization, etc.).

ii. Support of different document formats and workflows.

iii. Ability for users to create reusable templates and automated workflows.

iv. Support of bulk send, batch processing, and automated routing.

v. Additional support and capabilities not listed above.

c. Describe the eSignature solution’s accessibility features and it if is compliant with Federal accessibility standards and guidelines.

E. Integration & Interoperability

a. What integrations does the eSignature solution currently support (e.g., Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Salesforce, ERP systems)?

b. What APIs for custom integrations are supported by the eSignature solution?

c. Are there any limitations on integrating with legacy or custom applications?

d. Describe how the eSignature solution supports single sign-on capabilities.

F. Security

a. Describe the security levels offered for the eSignature solution.

b. Describe and summarize the eSignature solution’s:

i. Security related to identity verification.

ii. Protection for documents.

iii. Ability to provide audit and compliance information.

iv. Controls for the administrators.

v. Additional security features not listed above.

G. Implementation, Migration, & Support

a. What does a typical implementation timeline look like for agency customers for the eSignature solution?

b. Do you offer support for migrating from an existing eSignature solution?

c. What support options are available (24/7, priority tiers, dedicated account manager)?

d. Describe the training resources for end users and administrators.

H. Performance & Reliability

a. What is the eSignature solution’s documented system uptime for the past 12 months?

b. Do you offer service-level agreements (SLAs) for uptime, response times, or resolution times?

c. How do you handle peak-load scaling for high-volume periods?

I. Are there any additional considerations, industry standards, or other information that the

Department should consider if competitive solicitation is developed? If so, please provide.

IV. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF VENDOR RESPONSES:

Please email a response to this RFI electronically to the Procurement Lead, Donna Williams, at Donna.Williams@dms.fl.gov by 5:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday June 30, 2026.

In addition to responses to items A through I above:

• Please include any written material that your company would like the Department to consider in connection with this RFI.

Any submitted material is subject to the Public Records Act, Chapter 119, Florida Statutes. If a vendor considers any portion of the documents, data or records submitted in response to this RFI to be confidential, proprietary, trade secret or otherwise not subject to disclosure pursuant to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, the Florida Constitution, or other authority, the vendor must mark the document as “Confidential”.

A Vendor’s response to this RFI is not a formal offer and vendors submitting a response to this RFI are not prohibited from responding to any related subsequent solicitation.

This RFI will not result in a contract, as defined in section 287.012(29), Florida Statutes. The RFI is not a binding contract. This RFI is not subject to a challenge pursuant to section 120.57, Florida Statutes.

V. PUBLIC RECORDS

Any material submitted in response to this RFI is subject to the Public Records Act, Chapter 119, Florida Statutes. If a responding vendor (“vendor”) to this RFI considers any portion of the documents, data or records submitted in response to this RFI to be confidential, proprietary, trade secret or otherwise not subject to disclosure pursuant to Chapter 119, Florida Statues, the Florida Constitution, or other authority (“Confidential Information”), the vendor must mark the document as “Confidential” and simultaneously provide the Department with a separate, redacted copy of mailto:Donna.Williams@dms.fl.gov material submitted in response to this RFI. For each portion redacted, the vendor is to briefly describe in writing the grounds for claiming its exemption, including the specific statutory citation for such exemption. On the cover page of the redacted copy, the vendor is to provide its name and this RFI number and clearly title it, “Redacted Copy.” Only portions of material that the vendor claims are Confidential Information are to be redacted.

If the vendor fails to mark a record it claims contains Confidential Information as “confidential,” or fails to submit in accordance with this section a redacted copy of a record it claims contains Confidential Information, the Department shall have no liability for release of such record. The foregoing will apply to every instance in which the vendor fails to both mark a record “confidential” and redact it in accordance with this section, regardless of whether the vendor may have properly marked and redacted the same or similar Confidential Information in another instance or record submitted to the Department.

In the event the Department receives a request for public records pursuant to Chapter 119, Florida Statues, the Florida Constitution, or other authority, to which documents that are marked as “confidential” are responsive, the Department will provide the redacted copy to the requestor. If the vendor has marked a record as “confidential” but failed to provide a redacted copy to the Department, the Department may notify the vendor of the request and the vendor may have up to ten (10) Business Days from the date of the notice to provide a vendor-redacted copy, or else the Department may release the unredacted record to the requestor without liability. If a requestor asserts a right to the redacted Confidential Information, the Department will notify the vendor that such an assertion has been made. The notice will provide that if the vendor seeks to protect the vendor-redacted Confidential Information from release it must, within thirty (30) days after the date of the notice and at its own expense, file a cause of action seeking a declaratory judgment that the information in question is exempt from section 119.07(1), Florida Statues, or other applicable law and an order prohibiting the Department from publicly disclosing the information. The vendor shall provide written notice to the Department of any cause of action filed. If the vendor fails to file a cause of action within thirty (30) days the Department may release the unredacted copy of the record to the requestor without liability.

If the Department becomes subject to a demand for discovery or disclosure of documents that are marked as “confidential” in a legal proceeding, (whether by oral questions, interrogatories, requests for information or documents, subpoena, or similar process), unless otherwise prohibited by law, the Department will give the vendor notice of the demand or request prior to disclosing any Confidential Information to allow the vendor to seek a protective order or other appropriate relief at the vendor’s sole discretion and expense. If the vendor fails to take appropriate and timely action to protect the materials it has designated as Confidential Information or fails to provide a redacted copy that may be disclosed, the Department will provide the unredacted materials to the requester.

By submitting a response to this RFI, the vendor agrees to protect, defend, and indemnify the Department for all claims, costs, fines, settlement fees, and attorneys’ fees, at both the trial and appellate levels, arising from or relating to the vendor’s determination its records contain Confidential Information. In the event of a third-party claim brought against the Department for failure to release the vendor’s redacted Confidential Information, the vendor shall assume, at its sole expense, the defense or settlement of such claim, including attorney’s fees and costs at both the trial and appellate levels. If the vendor fails to continuously undertake the defense or settlement of such claim or if the vendor and the Department mutually agree that the Department is best suited to undertake the defense or settlement, the Department will have the right, but not the obligation, to undertake the defense or settlement of such claim, at its discretion. The vendor shall be bound by any defense or settlement the Department may make as to such claim, and the vendor agrees to reimburse the Department for the expense, including reasonable attorney’s fees and costs at both the trial and appellate levels associated with any defense or settlement that the Department may undertake to defend vendor’s Confidential Information. The Department will also be entitled to join the vendor in any third-party claim for the purpose of enforcing any right of indemnity under this section.

If at any point the Department is reasonably advised by its counsel that disclosure of the Confidential Information is required by law, including but not limited to Florida’s public records laws, the Department may disclose such Confidential Information without liability hereunder.

VI. DEPARTMENT CONTACT FOR THIS RFI:

Donna Williams, Bureau Chief, IT and Special Projects Florida Department of Management Services Division of State Purchasing 4050 Esplanade Way Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0950 Phone: (850) 688-2901 Donna.Williams@dms.fl.gov

Donna.Williams@dms.fl.gov