County of San Mateo

Invitation For Bid (IFB) for Recorder Notification Program

Services

Office of Assessor-County Clerk- Recorder & Chief

Elections Officer

IFB No. 2027-IFB-00158

IFB Contact: Jimmy Chu jmchu@smcacre.gov

1. Introduction

1.1. Summary

The County of San Mateo (County), through its Office of the Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder-Elections

(ACRE), invites sealed written bids from qualified contractors to provide secure, accurate, and timely document-notification processing, printing, mail preparation, and mailing services for the Recorder

Notification Program required by California Government Code § 27297.7.

The selected Contractor will receive access to County-approved transaction data and images for recorded documents, generate and mail notices as per the approved County template to the required recipient address, provide operational controls, reconciliation, proof of mailing, reporting, incident response, and audit support. Notices must be mailed early enough to ensure the County complies with the statutory requirement to notify within 30 days after recordation.

The County anticipates issuing an agreement in 2026. The selected contractor must complete implementation, testing, and readiness activities to ensure services commence in January 2027. The

County estimates an average monthly volume of approximately 2000 notices, with peak volumes that may reach double that number.

If awarded, the resulting Agreement shall have a term of one (1) year. In addition, the County shall have an option to renew the Agreement for up to two (2) additional one-year terms for a total term not to exceed three (3) years.

Email Address for Protests: Protest@smcgov.org

1.2. Background

Government Code § 27297.7 requires each California county, on or before January 1, 2027, to establish a recorder notification program and requires the board of supervisors to adopt an authorizing resolution.

Following adoption, the Recorder must, within 30 days after recordation of a deed, quitclaim deed, mortgage, or deed of trust, notify by mail the party or parties executing the document. The notice must be sent to the address for mailing tax bills that was established before the document was recorded. The statute excludes documents for which the federal government, the State, a county, a city, or any subdivision of the state is the grantee .

The complete and controlling statutory text is available from the California Legislative Information website. If the statute changes during the procurement or contract term, the Contractor shall cooperate with the County in implementing legally required changes through the contract change process.

The County's objectives and expectations of the contractor for this project are to:

• Comply with California Government Code section 27297.7 and all applicable legal requirements.

• Notify the party or parties executing any of the covered recorded documents within the statutory

30-day period.

• Ensure notices are accurate, complete, and mailed to the appropriate pre-recordation tax-bill address.

• Establish a secure, reliable, and auditable process for producing and mailing notifications.

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• Provide effective record tracking, exception management, reporting, and invoice reconciliation.

• Protect County data throughout processing, transmission, storage, retention, and disposal.

• Implement a sustainable and cost-effective program that minimizes the administrative burden on

County staff.

1.3. Contact Information

Jimmy Chu Financial Services Manager 555 County Center 3rd Floor Redwood City, CA 94063 Email: jmchu@smcacre.gov Phone: (650) 363-4198

Department:

Office of Assessor-County Clerk- Recorder & Chief Elections Officer

Department Head:

Director Mark Church

1.4. Timeline

IFB Release Date October 20, 2026

Deadline Date/Time for Questions and

Comments

October 27, 2026, 5:00pm

Question Response Deadline October 30, 2026, 5:00pm

Bid Submission November 10, 2026, 10:00am

Submission of Contract

Exceptions/Proposed Revisions

November 10, 2026, 10:00am

Public Opening of Bids (Non-Mandatory) November 10, 2026, 10:00am

Virtual meeting available on:

smcacre.gov/county-clerk-recorder/events/recorder-notification-program-virtual-public-bid-opening mailto:jmchu@smcacre.gov tel:(650)363-4198 http://smcacre.gov/county-clerk-recorder/events/recorder-notification-program-virtual-public-bid-opening http://smcacre.gov/county-clerk-recorder/events/recorder-notification-program-virtual-public-bid-opening http://smcacre.gov/county-clerk-recorder/events/recorder-notification-program-virtual-public-bid-opening

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2. Scope of Work

2.1. Summary of Scope of Work

The Contractor shall implement and operate a secure Recorder Notification Program using County-provided recording and grantor data, recorded document images, and mailing and situs address data.

Services shall include identifying the APN or APNs associated with each in-scope recorded document;

matching each APN to the appropriate mailing and situs addresses; using the County-provided grantor name as the mailing recipient name; populating the County-approved notification template; managing exceptions; producing, quality-checking, and mailing notifications within 30 days of recordation; and maintaining complete processing, mailing, reconciliation, audit, and reporting records. The Contractor shall also provide monthly reports and invoices supported by proof of mailing, protect County data throughout its lifecycle, and comply with all applicable service-level, technical, privacy, security, retention, and disposal requirements.

The Scope of Work, including all required services, deliverables, performance standards, and schedules, is a mandatory requirement of this IFB and any resulting contract. Bidder pricing must include all items necessary to fully perform the Scope of Work. A bidder’s failure to comply with a material Scope of

Work requirement may result in rejection of its bid as nonresponsive.

2.2. Detailed Scope of Work

A. Implementation and Go-Live

The Contractor shall:

o Conduct a project kickoff and maintain an implementation plan identifying tasks, responsibilities, dependencies, risks, testing, and acceptance milestones.

o Document and obtain County approval of the end-to-end workflow, including data intake, validation, data research, exception handling, notification generation, mailing, reconciliation and reporting procedures described in this Scope of Work.

o Configure County-approved notice templates, envelopes and inserts. The Contractor shall not make changes without prior written County approval.

o Complete unit, integration, security, volume, recovery, and user-acceptance testing using nonproduction County-approved test data.

o Define operating procedures and establish reporting documentation.

o Complete all implementation, configuration, testing, and operational-readiness activities in sufficient time to commence services and ensure that notices for applicable documents recorded beginning January 1, 2027, are mailed within the 30-day period required by

California Government Code section 27297.7.

o Obtain written County approval before go-live

B. Data Intake, Validation, and Exceptions

Page 5 of 42 Release date of October 20, 2026

The County shall provide the Contractor with access to the County’s SFTP site and will upload the following data and files (County-Provided Data):

o Recording and Grantor Data: At the end of the fourth business day following each recording date, the County will upload recording data containing only the document types listed in Attachment A. The County will perform the document-type filtering; the Contractor will not be required to identify or exclude document types that are outside the scope of this

IFB. For each recorded document, the data will include the recording date, document number, document title sequence, document title, and grantor name(s). When a document has multiple grantors, all grantor names will be provided in a single comma-delimited field.

o Recorded Document Images: The County will upload images of all recorded documents to folders organized by year, month, and day. Filenames will include the document number.

Images will be uploaded at the end of the fourth business day following the recording date.

o Mailing and Situs Address Data: The County will provide an export of mailing and situs address data each County business day. The filename will identify the export date. The export will include the APN, property situs address in a single field, and mailing address in parsed fields. For each notification, the Contractor shall use the export dated the County business day immediately preceding the document’s recording date.

Samples of the above data files are available on the County’s SFTP site (details below) for bidders to review the download method, file format, and included data fields. The samples are non-production files, and the data across the sample files is not intended for matching or processing.

web: https://sftp.smcare.org client: sftp.smcare.org:22

ReadOnly Download

Username: RNP

Password: F5l862fl

The Contractor shall:

o Download the County-Provided Data files in accordance with the schedules and folder structure described above.

o Use only County-Provided Data, recorded-document images, templates, business rules, and other County-provided or County-authorized information to perform the services required under this Scope of Work. Unless authorized in writing by the County, the Contractor shall not obtain, supplement, validate, replace, correct, enrich, or otherwise use names, addresses, APNs, property information, or other record-level information from any third-party or external source. The County Assessor Property Maps Portal identified in section 2.2.C https://sftp.smcare.org/

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"Record Processing, Research, and Data Matching" is an authorized County source and

CASS processing is authorized by the County.

o Verify that each downloaded file is complete, readable, nonempty, and free from corruption.

Using the County-provided Recording and Grantor Data as the only source of record, verify that a corresponding recorded-document image has been successfully downloaded for each document number listed in the recording data. The recorded-document image filename will include the recorded document number.

o Notify the County of Data Intake Discrepancy if any file is missing, incomplete, unreadable, empty, corrupted, or unmatched, within the timeframe specified in Attachment C.

Re-download and validate corrected or replacement files.

o Proceed with unaffected records and ensure that a County-controlled discrepancy does not prevent completion of data intake for unaffected files or records.

C. Record Processing, Research, and Data Matching

The Contractor shall:

Review the County-provided Recording and Grantor Data described in section 2.2.B "Data Intake, Validation, and Exceptions" and perform the following:

o Use automated processes, where appropriate, to support routine record processing, including creation of processing records, APN capture, APN sequencing, data matching, application of business rules, duplicate detection, and exception identification. The Contractor may use manual processing when necessary, provided that all processing is performed through documented, repeatable procedures and is subject to the required quality-control and verification measures.

o Create one processing record for each record in the County-provided Recording and Grantor

Data.

o Each processing record shall include, at a minimum, the following fields: Recording date, Document number, Document Title Sequence, Document Title (Type), Grantor name(s), APN, APN sequence number, Property Situs address, Mailing Address, APN source, Processing status, Status date, Status reason.

o When multiple input records have the same document number and identical County-provided

Grantor Name(s), retain the processing record with the lowest document-title sequence number as the active record. Classify each remaining processing record as “Duplicate,” identify the retained active record, and perform no further processing or notice production for the duplicate record.

o Do not classify records as duplicates when they have the same document number but different Grantor Name(s). Each such record shall remain active and be processed separately.

Page 7 of 42 Release date of October 20, 2026 o For each active processing record, review the associated recorded-document image included in the County-Provided Data and perform the following:

▪ If a governmental entity, described in Attachment A, is the grantee, classify the record status as “Excluded,” update the Status date, Status reason, and perform no further processing for that record unless directed otherwise by the County.

▪ Identify each property referenced in the recorded document. A property may be identified by an APN, situs address, legal description, or a combination of these identifiers.

▪ If more than one property is identified in the recorded document, create a processing record for each additional property and assign the APN sequence number as follows: 1 for first property, 2 for second property, etc.

▪ If APN(s) is identified in the recorded document, enter the APN field(s) in the applicable processing record(s) and identify the APN source as “Recorded Document”.

▪ If no APN is referenced in the recorded document, but sufficient situs-address information is available, research the APN using the County Assessor Property Maps

Portal at https://smcacre.gov/assessor/assessor-maps, and enter the APN field(s) in the appropriate processing records and identify the APN source as “Assessor Property

Portal”.

▪ If the recorded document does not contain an APN or sufficient situs-address information to identify an APN, classify the document Status as “Exception” and Status reason as

“Missing APN”, notify the County within the timeframe specified in Attachment C, and hold the record pending County direction without delaying processing of valid records.

o After APN identification, use an automated matching process to populate the situs address and mailing address fields on the processing records, from the County-provided Mailing and

Situs Address Data.

o Use the Mailing and Situs Address Data export dated one County business day before the recording date for the applicable recorded document.

o Use only County-Provided Data for names and addresses unless the County directs otherwise in writing.

o Implement quality-control and verification measures to ensure accurate capture of APNs from recorded documents and accurate matching of each APN to County-provided situs and mailing-address data.

o Validate all mailing addresses using Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS)-certified address-processing software or services. The Contractor shall use the CASS-certified output to standardize and format addresses in accordance with current United States Postal Service

(USPS) requirements. CASS processing may be used to correct formatting, apply standard https://smcacre.gov/assessor/assessor-maps

Page 8 of 42 Release date of October 20, 2026 abbreviations, and add or correct ZIP Code information; however, the Contractor shall not use CASS output to substitute a different delivery address for the County-provided mailing address without prior written direction from the County. Any address that cannot be validated or that results in a potentially substantive address change shall be reported as an exception.

o Maintain each processing record through final disposition and update the processing status, status date, and status reason whenever a status change occurs.

o Use the combination of document number, Grantor Name(s), and APN as the notice-production control to ensure that no more than one notice is produced for the same document number, Grantor Name(s), and APN.

o Maintain documented quality-control and verification measures to verify the completeness and accuracy of automated processing, including APN capture, APN sequencing, address matching, duplicate identification, and notice-production data. The Contractor shall not rely solely on automated results when those results are incomplete, uncertain, or inconsistent with the recorded document or County-provided data.

o Identify and notify the County of all data processing exceptions, including incomplete data, invalid addresses, duplicate data, etc. Provide a Data Exception-Aging Report within the timeframe specified in Attachment C. The report shall identify each unresolved exception, its reason, date opened, current status, and any action required from the County.

o Track each exception through resolution and isolate affected records without delaying the processing of valid records.

o Retain County data only for the County-authorized period and securely delete it at the end of the retention period or contract term as directed by the County and in accordance with section

2.3.D "Records Retention, Public Records, and Litigation Holds" .

D. Notice Production and Mailing

For each processing record that has been successfully completed and is eligible for mailing under this

Scope of Work, the Contractor shall:

o Produce one (1) Notice. Processing records classified as Duplicate, Excluded, Canceled, Exception—Held for County Decision, or Exception—Closed Without Mailing shall not proceed to notice production.

o For a processing record with multiple grantors, the Contractor shall produce one jointly addressed notice using the County-provided Grantor Name(s) field.

o Generate each Notice using the County-approved template (one-sheet, double-sided, color ink, standard 8.5” x 11” letter paper).

o Include up to the first 4 pages of the relevant recorded document as an insert with the Notice

(duplex printing, black-and-white ink, standard 8.5" x 11" letter paper).

Page 9 of 42 Release date of October 20, 2026 o Use a 6” x 9” plain, two-window envelope or a County-approved equivalent.

o Use production controls that ensure print quality, page sequence, accurate recipient-to-insert matching, and prevention of duplicate, missing, or misdirected mail.

o Mail notices through the United States Postal Service using First Class Mail.

o Maintain evidence of each mailing, including production totals, mailing date, USPS acceptance or entry documentation, postage records, and reconciliation to processing records.

o Not include advertising, solicitations, Contractor branding, tracking technologies, or other non-County content in County mail without prior written County approval.

o Ensure that all undeliverable and returned mail is directed to the County-designated return address specified in the notice template and/or envelope. The Contractor shall not use its own address or any other address for returned mail unless expressly authorized in writing by the

County.

o Provide the County with the opportunity to review and verify sample notices, inserts, envelopes, and mailing data before production and mailing, upon County request.

o Provide a process for correcting notification errors and reissuing notifications when such errors are identified.

o Statutory Mailing Deadline: The Contractor shall mail notices for all processing records required to be mailed under this Scope of Work, in accordance with the service levels in

Attachment C to meet the “within 30 calendar days of recordation” statutory requirement.

The Contractor shall maintain sufficient processing controls, contingency time, and mailing records to demonstrate compliance with this requirement. If the Contractor becomes aware that a notice has not been, or may not be, mailed within the required timeframe, it shall immediately notify the County, identify the affected notices, and take all County-directed corrective actions. Failure to meet the statutory deadline may constitute a material breach of contract.

E. Record Tracking, Reconciliation and Reporting

The Contractor shall:

o Track each processing record through final disposition. Each processing record shall include its current status and the date of the most recent status change. Final dispositions shall include, at a minimum: Mailed; Duplicate; Excluded, with reason; Exception—Closed

Without Mailing, with reason; or Canceled by authorized County staff. Records awaiting

County direction shall be identified as Exceptions-Held for County Decision until resolved.

o Maintain a searchable audit trail for each processing record, including data receipt and validation, the template version used, production batch, quality-control results, exceptions

Page 10 of 42 Release date of October 20, 2026 and corrections, mailing status and date, evidence of submission to the USPS, and final disposition.

o For each Recordation Month, provide a Monthly Detailed Report covering all processing records with the recording date within that month. The Monthly Detailed Report shall be the

County’s detailed reconciliation report and shall include one row for each processing record, including records classified as Duplicate, Excluded, Canceled or Exception. Each row shall include, at a minimum, the recording date, document number, document type, APN, APN sequence number, APN source, property situs address, grantor name(s), pre-recordation mailing address, status, mailing status, mailing date, and, when applicable, the exclusion, cancellation or exception reason.

o Submit a monthly invoice package consisting of the invoice and a reconciliation summary showing, at a minimum:

▪ County-provided recording-data records received and processed;

▪ additional processing records created for additional APNs;

▪ total processing records;

▪ total Duplicate, Excluded, Canceled records; and

▪ notices produced and mailed.

▪ Service Level Performance o The invoiced quantities and charges shall reconcile to the Monthly Detailed Report and reconciliation summary. Any discrepancy shall be clearly identified and explained.

o Submit USPS receipts and other applicable proof-of-mailing documentation with the monthly invoice package. Documentation shall substantiate the mailing date, mailing method or class, number of pieces mailed. Proof-of-mailing totals shall reconcile to invoiced quantities.

o Provide the Monthly Detailed Report and reconciliation summary in Excel, CSV, or another

County-approved machine-readable format. Invoices and supporting mailing documentation shall be provided in accessible PDF format.

o Retain audit records, reports, and mailing evidence for the County-required retention period and provide them upon request.

F. Critical Exceptions

Critical Exception means any production, system, operational, or mailing-related issue that prevents, or likely to prevent, the Contractor from producing and mailing notices within the 30-day statutory timeframe. Critical Exceptions do not include routine data quality, file-content, or record-level data issues that are addressed through the County’s Data Exception-Aging report, unless the issue results in or is reasonably likely to result in a failure to meet the mailing deadline.

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The Contractor shall:

o Identify, document, and track Critical Exceptions affecting notice production or mailing activities.

o Notify the County of any Critical Exception that prevents, or is reasonably likely to prevent, timely production or mailing within the timeframe specified in Attachment C. If the Critical

Exception may result in failure to meet the 30-calendar-day statutory mailing deadline, the

Contractor shall notify the County immediately.

o For each Critical Exception, provide the County with the affected mailing, record count or estimated scope, nature of the issue, potential impact on mailing deadlines, corrective actions being taken, and any County direction or decision needed.

o Maintain a Critical Exception log that identifies the date and time discovered, affected mailing or records, exception type, corrective action, current status, date resolved, and any unresolved variance.

o Include unresolved Critical Exceptions and related mailing impacts in the monthly performance report.

o Provide status updates for unresolved Critical Exceptions each County business day until the exception no longer affects, or is no longer reasonably likely to affect, timely mailing.

G. County Responsibilities

Notification Template:

The County will provide the Contractor with the approved notification template, including the required content, formatting, County branding, and contact information. The County will collaborate with the Contractor to ensure that the sender and recipient information is accurately positioned on the notification template and properly aligned with the envelope windows. The

County may revise the template during the contract term to reflect changes in applicable law, regulatory requirements, County policies, or program needs and may direct the Contractor to use the revised County-approved template. A sample notification template is included as Attachment

B.

Data Intake Discrepancies and Data Exceptions:

The County shall review reported data-intake discrepancies and record-level exceptions provided in the Data Exception-Aging Report and, as applicable, re-upload affected files or provide corrected data, clarification, or processing direction within two (2) business days after receiving notice of the discrepancy or exception. The County shall notify the Contractor when the corrected or replacement information has been uploaded or otherwise provided.

Critical Exceptions:

The County shall review Critical Exception notifications and provide timely direction, approvals, or County-controlled materials reasonably needed for Contractor to proceed.

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The County shall cooperate with Contractor on Critical Exceptions within the County’s control or purview. The County is not responsible for resolving Critical Exceptions caused by or within the control of the Contractor, the United States Postal Service, or other third parties.

H. Support and Governance

The Contractor shall:

o Assign a project manager, operations lead, security contact, and escalation contacts.

o Participate in implementation meetings and monthly operational review meetings after go-live as needed.

o Adhere to service levels defined in Attachment C.

o Respond to County inquiries, exception requests, and requests for production reports and/or evidence within the applicable service levels.

o Provide root-cause analysis and corrective-action plans for material incidents or recurring service failures.

o Not provide legal advice or legal interpretations to members of the public.

o Obtain County approval before making material changes to processing procedures, systems, hosting locations, notice templates, mailing methods, or security controls.

I. Transition and Contract Closeout

The Contractor shall:

o Support transition of services to the County or a successor contractor upon County request.

o Provide County data, audit records, reports, documentation, and other County-owned materials in a County-approved format.

o Continue services during transition, if requested by the County, to avoid interruption in legally required notifications.

o Certify the secure return or destruction of County data after County confirmation that retention requirements have been met.

2.3. Technical, Security, Privacy, and Records Requirements

A. Data Ownership and Permitted Use All County Provided Data remains the exclusive property of the County. The Contractor may access, use, store, transmit, or otherwise process County Data solely as necessary to perform the Contract and in accordance with County instructions. The

Contractor shall not sell, rent, monetize, profile, advertise using, mine, aggregate, combine with data from other customers for unrelated purposes, or disclose County Data except as authorized in writing by the County or as required by law. The Contractor shall not use County Data in any

Page 13 of 42 Release date of October 20, 2026 artificial-intelligence, machine-learning, analytics, or similar model or service—including for training, tuning, evaluation, prompt retention, or product improvement—without the County’s prior written authorization.

B. Minimum Security Controls The Contractor shall maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of County Data and the services provided. At a minimum, the Contractor shall:

o Comply with all applicable federal, state and local privacy, security and records management requirements.

o Encrypt County Data in transit and at rest using current, industry-standard encryption and

County-approved protocols.

o Use least-privilege and role-based access controls; unique user accounts; multifactor authentication for privileged, administrative, and remote access; and timely removal or modification of access when no longer required.

o Maintain security logging, monitoring, vulnerability management, malware protection, secure system configuration, patch management, and annual security-awareness training for personnel with access to County Data.

o Segregate County Data from data belonging to other customers and segregate development and test environments from production environments.

o Use only nonproduction, de-identified, or County-approved protected data for testing.

o Store and process County Data only within the United States unless the County provides prior written approval.

o Maintain and test incident-response, business-continuity, and disaster-recovery plans at least annually.

o Provide, upon County request, current independent security-assurance documentation, such as a SOC 2 Type II report or another assessment acceptable to the County. Such documentation does not replace the Contractor’s obligation to comply with all Contract requirements.

o Securely delete or destroy County-Provided Data upon County request or at the end of the

Contract, subject to County-Provided Data retention requirements defined in Section 2.3.D.

The Contractor shall provide written certification of destruction/deletion when requested.

C. Security and Operational Incident Notification The Contractor shall notify the County without undue delay, and no later than 24 hours after discovery, of any actual or reasonably suspected security incident or material operational incident affecting County Data or Contract services. For purposes of this Contract, an incident includes unauthorized access, use, disclosure, loss, alteration, destruction, misdelivery, or unavailability of County Data; a misdirected notice or

Page 14 of 42 Release date of October 20, 2026 mailing; a material processing error; a missed or threatened mailing deadline; a system outage; or any event that may affect the confidentiality, integrity, availability, timeliness, or accuracy of the notification process.

o Immediately take reasonable steps to contain, investigate, and mitigate the incident;

o Preserve relevant evidence, logs, records, and affected data;

o Provide the County with timely status updates, including the nature and scope of the incident, affected records, corrective actions, and expected resolution time;

o Provide a written root-cause analysis and corrective-action plan for material incidents; and o The Contractor shall not notify affected individuals, regulators, the media, or other third parties regarding an incident involving County Data or Mailings without the County’s prior written approval.

D. Records Retention, Public Records, and Litigation Holds The Contractor shall retain all

County-provided data, records, and document images through the end of the second calendar month following the month in which the data was received. For example, data received in January shall be retained through March 31. Upon expiration of the applicable retention period, the

Contractor shall securely and permanently delete all such data, records, and images from its systems. The Contractor shall retain all production records, proof of mailing, system logs, audit trails, reports, and other records created or maintained in connection with the Contract as per the audit requirement described in section 8.21. The Contractor shall provide such records to the

County upon request. Records created, received, or maintained by the Contractor on behalf of the

County may be County records and may be subject to the California Public Records Act. The

Contractor shall promptly search for, preserve, and provide responsive County records upon

County request. The Contractor shall not release County records in response to a public-records request unless authorized in writing by the County or required by law. Where legally permitted, the Contractor shall promptly notify and consult with the County before making any disclosure.

The County retains sole authority to determine whether County records will be disclosed, withheld, or redacted, except where applicable law requires otherwise. Upon notice from the

County, the Contractor shall preserve records subject to an audit, claim, investigation, public-records request, or litigation hold and shall suspend routine destruction of those records until the

County authorizes release of the hold.

3. Price Bid Sheet

The quantities listed in the pricing sheet are estimates provided solely for the purpose of calculating the anticipated first-year contract cost (Total Bid Price) and do not guarantee any minimum volume. The

Contractor shall invoice the County monthly based on the actual quantities processed during the applicable billing period, using the unit prices stated in the pricing sheet.

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In the Price sheet below, Line Item 2 applies to each source record received and processed, including records ultimately excluded, duplicate, canceled, or closed as exceptions; Line Item 3 applies only to notices actually mailed. The estimated annual quantity of mailed notices may exceed the estimated annual quantity of County-provided recording-data records because a recorded document may contain multiple

APNs, resulting in a separate eligible processing record and notice for each additional APN.

If the County elects to renew the Agreement beyond the initial one (1)-year term, the Contractor may request a unit-price adjustment no more than once per renewal term. Any requested increase shall not exceed the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. City

Average, All Items, published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for the most recently available 12-month period, and shall not exceed five percent (5%) in any renewal term. The Contractor must submit the request and supporting documentation at least ninety (90) calendar days before the proposed effective date. Any adjustment is subject to County review and approval, availability of funding, and execution of a written contract amendment by authorized representatives of both parties. No adjustment is automatic.

Line Item Description Quantity Unit of

Measure Unit Cost Total

1. Project

Setup and

Implementation

Project management, kickoff, scheduling, workflow configuration, secure file-transfer setup, testing, validation, obtain final County acceptance prior to go-live

1 One-time

2. Document

Processing and

Data Research

Receipt and review of recording data, recorded documents; identification of

APN(s); APN/situs-address research;

creation of the processing records;

mailing address retrieval and validation. Exception reporting and tracking.

22,000 Per County-provided recording data record

3. Notification

Letter

Production and

Mailing

Notification-letter preparation, quality checks, printing, inserting up to first 4 pages of the recorded document, postage, and mailing.

Reporting, reconciliation and monitoring to ensure meeting the statutory mailing deadline and SLAs.

24,000 Per notification mailed

TOTAL

4. Bid Submission, and Minimum Qualifications

County of San Mateo

Bid for: Recorder Notification Program Services

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(Submit only this Part 3- Bid Documents, including the bid sheet, fully executed, as the bid.)

4.1. Offer*

This bid constitutes a firm offer by the bidder to the County to provide the goods and services specified and will remain active for 60 calendar days after the Bid Due Date and Time or until the County signifies acceptance, whichever is earlier. If the bid is accepted, the undersigned agrees to comply with all terms, conditions and requirements of this IFB, and to provide all of the goods and services described at the prices quoted for the term of the contract.

Submission of a bid constitutes a firm offer by the bidder for the period stated in this IFB. Selection of a bidder, issuance of a Notice of Intent to Award, or other communication by the County does not create a contract or authorize performance.

The selected bidder will be required to execute the County service agreement substantially in the form attached to this IFB. The agreement will become effective only after it has been fully executed by all required parties and has received all required County approvals. The County will issue written authorization before the Contractor may begin performance.

In the event of conflicting provisions, the following order of precedence will apply:

• Federal Provisions, if any and if applicable

• Addenda to the IFB in reverse order of release

• Original IFB documents

Within the same level of precedence, unless otherwise specified by the County, in the case of conflict the more stringent provision will apply.

The undersigned bidder certifies that he or she:

• Has examined and is familiar with all of the provisions and references in this solicitation;

• Has electronically confirmed receipt of any and all addenda prior to submitting a bid;

• Will, if selected, perform in conformance with the requirements and conditions of the contract, providing all required labor, tools, and equipment to perform, in the manner and times prescribed and according to the requirements set forth in the contract;

• Is not bidding in the interest of, or on behalf of, any undisclosed person, partnership, company, association, organization, or corporation, and the bid is genuine and not collusive or sham;

• Has full power and authority to execute, and does execute, these certifications and this contract on behalf of the bidder;

• Has no economic or organizational interest that would conflict with the required duties under this contract, has not developed or materially assisted in the development of any product or service specifications and requirements for this solicitation, and will immediately advise the County’s

General Counsel on learning of a conflict of interest during the term of this contract;

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• Has not employed, retained, paid, or agreed to pay any company or person, other than a bona fide employee, to solicit or secure this contract;

• Possesses and will keep in effect at all times during the term of this contract all necessary licenses, permits, qualifications and approvals legally required to provide the required goods and services; and

• Declares under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct.

In witness of and in agreement with these contract terms, the parties, by their duly authorized representatives, confirm below.

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

4.2. Minimum Qualifications

For purposes of minimum qualification requirements, only the experience and references of the Prime

Bidder submitting the Bid will be considered. The Bidder must have served as the prime contractor or direct contracting entity for each project submitted to satisfy these requirements. Experience of proposed subcontractors, affiliates, parent companies, or related entities will not be considered unless the entity submitting the Bid was directly responsible for performance of the cited services.

Minimum qualifications experience and references are evaluated on a pass/fail basis to determine responsibility and responsiveness, not scored.

4.2.1. Experience*

Bidder certifies it has been providing services substantially similar to the services required under this IFB for at least five (5) years immediately preceding the Bid Due Date, for government agencies or other organizations handling confidential, personally identifiable, financial, legal, title, mortgage, property-record, or similar information.

Bidder shall provide details and evidence of providing the following services:

1. Secure intake and processing of electronic data files containing individual-specific records;

2. Automated matching, validation, and quality control of recipient names, mailing addresses, property identifiers, document identifiers, and/or transaction data to prevent incorrect notices, mismatched enclosures, duplicate notices, or omitted notices;

3. Variable-data composition and production of individualized notices, including printing of transaction-specific information and, where applicable, inclusion of document images, document copies, or other record-specific enclosures;

4. High-volume print production, folding, inserting, envelope preparation, presorting, postage processing, and delivery of mail to the United States Postal Service;

5. Production reporting and reconciliation sufficient to identify:

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a. notices produced;

b. notices mailed;

c. notices voided, duplicated, reprinted, or corrected;

d. the date each notice was tendered to the United States Postal Service;

6. Performance under time-sensitive service-level requirements, including the ability to complete production and mail tender within a defined number of calendar days after receipt of an approved data file; and

7. Protection of client data and materials through secure file transfer, controlled access, encryption, documented quality-control procedures, incident-response procedures, and secure destruction or return of confidential data and production waste.

The Bidder shall provide a narrative describing its experience performing each of the services listed above. The narrative shall identify the types of clients served, approximate dates of performance, Bidder’s role and responsibilities, average and peak processing or mailing volumes, systems and processes used, applicable turnaround or service-level requirements, and results achieved.

The Bidder shall also submit sufficient supporting evidence, such as redacted statements of work, contract documents, client attestations, sample reports, process documentation, USPS mailing records, or CASS and security certifications. The supporting evidence must substantiate the experience described in the narrative. General marketing materials or unsupported statements will not be accepted as sufficient evidence.

*Response required

4.2.2. References*

Bidder must identify at least two (2) comparable projects, completed or currently being performed during the five (5) years immediately preceding the Bid Due Date.

A project is “comparable” only if it included all of the following:

A. Processing a recurring or batch electronic data file received from the client;

B. Automated processing of client data to prepare the data needed for mailing.

C. Creating individualized mail pieces from client-supplied data;

D. Matching each notice and any enclosure or document image to the intended recipient;

E. Mailing the completed notices through the United States Postal Service;

F. Validating the mailing addresses using Coding Accuracy Support System (CASS) software or service.

G. Maintaining documented quality-assurance and reconciliation controls; and

H. Meeting a documented turnaround requirement.

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At least one (1) comparable project must have involved a recurring volume of at least 2,000 mail pieces per month. In evaluating the Bidder’s capacity, the County may consider the Bidder’s demonstrated ability to process the anticipated average monthly volume and peak volumes identified in this IFB.

At least one (1) comparable project must have involved reviewing and processing real property data and documents to generate individualized notifications. In evaluating the Bidder’s experience with real property data and documents, the County may consider the Bidder’s demonstrated ability to review and process such data.

For each comparable project, Bidder shall provide:

1. Client name and type of organization;

2. Contract or project title;

3. Contract start and end dates, or whether the contract is ongoing;

4. Description of the services performed;

5. Description of the data types handled;

6. Average monthly volume and highest monthly or batch volume;

7. Required and actual turnaround time from receipt of data to USPS tender;

8. Description of document-image, document-copy, or other enclosure processing, if applicable;

9. Description of quality-control and reconciliation procedures used;

10. Description of information-security controls used;

11. Name, title, telephone number, and email address for a client reference; and

12. A statement identifying any material service-level failure, data incident, mailing error, or contract default occurring during the engagement and the corrective action taken.

*Response required

4.2.3. Certifications/Licenses*

The Bidder must possess and maintain all permits, licenses, certifications, and professional credentials required to perform the services described in this IFB.

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

4.2.4. System for Award Management (SAM) Confirmation*

Please check box to indicate your firm is registered with the System for Award Management (SAM).

Bidder is required to be in good standing with https://sam.gov/SAM/ and submits SAM Report.

☐ Please confirm

*Response required https://sam.gov/SAM/

Page 20 of 42 Release date of October 20, 2026

4.2.5. System for Award Management (SAM) Registered Business Name*

Please enter the Business Name your firm is registered under in the System for Award Management

(SAM).

*Response required

4.2.6. System for Award Management (SAM) UEI (Unique Entity ID) No.*

Please enter the UEI (Unique Entity ID) No. your firm is registered under in the System for Award

Management (SAM).

*Response required

4.3. Documents

4.3.1. Upload Agreement Exceptions / Proposed Revisions (Optional)

The uploaded document must:

A. be based on the County Contract Template attached to this IFB as the original document.

B. show the exact proposed change(s) using MS Word Tracked Changes, redline/strikeout, or other clearly identifiable markup;

C. include a brief explanation or justification for each requested change, such as through a comment, annotation, or accompanying exception table; and

D. be submitted through OpenGov no later than the Bid Due Date and Time.

4.3.2. W9 Tax Form*

*Response required

4.3.3. SAM (System Awards Management) Report*

*If not register, click below link to register: https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration

*Response required

4.3.4. Applicable Certificate(s) and/or License(s)*

*Response required

4.3.5. Experience Evidence Documents*

*Response required

4.3.6. Identify each proposed subcontractor (if any), its scope and its location of performance.*

*Response required

5. Notice to Bidder

5.1. Submission Deadline

Bids must be electronically received by 10:00 am, on Tuesday, November 10, 2026 via OpenGov

(details below).

https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration

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Allow sufficient time for the upload to complete by the Due Date and Time. Partial uploads will automatically terminate and bids will be rejected. The OpenGov submission time will be the official submission time. The County will not be responsible for and shall not accept bids that are late due to slow internet connections or for any other failure of the OpenGov system.

NOTE: The County does not maintain the OpenGov system and is not liable for site failures or technical problems. To resolve technical issues, contact OpenGov using the chat within the portal or email Vendor

Support at procurement-support@opengov.com . Late submission will not be considered.

5.2. Pre-Submission Registration

Organizations or individuals interested in responding to this solicitation must register online with the

County of San Mateo at: https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/smcgov

It is recommended that organizations complete this registration as soon as possible and subscribe to the

County of San Mateo for bid opportunities. The County will not be responsible for and shall not accept bids that are late due to a failure to register in the OpenGov system.

5.3. Submission via OpenGov

A. Required Documents: BID SUBMISSION

5.4. Electronic Submissions

Include the bidder name and the IFB title and number in each filename. Submit bids via the OpenGov website, allowing sufficient time for the upload to complete by the Due Date and Time. Partial uploads will automatically terminate and bid will be rejected. The OpenGov submission time will be the official submission time. Contact OpenGov with technical questions regarding the site. The County will not be responsible for and may not accept bid that are late due to slow internet connections or for any other failure of the OpenGov system. Late submissions will not be considered.

5.5. Conflicts between Certain Requirements

Prior to the submission deadlines and solely relating to a determination of the timeliness of questions, comments, and bid submissions, information displayed on the OpenGov site will take precedence in the event of a discrepancy between that information and the information within the solicitation documents.

For all other discrepancies, the information in the solicitation documents will take precedence.

5.6. Errors in Bids

The County will not be liable for any errors in bids. Bids may be rejected as unresponsive if they are late, incomplete, missing pages or information, or cannot be opened for any reason. The County may waive minor irregularities, but such waiver will not modify any remaining IFB requirements.

5.7. Communications

As of the issuance date of this IFB and continuing until it is canceled or an award is made, no bidder or person…