Identity-Based Biometric System RFI

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), under the Department of Justice, is seeking information on classified identity-based biometric software solutions through a Request for Information (RFI) posted January 15, 2026. The FBI intends to identify available systems capable of storing and searching biometric subjects at the Secret and Top-Secret/SCI classification levels, supporting multiple biometric modalities including face, fingerprint, palmprint, iris, and latent fingerprints with associated biographic information. The solution must operate entirely within FBI-approved on-premises or government cloud environments with no external data storage, maintain 100% traceability, and support the ability to enroll and link low-quality samples to identities. Key requirements include the capability to handle approximately 600 million identities and records, support data feeds from external systems, and provide a FBINET to SCINET cross-domain solution capability. Vendor responses are due electronically by 12:00 PM Eastern Time on February 20, 2026, with responses limited to 15 pages in Word, Excel, or PDF format and submitted to Donald Carlston. This is a market research effort only with no guarantee of future contract solicitation, and vendors will not be reimbursed for response preparation costs.

This opportunity carries no set-aside designations and includes no identified incumbent contractors. The RFI does not disclose award values or specific budget ranges, as this is a preliminary market research phase intended to gather information on available solutions and vendor capabilities rather than a formal procurement. Vendors are not required to obtain FedRAMP authorization but must operate within government-accredited IT space; however, if security clearances prove necessary, all prime contractors and subcontractors must obtain them, and any facility clearances would require vendor facility accreditation for handling Top-Secret/SCI data. The FBI encourages vendors to propose innovative approaches regarding system architecture, adjudication methodologies, edge processing, and automated versus examiner-in-the-loop matching strategies. All questions submitted by vendors and corresponding FBI responses are posted publicly to ensure transparency, and vendors may describe pricing models and cost drivers in their submissions without providing numerical pricing.