JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION - UCAS3 and GVCS Sensors
Closed Special Notice Posted
- Solicitation number
- 2031ZA26C00017
- Agency
-
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Department of the Treasury
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- Place of performance
- Washington, District of Columbia 20228, United States
- Points of contact
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), an agency within the Department of the Treasury, has issued a Special Notice announcing a Justification and Approval for Other Than Full and Open Competition for the procurement of UCAS3 and GVCS sensors. The notice was posted on January 6, 2026, with a response deadline of February 6, 2026. This is a sole-source procurement action, meaning the government has determined that only one vendor is capable of fulfilling the requirement. The procurement is being pursued outside of standard full and open competition procedures due to the proprietary and mission-critical nature of the equipment involved.
The BEP seeks to purchase and maintain six Universal Currency Authentication Sensor 3 (UCAS3) units and six GemVision Currency Sensor (GVCS) units, along with associated hardware and software upgrades and maintenance services for the expected lifecycle of the sensors. These sensors will be integrated with M8 machines at two facilities—the Washington D.C. Facility and the Western Currency Facility—to ensure currency quality control and compliance with Federal Reserve Board testing standards. The procurement is justified as sole-source because Authentix, Inc. is the exclusive developer and owner of these proprietary sensors, and market research conducted via a 30-day Notice of Intent on SAM.gov identified no alternative vendors. The contract will include one mandated hardware and software upgrade, ongoing software patches as required, and emergency maintenance services on an as-needed basis. Eligibility criteria and specific contractor requirements would be detailed in the full solicitation documents, though the sole-source justification indicates that Authentix, Inc. is the intended recipient of this award.
Notice text
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) has a mission critical need for purchase and maintenance of six (6) UCAS3 and six (6) GVCS sensors, one scheduled mandated hardware and software upgrade, and additional software updates and or patches as mandated for the remained of the expected life-cycle of the sensors, in order to maintain the highly proprietary sensor which will
be integrated with the M8 Machines.
There is a critical need to ensure the M8 machine and the UCAS3 and GVCS sensors operate daily to meet the Bureau’s mission to manufacture Federal Reserve Notes and other security products for the United States of America. These products are designed with advanced counterfeit deterrence features to ensure product integrity. BEP staff perform regular verification or validation of the sensors. Occasional issue requires telephonic or online technical support. The service plan shall include the Emergency maintenance of the sensors is necessary when verification or validation fails and there is no remote remedy. The sensors will be sent out for emergency maintenance on an as needed basis when failure occurs. The sensors will be installed on two M8 machines: one (1) at the Washington D.C. Facility (DCF) and one at the Western Currency Facility (WCF). There will be a total of six (6) UCAS3 sensors, three (3) at DCF and three (3) at the WCF, as well as six (6) GVCS sensors, with three (3) at DCF and three (3) at the WCF.
The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) equipment is a validation of the inspection/currency processes of the BEP’s output from the M8 machine. The BEP must mirror the sensor updates occurring at the FRB which can be called for at any time. These upgrades are mandated when BEP’s customer, the FRB, undergoes an upgrade. Thus, other upgrades and patches are expected to occur on the sensors on demand. By allowing the software upgrade and maintenance of the UCAS3 and GVCS sensors the BEP can meet its customers’ needs by testing printed currency in the same manner as the FRB. The upkeep of the UCAS3 and GVCS sensors is considered mission critical to the BEP.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| Justification and Approval (JOFOC) UCAS3 GVCS Sensors_Redacted.pdf |
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