Background Checks

The Texas Department of Agriculture, Purchasing and Contracting Office, is soliciting bids for background check services for the Food and Nutrition Division, with proposals due August 14, 2026, at 3:00 PM CT. A 26% subcontracting goal for veteran-owned small businesses (VetHUB-certified vendors) applies; bidders must demonstrate good-faith effort to recruit VetHUB vendors and submit a completed Subcontracting Plan as part of the response. Compliance with President Trump's Executive Order 14151, Texas Governor Greg Abbott's Executive Order GA-55, and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller's directive prohibiting DEI policies and practices is mandatory.

The scope includes national and state criminal background checks, federal and state licensing record reviews, property records, tax records, court records, civil litigation history, credit records, residence verification for the past ten years, county and local warrant checks, federal district court records, social security number verification, terrorism database searches, and driving record searches. The contractor must provide a user-friendly web portal, background check request templates for TDA approval, accessible results systems, and staff training within two weeks of contract execution. The contractor must process 65 or more background checks within 30 days, complete checks within one to two business days of TDA's official request, and maintain records for seven years. SOC 2 security controls compliance is required. The contractor must establish a physical office location within 50 miles of Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, or San Juan, Texas, and demonstrate at least five years of experience working with state-level governmental agencies.

The contract term runs from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2027, with three optional one-year renewal periods through August 31, 2030, exercisable at TDA's sole discretion with 30 days' prior written notice. Pricing shall remain firm for the initial term; adjustments are permitted at renewal based on an escalation schedule. The cost proposal template requests pricing for 780 background check units and 192 additional name/aka search units across four contract years.

The pre-bid conference is July 24, 2026, at 1:00 PM CT via Microsoft Teams. Written questions are due July 29, 2026, at 3:00 PM CT. Contract award is estimated for September 1, 2026. Respondents must submit Exhibits A through O, including Financial and Organizational Capacity, Data Security Requirements (NIST SP 800-53 or TX-RAMP certification with AES 128-bit encryption and TLS 1.2 or above), Insurance Requirements (Workers' Compensation, Commercial General Liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate, Professional Liability of $1,000,000, and Cyber/Privacy Liability of $1,000,000 claim/$1,000,000 aggregate), Debarment and Suspension Certification, and Lobbying Certification. Proposal responses are valid for 90 days.