BioCTS for ISO/IEC 

User Guide

NIST/ITL CSD Biometric Conformance Test Software for ISO/IEC 

Biometric Data Interchange Format Standards and Selected PIV Profiles

July 2013

Dylan Yaga

NIST/ITL CSD Lead Software Designer

Fernando Podio

NIST/ITL CSD Project Manager

Christofer J. McGinnis

ID Technology Partners (NIST Contractor) Software Developer 

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Information Technology Laboratory (ITL)

Computer Security Division (CSD)
Contents

Contents........................................................................................................................................................2

1. Disclaimer..............................................................................................................................................3

2. Overview ...............................................................................................................................................4

2.1. Requirements................................................................................................................................4

3. Conformance Test Suites and Relevant Standards...............................................................................5

3.1. First Generation (1G) of ISO/IEC Data Interchange Formats........................................................5

3.2. Second Generation (2G) of ISO/IEC Data Interchange Formats ...................................................5

3.3. PIV Profiles (specified in NIST SP 800-76-2)..................................................................................6

3.4. Test Limitations and/or Additions from the Standards................................................................7

3.4.1. Common Parsing Discrepancy...............................................................................................7

3.4.2. Common Image Assertion Additions ....................................................................................7

3.4.3. Discrepancies........................................................................................................................7

4. Guide...................................................................................................................................................10

4.1. Download and Installation..........................................................................................................10

4.2. Running the Conformance Test Architecture .............................................................................11

4.3. Conformance Test Architecture Features...................................................................................12

4.3.2. Options................................................................................................................................13

4.3.3. Batch Testing.......................................................................................................................14

4.3.4. Editor...................................................................................................................................19

Appendix A..................................................................................................................................................23

A.1 Anatomy of a Result .........................................................................................................................23
1. Disclaimer

NIST/ITL BioCTS

For ISO/IEC

October 2010

The software was developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the Federal 

Government. Pursuant to Title 15 United States Code Section 105, works of NIST are not subject to copyright protection in the

United States and are considered to be in the public domain. Thus, the software may be freely reproduced and used. Please 

explicitly acknowledge the National Institute of Standards and Technology as the source of the software.

This software is released by NIST as a service and is expressly provided "AS IS." NIST MAKES NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, 

EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, 

FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND DATA ACCURACY. NIST DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT 

THAT THE OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT ANY DEFECTS WILL BE 

CORRECTED.

NIST does not warrant or make any representations regarding the use of the software or the results thereof, including but not

limited to the correctness, accuracy, reliability or usefulness of the software. By using this software or by incorporating this 

software into another product, you agree to hold harmless the United Sates Government for any and all damages or liabilities 

that arise out of such use.

Certain trade names and company products are mentioned in the text or identified. In no case does such identification imply 

recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor does it imply that the products 

are necessarily the best available for the purpose. With the exception of material marked as copyrighted, information 

presented in this document is considered public information and may be distributed or copied. Use of appropriate 

byline/photo/image credits is requested.
2. Overview

This document describes the features of the Biometric Conformance Test Software (BioCTS) for ISO/IEC 

biometric data interchange format standards developed by JTC 1/SC 37 and selected PIV profiles (iris, 

finger minutiae, and finger image data interchange formats). BioCTS for ISO/IEC includes several 

Conformance Test Suites (CTSs) designed to test implementations of:

 Biometric Data interchange formats

 Full CBEFF Biometric Information Records (BIR)

 Individual components of the CBEFF BIR 

2.1. Requirements

 Supported Microsoft® Operating Systems

o Windows® XP TM Service Pack 3

o Windows® Vista TM Service Pack 2

o Windows® 7 TM Service Pack 1

 Microsoft® .NET 4.0 Framework

o Microsoft® .NET 4.0 Web Installer (http://www.microsoft.com/enus/download/details.aspx?id=17851)

o Microsoft® .NET 4.0 Stand Alone Installer (http://www.microsoft.com/enus/download/details.aspx?id=17718)

o Links working as of 7/30/2013
3. Conformance Test Suites and Relevant Standards 

The following is a list of the available test tools and the relevant standards used in their development.

3.1. First Generation (1G) of ISO/IEC Data Interchange Formats 

 ISO/IEC 19794-2:2005

o ISO/IEC 19794-2:2005, Biometric data interchange formats – Part 2: Finger minutiae 

data

o ISO/IEC 19794-2:2005 TECHNICAL CORRIGENDUM 1

o ISO/IEC 29109-2:2010 Conformance testing methodology for biometric data interchange 

formats defined in ISO/IEC 19794 -- Part 2: Finger minutiae data

 ISO/IEC 19794-4:2005

o ISO/IEC 19794-4:2005, Biometric data interchange formats -- Part 4: Finger image data

o ISO/IEC 19794-4:2005 TECHNICAL CORRIGENDUM 1

o ISO/IEC 29109-4:2010, Conformance testing methodology for biometric data 

interchange formats defined in ISO/IEC 19794 -- Part 4: Finger image data

o ISO/IEC 29109-4:2010 TECHNICAL CORRIGENDUM 1

 ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005

o ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005, Biometric data interchange formats -- Part 5: Face image data

o ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005 TECHNICAL CORRIGENDUM 1

o ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005 TECHNICAL CORRIGENDUM 2

o ISO/IEC 29109-5:2012, Conformance testing methodology for biometric data 

interchange formats defined in ISO/IEC 19794 -- Part 5: Face image data

3.2. Second Generation (2G) of ISO/IEC Data Interchange Formats 

 ISO/IEC 19794-2:2011

o ISO/IEC 19794-2:2011, Biometric data interchange formats -- Part 2: Finger minutiae 

data

o ISO/IEC 19794-2:2011 EDITORIAL CORRIGENDUM 1

o ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 37 N 5553 Text of 19794-2 FDAM 1, Biometric data interchange 

formats – Part 2: Finger minutia data – Amendment 1: Conformance testing 

methodology and clarification of defects

 ISO/IEC 19794-4:2011

o ISO/IEC 19794-4:2011, Biometric data interchange formats -- Part 4: Finger image data

o ISO/IEC 19794-4:2011 EDITORIAL CORRIGENDUM 1

o ISO/IEC 19794-4:2011/AMD 1:2013, Biometric data interchange formats: Part4: Finger 

image data – Amendment 1: Conformance testing methodology and clarification of 

defects

 ISO/IEC 19794-5:2011

o ISO/IEC 19794-5:2011, Biometric data interchange formats - Part 5: Face image data
o ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 37 N5597, Text of ISO/IEC 19794-5:2011 FDAM 1, Biometric data 

interchange formats - Part 5: Face image data - Amendment 1: Conformance testing 

methodology and clarification of defects

 ISO/IEC 19794-6: 2011

o ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011, Biometric data interchange formats -- Part 6: Iris image data

o ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011 EDITORIAL CORRIGENDUM 1

o ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 37 N 4881 Text of 19794-6 3rd PDAM 1, Biometric date interchange 

formats - Part 6: Iris image data - Amendment 1: Conformance testing methodology

3.3. PIV Profiles (specified in NIST SP 800-76-2)1

 CBEFF Header of the PIV 19794-6:2011 Profile

o As defined in NIST SP 800-76-2 Table 14 “Patron format PIV specification”

 PIV Profile of ISO/IEC 19794-6: 2011 On-Card

o In addition to the ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011 standard this CTS implements requirements

specified in NIST SP 800-76-2 “Table 9 – ISO/IEC 19794-6 profile for iris images stored on 

PIV Cards”

 PIV Profile of ISO/IEC 19794-6: 2011 Off-Card

o In addition to the ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011 standard this CTS implements requirements 

specified in NIST SP 800-76-2 “Table 11 – ISO/IEC 19794-6 profile for iris images stored 

outside PIV Cards”

 PIV Profile of INCITS 378: 2004

o INCITS 378:2004, Finger Minutiae Format for Data Interchange

o INCITS 423.2: 2008, Conformance Testing Methodology Standard for Biometric Data 

Interchange Format Standards – Part 2: Conformance Testing Methodology for ANSI 

INCITS 378-2004, Finger Minutiae Format for Data Interchange

o Requirements specified in NIST SP 800-76-2 “Table 6 – INCITS 378 profile for PIV Card 

templates”

 PIV Profile of INCITS 381: 2004

o INCITS 381:2004, Finger Image-Based Data Interchange Format

o INCITS 423.4: 2009, Conformance Testing Methodology Standard for Biometric Data 

Interchange Format Standards – Part 4: Conformance Testing Methodology for INCITS 

381-2004, Finger Image-Based Data Interchange Format

o Requirements specified in NIST SP 800-76-2 “Table 4 – INCITS 381 profile for agency 

retention of fingerprint images”

 CBEFF Opaque Security Block

o The Opaque SB CTS accepts any data passed to it. No standard was used to implement 

this. No testing is performed.

 

1

NIST Special Publication 800-76-2, Grother, P., Salamon. W., Chandramouli, R., Information Technology 

Laboratory, NIST, July 2013
3.4. Test Limitations and/or Additions from the Standards

The following section lists any limitations/additions or discrepancies from the above listed standards

and provide the rationale for these additions/discrepancies.

3.4.1. Common Parsing Discrepancy

A common discrepancy from the standards is that BioCTS parses data byte-by-byte; sometimes a data 

format will specify a field with less-than a byte length. In all cases an additional field is adjacent to it that 

is also missing several bits from a byte. These fields are combined in the CTSs and are listed in each 

section under “Fields Combined to meet Byte Boundaries”.

(For example: Field 1 is 2 bits long, Field 2 is 14 bits long. Together Field_1_Field_2 is 2 bytes long.)

3.4.2. Common Image Assertion Additions

For CTSs that process images there are standard image based assertions that they all implement – some 

of which are documented within the corresponding testing methodology; some of which are not yet

documented.

 Image Header Tests

 Image Footer Tests

 Correct Encoding Tests

o Has Corresponding Metadata

 Image Specified Dimensions vs. Representation Specified Dimensions

3.4.3. Discrepancies

 ISO/IEC 19794-2:2005

o Fields Combined to meet Byte Boundaries

 Capture Equipment Certification and Capture Device Type ID

 View Number and Impression Type

 Minutia Type and Minutia X Position

 Reserved and Minutia Y Position

 Core Information Type and Core X Location

 Reserved and Core Y Location

 Delta Information and Delta X Location

 Reserved and Delta Y Location

o This Conformance Test Suite does not specifically implement tests found in Table 4 to 

Table 11 – formats for On-Card Minutia.

o Additional Assertions

 Extended Data Block Length

 ISO/IEC 29109-2:2010 specifies valid values as 0 to 65535

 Extended data block is either not present (value 0) or has a length of 4 

and greater.

 Added L1 test for values 0 or 4 to 65545.

 ISO/IEC 19794-4: 2005

o Additional Assertions
 Finger or Palm Image Quality

 ISO/IEC 19794-4:2005 Technical Corrigendum 1 added values 254 and 

255

o Modified Assertions

 Image Compression Ratio LTE 15

 ISO/IEC 29109-4:2010 Conformance testing methodology for biometric 

interchange records format – Part 4: Finger image data specifies the 

following formula for calculating the Image compression ratio in Test 

Note 9:

o {Horizontal line length} *{Vertical line length} * {pixel depth}

 sizeof{Image data}

o This formula calculates size of the uncompressed image (in bits) 

divided by the size of the compressed image (in bytes)

 The ISO/IEC 19794-4:2005 CTS implements the following formula:

o ({Horizontal line length} *{Vertical line length} * {pixel depth})/8

 sizeof{Image data}

o This formula calculates the size of the uncompressed image (in 

bits), divides it by 8 to get the size of the uncompressed image 

(in bytes) and then divides that by the size of the compressed 

image (in bytes) 

 ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005

o No Discrepancies.

 ISO/IEC 19794-2:2011

o Fields Combined to meet Byte Boundaries

 Minutia Field Length and Ridge Ending Type

 Minutia Type and Minutia X Position

 Reserved and Minutia Y Position

 Reserved and Number of Cores

 Core Information Type and Core X Position

 Reserved and Core Y Position

 Reserved and Number of Deltas

 Delta Information Type and Delta X Position

 Reserved and Delta Y Position

o The Conformance Test Suite does not specifically implement tests found in Table A.3 for 

On-Card Minutia.

o Additional Assertions

 Format Identifier NEQ 0x00524D46 (Little Endian Version of valid format)

 Version Number NEQ 0x00303330 (Little Endian Version of valid format)

 Expected Record Length EQ Counted Record Length

 Minutia X Position LTE Image Width

 Minutia Y Position LTE Image Height
 Cell Width LTE Image Width

 Cell Height LTE Image Height

 ISO/IEC 19794-4:2011

o Fields Split to Enable Easier Representation

 Segmentation Owner and Algorithm ID (4 bytes) was split into 2 fields:

 Segmentation Owner (2 bytes)

 Segmentation Algorithm ID (2 bytes)

 Finger Image Quality Algorithm and Owner ID (4 bytes) was split into 2 fields:

 Finger Image Quality Algorithm (2 bytes)

 Finger Image Quality Owner ID (2 bytes)

o Modified Assertions

 Image Compression Ratio LTE 15

 ISO/IEC 19794-4 Biometric data interchange formats: Part 4: Finger 

image data -Amendment 1: Conformance testing methodology specifies 

the following formula for calculating the Image compression ratio:

o {Horizontal line length} *{Vertical line length} * {pixel depth}

 sizeof{Image data}

o This formula calculates size of the uncompressed image (in bits) 

divided by the size of the compressed image (in bytes)

 The ISO/IEC 19794-4:2011 CTS implements the following formula:

o ({Horizontal line length} *{Vertical line length} * {pixel depth})/8

 sizeof{Image data}

o This formula calculates the size of the uncompressed image (in 

bits), divides it by 8 to get the size of the uncompressed image 

(in bytes) and then divides that by the size of the compressed 

image (in bytes) 



 ISO/IEC 19794-5:2011

o No Discrepancies

 ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011

o No Discrepancies

 PIV Profile

o PIV Profile of ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011 On-Card

 No Discrepancies

o PIV Profile of ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011 Off-Card

 No Discrepancies

o PIV Profile of INCITS 378:2004

 No Discrepancies

o PIV Profile of INCITS 381:2004

 No Discrepancies
4. Guide

4.1. Download and Installation

Download the installer from the website http://www.nist.gov/itl/csd/biometrics/biocta_download.cfm .

After the download completes, run the install program and follow the on screen instructions presented 

in the dialog boxes.

Eventually the following screen will appear; this is where a selection of CTSs can be made.

Figure 1 - BioCTS Installer
4.2. Running the Conformance Test Architecture

To run the CTA software from the Start menu: 

Select All Programs then select NIST BioCTS then select ISO IEC and click on BioCTS_ISO_IEC.
4.3. Conformance Test Architecture Features

New Features - Two key new features that have been added to BioCTS for ISO/IEC since beta version

3.0.4762.21443 (released March 2013) are detailed below: Text Log Output Search and Basic Statistics of 

the Test Results.

4.3.1.1. Text Log Output Search

Searching through an entire Text Log can be difficult, especially when a file has multiple 

representations within it. To help alleviate this problem, without forcing the user to open an 

external tool, BioCTS for ISO/IEC has implemented an internal search feature. To launch the 

search window, click the magnifying glass icon or use the keyboard command CTRL+F.

Figure 2 - BioCTS Text Output Search Feature

4.3.1.2. Statistics

In previous releases of BioCTS it was difficult to quantify many test metrics such as the 

number of files loaded and tested, the number of tests performed, and how many tests 

resulted in an error or warning. Basic statistics are now available including:
 Selected File Statistics: Details about how many tests were performed and a 

breakdown of what types of results were found. When a file is selected within the 

Binary File Batch Test tab, the statistics are updated to reflect that file.

 Overall Batch Statistics: Details about how many files were loaded into the Batch 

File tester, how many files were tested, and how many files were considered 

“Passing” or “Failing”.

Figure 3 - BioCTS Highlighting the Statistic Summaries

4.3.2. Options

The Options Tab provides options for output file type and save location, as well as drop down 

menus to select which CTS(s) to run.

The Time Stamped Folder Format:

 yyyy – 4 digit year (e.g. 2012)

 MM – 2 digit month (e.g. 10)

 dd – 2 digit day (e.g. 31)

 HH – 2 digit hour in 24-hour scale (e.g. 13)

 mm – 2 digit minutes (e.g. 59)
 ss – 2 digit seconds (e.g. 22)

In the example provided below:

Figure 4 - BioCTS Options Tab

 Text Output will be generated in the directory:

C:\Users\mcginnis\Desktop\BioCTS For ISO IEC Output\2012.10.31.13.59.22\Text Output

 XML Output will be generated in the directory:

C:\Users\mcginnis\Desktop\BioCTS For ISO IEC Output\2012.10.31.13.59.22\XML Output

 The only CTS selected is the one designed to test implementations of the ISO/IEC 19794-

2:2005 standard.

4.3.3. Batch Testing

The Batch Test tab allows multiple transactions (files) to be tested in groups, and displays the 

overall results for each transaction in the Files Under Test pane. 
Figure 5 - BioCTS Empty Batch Tab
Several files can be loaded at once.

Figure 6 - BioCTS Loaded Batch Tab
The Batch Test Tab will display the Transaction’s Overall Result with either:

 - Overall Result of Fail

 - Overall Result of Pass

Figure 7 - BioCTS Tested Batch Tab
Textual output results for each Transaction can be viewed by clicking on the desired filename in 

the File Under Test pane. The complete textual results are displayed in the pane to the right.

Figure 8 - BioCTS Tested Batch Tab with Results Showing
4.3.4. Editor

The editor is designed to display as much information as possible upon demand; the editor 

makes use of Expander Sections, which can be expanded to display more information by 

pressing the button within sections.

There are 2 limitations in the editor currently:

1. New Items (Headers, Representations, Fields) cannot be added

2. Items (Headers, Representations, Fields) cannot be removed 

Figure 9 - BioCTS Editor Tab
The editor displays the data and associated results in an expandable, hierarchical format, and 

allows editing of existing data using text fields.

When a component of the BIR is not being used (described as (None)) then those components 

are disabled, and greyed-out within the Editor.

Figure 10 - BioCTS Editor Tab Tested
When a Header or Representation is expanded the Editor displays a list of the Fields contained 

in it. Each Field may also be expanded to reveal the Data contained within and the associated 

Results.

Figure 11 - BioCTS Editor Tab Showing General Header Results
When expanded, a Field displays expanders for the Field Level Results and the data that is held 

within the Field.

Figure 12 - BioCTS Editor Showing Field and Field Results

The values in the Data text fields can be edited. Two buttons are provided to assist when a large 

amount of data is being manipulated (such as in an image Field):

 Loads data into the contents of a field

 Saves the contents of a field
Appendix A

A.1 Anatomy of a Result

Every test performed in BioCTS for ISO/IEC generates a Result – passing or failing. In an effort to 

enhance the readability and clarity of the Results, the textual output formatting has been modified since 

the initial release of BioCTS for ISO/IEC.

The Text Log Output Result formatting is:

Figure 13 - BioCTS for ISO/IEC Text Log Output

The XML Log Output Result format:

Figure 14 - BioCTS for ISO/IEC XML Log Output

A Result consists of, and clearly identifies:

 Test Name – The name of the test being performed.

 Test Level

o Parse – A parse level test deals with any test that relates to parsing of the information; 

tests with this level happen before the data is inspected during L1, L2 and L3 testing.

o L1 – A Level 1 test, which tests for values, lengths, and character counts of the data.

o L2 – A Level 2 test, which tests for relationships between Fields, Subfields, Information 

Items and Records.

o L3 – A Level 3 test, which tests to see if the data specified is consistent with the 

biometric sample presented.

 Test Result

o Ok – The test was unable to find an error. This does not necessarily mean that this 

portion of data was without error; just that the tests could not find error.

o Message – The test was unable to find an error; however the test found it necessary to 

convey an additional message.

o Warning – The test was unable to find an error; however there may be an aspect that 

warrants further investigation.
o Error – The test was able to find an error.

o Critical – The test was able to find an error; this error was critical enough that it may 

impede further testing.

o Test Message – The message can contain any additional information to clarify the test.