Registry of USG 

Recommended Biometric 

Standards

Version 4.0

August 27th, 2012

NSTC Subcommittee on

Biometrics and Identity Management
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Contents

1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................ 4

2. Scope................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

3. Verbal forms for the expression of provisions.................................................................................................................... 5

4. Terms and definitions ......................................................................................................................................................... 5

5. Acronyms and abbreviations .............................................................................................................................................. 8

6. Registry concepts and standards nomenclature................................................................................................................. 9

7. Biometric data collection, storage, and exchange standards...........................................................................................10

7.1 Friction ridge imagery...................................................................................................................................................11

7.2 Friction ridge features ..................................................................................................................................................12

7.3 Face images ..................................................................................................................................................................13

7.4 Scars, Marks and Tattoo ...............................................................................................................................................15

7.5 Iris images.....................................................................................................................................................................15

7.6 DNA...............................................................................................................................................................................16

8. Biometric transmission profiles ........................................................................................................................................ 17

8.1 Proprietary data............................................................................................................................................................17

8.2 Proprietary extensions..................................................................................................................................................17

8.3 Biometric Profiles and Data Models for Large Scale Identification Applications .........................................................17

8.4 Terrorist Screening Center............................................................................................................................................18

8.5 Federal Bureau of Investigation....................................................................................................................................19

8.6 Department of Defense ................................................................................................................................................19

8.7 Department of Homeland Security...............................................................................................................................20

9. Biometric identity credentialing profiles ..........................................................................................................................20

10. Biometric technical interface standards.......................................................................................................................22

11. Biometric conformance testing methodology standards.............................................................................................23

12. Biometric performance testing methodology standards .............................................................................................25

13. References....................................................................................................................................................................26

Tables

Table 1 - ANSI/NIST-ITL Standard Nomenclature ......................................................................................................................10

Table 2 - INCITS/ISO/IEC Standard Nomenclature.....................................................................................................................10

Table 3 - Registry of Friction Ridge Imagery Standards.............................................................................................................11

Table 4 - Registry of Friction Ridge Feature Standards..............................................................................................................13

Table 5 - Registry of Face Image Standards...............................................................................................................................14

Table 6 - Registry of SMT Standards..........................................................................................................................................15

Table 7 - Registry of Iris Image Standards..................................................................................................................................16
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Table 8 - Registry of DNA Standards..........................................................................................................................................16

Table 9 - Registry of Biometric Transmission Profiles................................................................................................................18

Table 10 - Registry of Identity Credentialing Profiles ................................................................................................................21

Table 11 - Registry of Biometric Technical Interfaces................................................................................................................23

Table 12 - Registry of Conformance Testing Methodologies.....................................................................................................24

Table 13 - Registry of Performance Testing Methodologies......................................................................................................25

Table 14 - Reference of Standards.............................................................................................................................................29
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1. Introduction

This Registry of USG Recommended Biometric Standards supplements the NSTC Policy for Enabling the Development, 

Adoption and Use of Biometric Standards, which was developed through a collaborative, interagency process within the 

Subcommittee on Biometrics and Identity Management and approved by the NSTC Committee on Technology. This Registry 

is based upon interagency consensus on biometric standards required to enable the interoperability of various Federal 

biometric applications, and to guide Federal agencies as they develop and implement related biometric programs.

The Biometrics and Identity Management Subcommittee’s Standards and Conformity Assessment Working Group (SCA WG)

is tasked to develop and update the Registry as necessary. The Subcommittee will continuously review the content of this 

document, and release updated versions as required to assist agencies in implementing and enforcing the use of biometric

standards to meet agency-specific mission needs. The approved version of this document is available on the Federal 

government's web site for biometric activities at www.biometrics.gov/standards1

.

The maintenance of this Registry is supported by agencies providing appropriate personnel and resources to the 

Subcommittee’s Standards and Conformity Assessment Working Group. Federal agencies identifying issues with this 

Registry should notify their representatives to the Subcommittee’s Standards and Conformity Assessment Working Group. 

Two other documents support this Registry and the NSTC Policy for Enabling the Development, Adoption and Use of 

Biometric Standards: 

― Supplemental Information in Support of the NSTC Policy for Enabling the Development, Adoption and Use of Biometric 

Standards;

― Catalog of USG Biometric Product Testing Programs. 

In support of specific cross agency biometric data interoperability requirements, this Registry is cited by NATIONAL 

SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/NSPD - 59/ HOMELAND SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE/HSPD - 24, Biometrics for 

Identification and Screening to Enhance National Security.

For comments or to obtain additional information about this document, send e-mail to standards@biometrics.gov. 

2. Scope 

This Registry lists recommended biometric standards for USG-wide use. Only standards finalized and approved by a 

standards developing organization are eligible for analysis by the Subcommittee. Inclusion of a standard in this Registry 

requires consensus agreement of USG agencies through the Subcommittee’s deliberative process. For dated references to 

standards, only the edition cited applies. For undated references to standards, the latest edition of the referenced standard 

applies.

These recommendations take into account: 

― the differences in how criminal identification and civil biometric authentication systems operate; 

― the need to accommodate current implementations as well as new implementations; 

― the movement to international versions from national standards; 

― it is implied that all amendments and corrigenda are included as part of the recommended biometric standard. 

 

1 The latest version of this Registry is also available at www.standards.gov/biometrics.
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Therefore, along with recommended biometric standards, some high level guidance is often provided with respect to

implementation, migration, and grandfathering of existing implementations. Further guidance may be found in the 

supporting reference documentation.

This Registry is divided into sub-registries of standards or profiles for:

― biometric data collection, storage, and exchange standards;

― biometric transmission profiles;

― biometric identity credentialing profiles;

― biometric technical interface standards;

― biometric conformance testing methodology standards;

― biometric performance testing methodology standards.

Additional biometric standards will be added to this Registry as other standards in the above categories (e.g., other 

modalities, such as voice) or additional categories (e.g., biometric quality measurement standards) are approved by the 

standards developing organizations and adopted by the USG for USG-wide use.

This Registry may have supplements intended for use within specific communities of the USG. For information on the 

status of any such supplements, send email to standards@biometrics.gov. 

3. Verbal forms for the expression of provisions

The following terms are used in this document to indicate mandatory, optional, or permissible requirements:

― the terms “shall” and “shall not” indicate requirements strictly to be followed in order to conform to this document 

and from which no deviation is permitted;

― the terms “should” and “should not” indicate that among several possibilities one is recommended as particularly 

suitable, without mentioning or excluding others, or that a certain course of action is preferred but not necessarily 

required, or that (in the negative form) a certain possibility or course of action is deprecated but not prohibited;

― the terms “may” and “need not” indicate a course of action permissible within the limits of this document.

4. Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply. The terms are grouped by conceptual area

and are not in alphabetic order.

― standard - document, established by consensus and approved by a recognized body, that provides, for common and 

repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of the 

optimum degree of order in a given context. [Source: ISO/IEC Guide 2:2004]

― base standard - a generic standard containing options that may be profiled for application-specific purposes [Source: 

ISO/IEC 24713-1:2008]

NOTE 1 Base standards can be used in diverse applications. It may be useful to construct a standardized biometric 

profile that specifies or restricts values and practices from the options in a base standard. The aim is to achieve

interoperability for a specific application.

NOTE 2 Any cited standard must include any amendments, corrigenda and supplements.

― profile - conforming subsets or combinations of base standards used to effect specific functions [Source: ISO/IEC 

24713-1:2008]
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NOTE Profiles define specific values or conditions from the range of options described in the relevant base 

standards, with the aim of supporting the interchange of data between applications and the interoperability of 

systems. [Source: ISO/IEC 24713-1:2008]

― biometric application profile - conforming subsets or combinations of one or more base standards and/or profiles 

necessary to accomplish particular function(s) specific to the application and its domain of use. Biometric profiles 

define specific values or conditions from the range of options described in the relevant base standards and/or profiles, 

with the aim of supporting the interoperability of systems and the interchange of data between applications. [Source: 

ISO/IEC 24713-1:2008]

NOTE Specific categories of application profile are:

― transmission profile - a profile developed to define sender and receiver requirements for electronic 

communications between systems.

― credentialing profile - a profile developed to support the requirements of a specific USG personal identity 

verification system and the sender and receiver specification for electronic communication between systems.

― (alternative) credentialing profile - a profile developed to define specific requirements for vetting an entity 

using biometrically enabled personal identity verification systems.

― standards developing organization - an organization that develops and approves consensus standards

NOTE Such organizations may be: accredited, such as ANSI accredited INCITS and ANSI accredited NIST-ITL; or 

international treaty based, such as ICAO; or international private sector based, such as ISO/IEC; or a consortium, such 

as RTIC; or a government agency, such as the DoD, DHS, FBI, and NIST.

― certification - third-party attestation related to products, processes, systems or persons [Source: ISO/IEC 17000:2004]

NOTE 1 Certification of a management system is sometimes also called registration.

NOTE 2 Certification is applicable to all objects of conformity assessment except for conformity assessment 

bodies themselves, to which accreditation is applicable.

― biometric data interchange record (BDIR) - data package containing biometric data that claims to be in the form 

prescribed by a base standard

NOTE If the BDIR is encapsulated in a CBEFF record, then the BDIR is also a biometric data block (BDB) as defined

in ISO/IEC 19785, but this will not always be the case for BDIRs defined in ISO/IEC 19794.

― exemplar - The friction ridge prints of an individual, associated with a known or claimed identity, and deliberately 

recorded electronically, by ink, or by another medium (also called 'known prints').

― friction ridge image - An image of an impression from the palmar surfaces of the hands or fingers, or from the plantar 

(sole) surfaces of the feet or toes.

― latent print - An impression or image of friction ridge skin left on a surface

― test - technical operation that consists of the determination of one or more characteristics of a given product, process 

or service according to a specified procedure [Source: ISO/IEC Guide 2:2004]

― testing - action of carrying out one or more tests [Source: ISO/IEC Guide 2:2004]

― conformance testing - testing determination of one or more characteristics of an object of conformity assessment, 

according to a procedure

― performance testing - measures the performance characteristics of an implementation such as system error rates, 

throughput, or responsiveness, sometimes under various conditions

― sample - raw data representing a biometric characteristic, which is captured and processed by the biometric system or 

the digital representation of a biometric characteristic used internally by a biometric system
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― template - encoded representation of features extracted from a sample suitable for direct comparison

― sample quality - measurable properties of a biometric sample associated with its fidelity to its source, and related to 

the utility, and its expected performance in a verification or identification system or by a forensic examiner

― signal - non-image data, possibly multivariate, time series data or spatial data

EXAMPLE 1 A speech recording

EXAMPLE 2 The (x,y) coordinates and pressure of a pen in an online handwriting recognition system

EXAMPLE 3 An electropherogram used in many kinds of DNA typing

― image - two or three dimensional spatial data

EXAMPLE 1 A two dimensional fingerprint image

EXAMPLE 2 A three dimensional face image (i.e. including shape information)

EXAMPLE 3 Video of a moving face – not necessarily regularly spaced in time.

― proprietary image - image format defined in a privately controlled biometric data format specification

― proprietary signal - signal format defined in a privately controlled biometric data format specification

― proprietary template - supplier-defined representation of a biometric sample, suitable for matching, usually in an 

unpublished format

― basic interoperability - ability of a generator to create samples that can be processed by other suppliers' comparison 

subsystems, and the ability of a supplier's comparison subsystem to process input samples from other suppliers' 

generators [Source: INCITS/ISO/IEC 19795-4:2008 [2009]]

― scenario evaluation - the online evaluation of end-to-end system performance in a prototype or simulated application 

in which samples collected from test subjects are processed in real time. [Source: ISO/IEC 19795-2:2005]

NOTE 1 Scenario evaluations are intended for measurement of performance in modeled environments, inclusive 

of test subject-system interactions. Scenario evaluation assesses biometric technologies in a manner representative of 

the operational application while maintaining control of performance variables. 

NOTE 2 The word "online" in the definition refers to human subject involvement.

NOTE 3 The term "real time" indicates that the human-system interaction is on the timescale of the operational 

scenario

― technology evaluation - the offline evaluation of one or more algorithms for the same biometric modality using a preexisting or specially-collected corpus of samples

NOTE The concept can be generalized to other biometric components, the key being that the evaluation is 

deterministic and repeatable. For example, the Appendix F imaging certification tests applied to fingerprint sensors.

― operational evaluation - process used to evaluate a biometric system in the targeted operational environment and 

population

NOTE By its nature, it is not a repeatable process. Population, actual environmental conditions, and other 

factors will vary during operational evaluations. 

― simple object access protocol - The formal set of conventions governing the format and processing rules of a SOAP 

message. These conventions include the interactions among SOAP nodes generating and accepting SOAP messages for 

the purpose of exchanging information along a SOAP message path.

class resolution - The value of resolution (scanning or nominal) used to name (or identify) an acquisition process or 

image, where the resolution is within a specified tolerance around that value. [Source: ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011]
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5. Acronyms and abbreviations

ABIS Automated Biometric Identification System

ANSI American National Standards Institute

BIAS Biometric Identity Assurance Services

BIMA Biometrics Identity Management Agency

BioAPI Biometric Application Programming Interface

BIR Biometric Information Record

BSP Biometric Service Provider

CBEFF Common Biometric Exchange Formats Framework

DHS Department of Homeland Security

DoD Department of Defense

EBTS Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification

EFTS Electronic Fingerprint Transmission Specification

FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation

FIPS Federal Information Processing Standard

HSPD Homeland Security Presidential Directive

IAFIS Integrated Automatic Fingerprint Identification System

ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization

IDENT Automatic Biometric Identification System

IEC International Electrotechnical Commission

INCITS InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards

INT-I INTERPOL Implementation of the ANSI/NIST ITL 1-2000 Standard

ISO International Organization for Standardization

ITL Information Technology Laboratory

IXM IDENT Exchange Messages

MINEX Minutiae Interoperability Exchange Test

MRTD Machine Readable Travel Document

NG-ABIS Next Generation - Automated Biometric Identification System

NGI Next Generation Identification

NIEM National Information Exchange Model

NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology

NSTC National Science and Technology Council

PIV Personal Identity Verification

RT Registered Traveler

RTIC Registered Traveler Interoperability Consortium

SAP Subject Acquisition Profile

SMT Scars, Marks, and Tattoos

SOAP Simple Object Access Protocol

TWIC Transportation Worker Identification Credential

TWPDES Terrorist Watchlist Person Data Exchange Standard

USG United States Government

US-VISIT United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology

WSQ Wavelet Scalar Quantization

XML Extensible Markup Language
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6. Registry concepts and standards nomenclature

The meanings for the headings of the columns in the following tables are as follows:

Validity Period: This column shall be updated periodically as new or improved standards are developed. This may result in 

the retirement or deprecation of a standard. In such cases, a migration strategy to facilitate backward compatibility may be 

needed because standardized legacy data may exist in databases or on identity credentials. Agencies engaged in the design 

of biometrically enabled applications shall adhere to the standards called out below, and shall heed the "validity period" 

value.

Biometric Data2

: This column is organized around the kind of data that is being stored. This derives from the particular 

biometric modalities chosen for an operation. In some cases, feature based data is stored, and thus the column identifies 

the captured or processed representation of the sample.

Intended Applicability: The functions of generic biometric applications include: an enrollment phase, and a subsequent 

identification or verification phase. The enrollment phase embeds capture of an initial sample. The capture may be from a 

cooperative, non-cooperative or uncooperative subject. Enrollment itself is usually an attended operation. These factors 

influence the selection of an appropriate data interchange standard because conformance to a standard might be 

unattainable (e.g., non-cooperative imaging will not always yield a frontal face).

Conceptually a general biometric system3 might execute:

― data capture;

― transmission;

― image or signal processing;

― data storage;

― matching;

― decision;

― administration;

― interface.

Recommended standards: This column enumerates those standards. For data interchange, the intent is that all biometric 

samples captured, or otherwise instantiated during the validity period, shall be encoded in conformance with the identified 

standards. For non-data applications, such as performance testing, the intent is that the normative4 requirements of the 

standards are followed. In cases where two or more standards are specified, either or both may be used. In cases where 

the standards contain high level options or branches, values are mandated as needed.

 2 This column appears only for the Biometric Data Collection, Storage, and Exchange Standards.

3 This description of biometric systems is expanded upon in ISO/IEC 24713-1:2008, Biometric Profiles for Interoperability and Data

Interchange – Part 1: Overview of Biometric Systems and Biometric Profiles 4 Standards often contain required content, expressed as normative requirements, and recommended content, expressed in informative

text.
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Nomenclature for the ANSI/NIST-ITL Standard: The ANSI/NIST-ITL standard identified in the following sections carries

specific nomenclature. Table 1 below explains the fields.

ANSI/NIST-ITL X-YYYY Type ZZ

ANSI NIST ITL X YYYY ZZ

The standard is 

developed under 

ANSI approved 

procedures

The parent 

standards 

developing 

organization

The laboratory 

at NIST 

responsible for 

the standard 

development

The sequence 

number for the 

standard within the 

calendar year

The year that the standard 

was published. Development 

was generally completed a 

few months prior.

An integer (1-21, 98, 99) 

indicating specific Type 

Records of the standard.

Table 1 - ANSI/NIST-ITL Standard Nomenclature

Nomenclature for the INCITS/ISO/IEC Standards: The ISO/IEC standards adopted by INCITS are INCITS/ISO/IEC standards. 

Such standards identified in the following sections use the nomenclature illustrated in Table 2. The base standard, as 

originally developed in the international body, is shown in bold. The details of any subsequent US adoption which enclose 

this are shown in normal type.

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-6:2005[2007][R2010]

INCITS ISO/IEC 19794 -6 2005 2007 R2010

The name of the 

body in the U.S. 

that adopts the

international 

standard

The parent 

standards 

developing 

organization

The ISO/IEC 

19794 is a 

multipart data 

interchange 

standard

The dash six denotes 

Part 6 which in this 

case standardizes 

exchange of iris 

images

The year that the standard 

was originally published. 

Development was 

generally completed a few 

months prior.

The year the 

standard was 

adopted by the 

US National 

Body (INCITS).

The year the 

standard was 

reaffirmed5

. 

Table 2 - INCITS/ISO/IEC Standard Nomenclature

NOTE: For standards that have published amendments they are identified with the following type of syntax:

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19784-1:2006/Amd. 1 -2007

7. Biometric data collection, storage, and exchange standards 

The biometric standards recommended in Tables 3-8 should be used in all USG applications for which biometric data: 

― are exchanged between systems within an agency, 

― are exchanged between agencies, 

― persist beyond the interaction of a subject with a sensor or system. 

The biometric standards listed below primarily cover:

― friction ridge imagery (latent and exemplar images of: fingerprints, palms, and/or plantars)

― friction ridge features, 

― face6 images, 

― iris images, 

― DNA,

― scars, marks, tattoos,

― body part images,

― forensic mark ups of samples,

― associated metadata for all of the above.

 

5 Re-affirmation of a standard reflects the decision of the responsible standards developing organization to maintain the availability of a 

standard without any change of its content. Re-affirmation usually indicates that the standard is technically sufficient for near term 

applications.

6 This document refers to "face recognition" and "face images". Other documents have used the modifier "facial" without any difference 

in meaning.
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Standards for other modalities have been approved by the various standards developing organizations. They are not listed 

here because the imperative for development of this Registry was ongoing or anticipated multi-agency or USG-wide 

applications. For parties seeking to collect, store and exchange data from modalities not covered by this Registry, they have 

the option of using standards approved by national or international standards developing organizations. 

It is assumed that parent applications can properly embed or wrap biometric data formatted according to the standards 

enumerated below (e.g., FBI’s EBTS transactions embedding ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Type 14 fingerprint records). Data 

records or sets of data records shall not be wrapped in a proprietary wrapper that requires a specific provider’s software to 

decode or encode.

While Tables 3-8 addresses collection, storage and exchange of biometric data, existing transmission profiles such as the 

FBI's EBTS (see Table 9) might further modify or restrict the recommended standards of Tables 3-8. The shaded cells in all 

tables indicate the standard is no longer recommended for use.

7.1 Friction ridge imagery

Intended applicability Biometric data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

The electronic exchange of images to 

be used in the identification or 

verification process of a subject

among criminal justice 

administrations or organizations that 

rely on automated identification 

systems or use other biometric and 

image data for identification

purposes.

Fingerprint, 

Palm, Plantar 

Image Data

November 2011 –

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, Type 13, Type 

14, Type 15, Type 19

October 2007 –

November 2011

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2007 (Traditional 

Encoding), Type 4, Type 13, Type 14, 

Type 15

December 2008 –

November 2011

ANSI/NIST-ITL 2-2008 (XML 

Encoding), Type 4, Type 13, Type 14, 

Type 15

The interchange among organizations 

that rely on automated devices and

systems for identification or

verification purposes based on the 

information from finger and palm

image areas

Finger and Palm 

Image Data

December 2011 –

Present

ISO/IEC 19794-4:2011

The interchange among organizations 

that rely on automated devices and 

systems for identification or 

verification purposes based on the 

information from finger image areas

Finger Image 

Data

October 2007 –

December 2011

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-4:2005[2007]

October 2007 –

July 2012

INCITS 381-2004

October 2009 –

July 2012

INCITS 381-2009

Table 3 - Registry of Friction Ridge Imagery Standards

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 includes both the Traditional and NIEM-conformant XML encodings. There are no longer separate 

versions of the standard for each encoding as in ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2007 and ANSI/NIST-ITL 2-2008.

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 deprecates the Type-3, -5, and -6 records, but retains the Type-4 record to ensure backward 

compatibility; however, new users are encouraged to utilize the Type-14 record to convey fingerprint images. While the

Type-4 record remains the predominant format for transmission of rolled fingerprint information, the Type 14 record is 

highly recommended because it is:

― used for plain impression transactions including segmentation coordinates; 

― supporting use of high resolution images;

― a more flexible format for additional metadata. 

NOTE Users should coordinate with receiving agencies to ensure they have the capability to accept Type-14 variableresolution fingerprint image data.
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The variable-resolution image data contained in the Type-13, Type-14, Type-15, and Type 19 records may be in a 

compressed form. While the records may be used for the exchange of 19.69 ppmm (500 ppi) images, it is strongly 

recommended that the resolution for fingerprint and palm images be 39.37 ppmm (1000 ppi). When friction ridge images 

are captured at 39.37 ppmm (1000 ppi) and compressed using JPEG 2000, the compression ratio shall not exceed 15:1. This 

may be achieved by invoking the JPEG 2000 compressor with a target bit rate greater than or equal to 8/10 bits per pixel. If 

images scanned at 1000 ppi and compressed using JPEG 2000 are to be converted to images at 500 ppi and compressed 

using WSQ, then the MITRE procedures [MITRE1000] shall be followed. It should be noted that as the class resolution is 

increased, more detailed ridge and structure information becomes available in the fingerprint image. However, in all cases 

the class resolution shall be at least 19.69 ppmm (500 ppi).

When friction ridge images are captured at 19.69 ppmm (500 ppi) and compressed with WSQ, the compression ratio shall 

not exceed 15:1. This may be achieved by invoking the WSQ compressor with a target bit rate parameter greater than or 

equal to 8/15 bits per pixel. This compression ratio should be considered as a maximum value and where bandwidth and/or 

storage permits, lower levels of compression will result in higher quality images, especially where devices with smaller 

image sensors are used.

Latent friction ridge images shall be acquired with a native resolution of 39.37 ppmm (1000 ppi) or greater.

Latent friction ridge images should be uncompressed; however, if losslessly compressed images shall be stored in 

conformance to the ISO/IEC 15948 format (PNG). Images shall not be compressed using a lossy compression algorithm. If 

reduced resolution versions are prepared (e.g., for transmission) the parent high resolution image shall be retained.

While PIV (FIPS 201-1, 2006) requires the use of INCITS 381-2004 for the retention of fingerprint images, the INCITS 

standard for finger image (INCITS 381-2004) has been withdrawn and is no longer being maintained by the INCITS. As part 

of the background checking process, FBI requires fingerprints to be formatted according to the ANSI/NIST-ITL standard.

NOTE: ANSI/NIST‐ITL 1a‐2009 was obviated by the inclusion of Multiple Finger Position Codes in ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, 

Table 8 Friction ridge position code & recommended image dimensions.

7.2 Friction ridge features

Intended applicability Biometric data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

The electronic exchange of friction 

ridge feature sets to be used in the 

identification or verification process 

of a subject among criminal justice 

administrations or organizations that 

rely on automated identification 

systems.

Friction ridge minutiae 

data and other 

features

November 2011 –

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Type 9

October 2007 –

November 2011

INCITS 378-2004

– or –

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2007 Type 9, 

Fields 1-4 and 13-23

– or –

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2007 Type 9,

Fields 1-4 and 126-150

December 2008 –

November 2011

ANSI/NIST-ITL 2-2008 Annex G 

(XML encoding of INCITS 378-

2004)

– or –

ANSI/NIST-ITL 2-2008 Type 9, 

per Tables 216a and 216b

Used in a wide range of application 

areas to include cards where 

Fingerprint minutiae November 2011 –

Present

ISO/IEC 19794-2:2011
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Intended applicability Biometric data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

automated fingerprint recognition is 

involved

October 2007 –

November 2011

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-

2:2005[2008], clause 8 compact 

card format with clause 9 

format types 0001, 0003, 0005

November 2011 –

July 2012

INCITS 378-2004

December 2009 –

July 2012

INCITS 378-2009

Table 4 - Registry of Friction Ridge Feature Standards

The primary use of the ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, Type 9 (Minutiae data) record shall be for remote searching of latent prints in 

criminal justice organizations. New to this version of the standard is the Extended Feature Set (EFS) for latent print 

markups. There is also a capability to have additional vendor specified feature sets. The ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 allows for 

both INCITS 378-2004 and INCITS 378-2009 formats. The 2004 version of INCITS 378 had one item for the product identifier. 

This was clarified and broken into two items in the 2009 version of INCITS 378; the product identifier and the format type.

See ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 for additional guidance. If ANSI/NIST‐ITL 1‐2011 Type 9 is used, vendor blocks (i.e. fields 31 ‐ 125 

and 151‐175) should not be used.

Identification applications shall use the ISO/IEC 19794-2:2011 standard. This may include proprietary template data in the 

“vendor-defined extended data” fields. Proprietary template data is non-interoperable but some implementations have 

shown improved accuracy over standardized data alone [MINEX04]. It is usually usable only if the data is prepared and 

matched by the products of a single supplier. Reliance on such proprietary data promotes vendor lock-in. To mitigate this 

risk, the parent images shall be retained. To eliminate this risk, standardized image records should be exchanged. In order 

to avoid abuse of this allowance of proprietary data, the standardized minutiae data should be required.

In match on-card applications it is recommended to use the core three-byte-per-minutiae format defined in ISO/IEC 19794-

2:2011; moreover, the format shall be produced from the ISO/IEC 19794-2:2011 template. See Biometric Specifications for 

Personal Identity Verification [NIST SP-800-76-1] for additional guidance.

In match-off-card applications none of the ISO/IEC 19794-2:2011 formats shall be used, only INCITS 378-2004. This applies 

to both the reference and verification templates. 

NOTE Although PIV (FIPS 201-1, 2006) requires the use of INCITS 378-2004 for the retention of fingerprint minutiae; the 

INCITS national standard for finger minutiae has been withdrawn and is no longer being maintained by INCITS. Guidance on 

minutiae detection and estimation appears in ISO/IEC 19794-2:2011. 

7.3 Face images

Intended applicability Biometric data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

The electronic exchange of face 

image data to be used in the 

identification or verification 

process of a subject among criminal 

justice administrations or 

organizations that rely on

automated identification systems.

2D face images and 3D 

feature points

November 2011 –

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, Type 10
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14

Intended applicability Biometric data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

Capture and storage (i.e., 

enrollment or registration 

processes) for which end-to-end 

subject capture times above 120 

seconds are tolerable

2D Face images October 2007 –

November 2011

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2007, Type 10 

with subject acquisition profile

(SAP) of level 10 or above

– or –

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-

5:2005[2007], Full Frontal or 

Token, with at least 90 pixels 

between the eyes from all 

subjects

December 2008 –

November 2011

ANSI/NIST-ITL 2-2008, Type 10 

with subject acquisition profile 

(SAP) of level 10 or above

Non-cooperative or uncooperative 

capture and storage of images

2D face images October 2007 –

November 2011

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2007, Type 10 

with subject acquisition profile 

(SAP) of level 1 or above

– or –

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-

5:2005[2007] Basic type only

December 2008 –

November 2011

ANSI/NIST-ITL 2-2008, Type 10 

with subject acquisition profile 

(SAP) of level 1 or above

All other capture, storage or 

exchange applications

2D face images October 2007 –

November 2011

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2007, Type 10 

with subject acquisition profile 

(SAP) of level 1 or above

– or –

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-

5:2005[2007], Basic, Full Frontal 

or Token

December 2008 –

November 2011

ANSI/NIST-ITL 2-2008, Type 10 

with subject acquisition profile

(SAP) of level 1 or above

Used in a wide range of application 

areas to include cards where 

automated face recognition is 

involved

3D face images December 2011 -

Present

ISO/IEC 19794-5:2011

2D face images December 2005 -

Present

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-

5:2005[2007]

October 2007 – July 

2012

INCITS 385-2004

October 2009 – July 

2012

INCITS 385-2009

Capture and storage in Machine 

Readable Travel Documents

2D face images October 2007 –

Present

ICAO 9303 and Supplement

Table 5 - Registry of Face Image Standards

The ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2007 and 2-2008, Type 10 record was limited to 2D face images, the new standard now extends to 3D 

feature points. A subject acquisition profile (SAP) is used to describe a set of characteristics concerning the capture of the 

biometric sample. The ISO/IEC 19794-5:2011 standard is referenced when describing level 13 and level 14 SAP levels in 

addition to anthropometric landmarks for 3D feature points. A full listing and descriptions of the SAP can be found in the 

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011. INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-5: 2005/Amd 1:2007 [2009] adds an Annex to the base standard as guidance 

for producing or requiring either conventional printed photographs or digital images of faces that may be used in 
. 

15

applications for passports, visas, or other identification documents and when those images are required to conform to the 

frontal image types of this standard (INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005[2007]).

Conformance to the ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2007 SAP level 1 and the INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794- 5:2005[2007] "Basic" type allows 

storage of an arbitrarily poor photograph whose digital, scene, photometric and geometric properties are unlikely to yield 

acceptable face recognition accuracy. Conformance to the ANSI/NIST-ITL 2-2008 SAP level 1 allows storage of an arbitrarily 

poor photograph whose digital, scene, photometric and geometric properties are unlikely to yield acceptable face 

recognition accuracy.

While facial images collected during PIV Registration shall be formatted such that they conform to INCITS 385-2004 this 

version of the standard has been withdrawn and is no longer being maintained by INCITS.

The ICAO 9303 Supplement is periodic, with revisions affecting the regular issuance of travel document guidance, advice, 

update, clarification and amplification. The Supplement shall serve as a “bridge” between the formal drafting of Standards 

and Technical Reports and the needs of the travel document community to have timely and official direction on which to 

rely. ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005[2007] standard is currently adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization for ePassports. Best practices are strongly recommended for the application in the e-passport framework. This ensures that, 

issuing authorities and/or photographers do not have to change their already-published photo requirements which are 

based on the existing best practice requirements. The ISO/IEC 19794-5: 2005/Amd 1:2007 [2009] adds an Annex to the base 

standard as guidance for producing or requiring either conventional printed photographs or digital images of faces that may 

be used in applications for passports, visas, or other identification documents; when those images are required to conform 

to the frontal image types of this standard (INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005[2007]).

7.4 Scars, Marks and Tattoo 

Intended applicability Biometric data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

The electronic exchange of image 

data from the scars, (needle) 

marks, and tattoos (SMT) to be 

used in the identification or 

verification process of a subject

among criminal justice 

administrations or organizations 

that rely on automated 

identification systems.

Scar, (needle) mark, 

and tattoo information

November 2011 –

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, Type 10

Table 6 - Registry of SMT Standards

Marks, as used in this standard, means needle marks typical of drug use. In some nations the term ‘marks’ denotes what is 

called ‘latent prints’ within the terminology of this standard.

An SMT image consisting of several parts or sub-images shall use subfields to fully describe the various parts or features 

found in the total image. The first subfield shall describe the most predominant feature or sub-image contained in the SMT 

image. Subsequent repeating subfields shall describe additional portions of the image that are not part of the main or 

central focal point of the image. For example, a tattoo consisting of a man with a snake on the arm being followed by a dog 

may contain three subfields: one describes the man, a second describing the snake, and a third describing the dog.

7.5 Iris images

Intended applicability Biometric data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

The electronic exchange of iris image 

data to be used in the identification or 

verification process of a subject among 

criminal justice administrations or 

Iris images November 2011 - Present ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, Type 

17

October 2007 –

November 2011

The rectilinear image format 

of INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-
. 

16

Intended applicability Biometric data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

organizations that rely on automated 

identification systems.

6:2005[2007]

– or –

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2007, Type 

17

December 2008 –

November 2011

ANSI/NIST-ITL 2-2008, Type 

17

Used in a wide range of application 

areas to include cards where automated 

iris recognition is involved.

November 2011 - Present ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011

Used in a wide range of application 

areas to include cards where automated 

iris recognition is involved.

October 2007 – July 2012 INCITS 379-2004

Table 7 - Registry of Iris Image Standards

The ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, Type-17 record was developed to provide a basic level of interoperability and harmonization 

with the INCITS 379-2004 Iris image interchange format and the ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011 Iris image data interchange format.

It also contains optional descriptive data fields and image markup fields. Generic iris images may be exchanged using the 

mandatory fields of this record type. Images may be monochrome or color with 256 or more intensity levels (gray or percolor component), and vary in size depending on field of view and compression. The recommended formats all store 

sampled pixel data from rectilinear images. The data shall be encoded as a raw array of intensity values, a raw array of red 

green blue color values, or as losslessly compressed or lossy-compressed versions thereof. Like face image data, this record 

type has descriptive characteristics for various subject acquisition profiles which are defined in detail in the ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-

2011.

For storage of iris data on-card, off-card, iris capture devices, and the components involved in automated recognition of iris 

imagery shall conform to the data format specified in 19794-6:2011. In iris recognition, templates are proprietary nonstandardized mathematical encodings of information extracted from the formally standardized images that are defined in 

ISO/IEC 19795-6:2011. The templates are not interoperable therefore organizations retaining only templates are subject to 

a supplier lock-in hazard.

7.6 DNA

Intended applicability Biometric data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

The electronic exchange of DNA data to be 

used in the identification or DNA

verification process of a subject among 

criminal justice administrations or 

organizations that rely on automated 

identification systems.

DNA November 2011 - Present ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, Type 18

The exchange of DNA data for person for 

only biometric identification or verification 

technologies that utilize human DNA.

December 2012 - Present ISO/IEC 19794-14:2012

Table 8 - Registry of DNA Standards

To provide full consideration to privacy, the ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, Type 18 record only uses the non-coding regions of DNA; 

the regions of the DNA that encode phenotypic information are deliberately avoided. This record type provides a basic level 

of interoperability with the ISO/IEC 19794-14:2012. The recommended DNA standards should not be used for the exchange 

of medical and other health related information.
. 

17

8. Biometric transmission profiles

Biometric transmission profiles identified in Table 9 are intended to provide interoperability. Such profiles specify

application-specific criteria onto the base standard. Profiling could consist of establishing definitive values for performance 

related parameters in the base standard (e.g., resolution, maximum compression) or enumerating values for optional or 

conditional requirements (e.g., full-frontal face vs. token face in ISO/IEC 19794-5:2011).

Biometric profiles developed for USG applications should address, on a clause-by-clause basis, all normative requirements 

in base standards, and where appropriate:

― call out values of parameters (e.g., finger number);

― call out normative practice (e.g., encoding of core and delta positions in minutiae records);

― promote informative material to become normative requirements (e.g., maximum face image compression ratios);

― demote normative requirements if compliance would be problematic. Such a step shall be undertaken only after an

evidence-based justification can be established and documented. This practice should be undertaken with utmost 

caution because it breaks conformance to the standard, and may undermine interoperability.

Configurable elements of approved standards should be specified as part of requirements documents; furthermore, 

configurable elements should be based on operational needs of the implementations.

8.1 Proprietary data

Some of the base standards enumerated in this document include fields for additional proprietary data. A biometric profile 

should disallow population of these fields because proprietary data is non-interoperable and is likely to be used in 

preference to standardized data thereby subverting interoperability via vendor lock-in.

USG applications shall not use proprietary image or signal formats when a national or international standard exists for 

images or signals related to that biometric.

8.2 Proprietary extensions

USG applications should prohibit inclusion of proprietary data in standardized records that contain standardized data. 

Applications may embed proprietary templates, and achieve interoperability at the image-level.

8.3 Biometric Profiles and Data Models for Large Scale Identification Applications 

The biometric transmission profiles of Table 9 are specifications developed by federal and international organizations that

permit electronic communication with the specified system. These documents are not base standards but are critical 

because they define current (“as is”) technical requirements that facilitate interoperability.

The scope of biometric data sharing has expanded to encompass a wider range of operational scenarios that may call for 

customizable requirements not established in base standards. The biometric transmission profiles recommended above 

provide an adaptation, constraint, and/or augmentation of the ANSI/NIST-ITL standard to suit the needs of a particular 

community or an application domain. Since it should be noted that requirements can often change based on real-world 

events, the use of transmission profiles allows for organizations to more efficiently standardize data without changing the 

base standard. This flexibility in some instances may cause data to not be fully backwards compatible with legacy devices 

and vice versa. For example, files provided by systems which originate transactions may not be in a format supported by 

systems that receive transactions in different versions of the transmission profile are implemented. To ensure the latest 

requirements and capabilities have been implemented, system integrators are strongly encouraged to coordinate with host 

organizations prior to implementing recommended biometric transmission profiles. A detailed change log should be

included in each biometric transmission profile.
. 

18

Intended applicability Validity period Recommended Transmission 

Profiles

For sharing biometric and biographical data with 

the U.S. Government's intelligence community and 

law enforcement.

December 2009 – Present TWPDES 3.0

September 2008 – December 

2009

TWPDES 1.2b

For electronically communicating with the Criminal 

Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division.

December 2011 – Present FBI EBTS Version 9.3

January 2012 –Present FBI EBTS XML Version 3

May 2011 – December 2011 FBI EBTS Version 9.2

March 2010 – January 2012 FBI EBTS XML Version 2

May 2010 – May 2011 FBI EBTS Version 9.1

November 2009 – May 2010 FBI EBTS Version 9.0 

November 2008 – November 

2009

FBI EBTS Version 8.1 

Through

October 2007

FBI EFTS Version 7.1

For communicating electronically with and between 

DoD systems that capture biometric data and 

repositories of biometric data.

April 2013 – Present DoD EBTS v3.0;

and

DoD EBTS IDD v5.0;

and

DoD EBTS Baseline; 

Application Profile v1.0;

and

DoD EBTS IEPD v1.0;

June 2010 – April 2013 DoD EBTS v2.0

October 2007 – June 2010 DoD EBTS v1.2

For interfacing with one or more US-VISIT/IDENT 

messaging services. It describes the IDENT IXM 

messaging format and the specifications and rules 

for its use.

October 2012 – Present IDENT eXchange Messaging 

(IXM) version 6.0

June 2010 – October 2012 IDENT eXchange Messaging 

(IXM) version 5.0

For supplementing the ANSI/NIST-ITL standard for 

the guidance of members of the International 

Criminal Police Organization.

June 2010 – Present Interpol Implementation of 

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2007 (INT-Ib)

October 2005 – November 2010 Interpol Implementation of 

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2000 (INT-I)

Table 9 - Registry of Biometric Transmission Profiles

8.4 Terrorist Screening Center

The Terrorist Watchlist Person Data Exchange Standard (TWPDES) was developed by the intelligence community to 

exchange information about terrorists. TWPDES provides a comprehensive XML based standard for exchanging and sharing 

terrorist-related information with biometric and biographic support in a single package across the entire intelligence and 

law enforcement communities in the United States and internationally. It incorporates the ANSI/NIST-ITL 2-2008 standard’s 

format for the interchange of biometric information and is NIEM compliant. 

TWPDES 3.0, a minor upgrade to TWPDES 1.2b, is NIEM 2.0 compliant and supports all terrorist, screening and watchlisting 

requirements, and encounter scenarios in the communities. TWPDES 3.0 makes minor technical corrections and contains 

updated references to external standards including biometric descriptors. One of the goals of TWPDES is to provide not only 

biographic, but also biometric data for the communication of known and suspected terrorist (KST) information across the 

intelligence community, law enforcement and international communities, as appropriate. TWPDES 3.0 includes support for 

biometric identifiers at the person level, support for encounter reporting, including biometrics gathered in an encounter 

and a more robust watchlisting support. In addition, it is backwards compatible with TWPDES 1.2a and TWPDES 1.2b. The 

biometric sections of TWPDES 3.0 are compliant with the ANSI/NIST ITL 2-2008 biometric standard as approved on August 
. 

19

12, 2008. Users may constrain the standard to support only the specific requirements in the users’ domain. The 

specification also has built-in extension mechanisms that can be used for inter-agency terrorist-data exchange models. 

TWPDES 3.0 was approved December 2009 and has been accepted by Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), 

DHS, DoD and FBI.

8.5 Federal Bureau of Investigation

Prior to 2007, the Electronic Fingerprint Transmission Specification (EFTS 7.1) in conjunction with the ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2000 

standard was used to support the FBI‘s IAFIS system. Since then, the IAFIS has been enhanced with additional 

functionalities including new biometric modalities specified by the Next Generation Identification (NGI). To acknowledge 

additional processing capabilities and these new biometric modalities, the FBI Electronic Biometric Transmission 

Specification (EBTS 8.0) was introduced in September 2007. As NGI evolves over time, incremental enhancements are 

developed and installed. The FBI EBTS is being continually updated to keep pace with these newly installed NGI 

enhancements. In order to properly interface with the NGI, each revision is fully backward compatible with earlier revisions

and with the EFTS. The FBI EBTS’s scope continues to be expanded over previous versions to include additional biometric 

modalities (e.g., palmprint, face, and iris) in recognition of the rapidly developing biometric identification industry. This 

allows the FBI to move toward a capability that will facilitate multimodal biometric searching of its databases. FBI EBTS 9.3 

is the current version being used to interface with NGI. It inherits the basic requirements for logical records set forth in the 

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 standard. 

8.6 Department of Defense

The DoD Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification (EBTS) was developed by the BIMA Biometrics Standards Working 

Group as a biometric and contextual data transmission format standard for the exchange of biometric and contextual 

information within the DoD. The DoD ABIS is an electronic database and an associated set of software applications that 

support the storage, retrieval, searching and matching of biometric related data collected from persons of national security 

interest. Due to the mission of the DoD, additional operational requirements beyond those defined in the ANSI/NIST ITL are 

defined in the DoD standard. The DoD-unique capabilities are defined in the current version of the DoD EBTS.

Following extensive expert review and multiple revisions, the first widely distributed version of the DoD EBTS v1.2 was 

released by BIMA in November 2006. That document described a set of capabilities that were implemented in the DoD 

Biometric Enterprise as well as defining future capabilities. DoD EBTS version (v) 1.2 was based on the FBI Electronic 

Fingerprint Transmission Specification (EFTS) v7.0 and ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2000. Since the release of DoD EBTS v1.2, a number 

of events have shaped the release of a new version of the DoD EBTS v2.0:

 As biometric support for various DoD mission activities evolved, so have the requirements for a more flexible 

standard. As result, the scope of DoD biometric data collection and sharing has expanded to a wider range of 

operational scenarios through the use of DoD EBTS Application Profiles. This broader set of scenarios necessitated 

the use of a mechanism to tailor the DoD EBTS to individual applications. This mechanism called “Application 

Profiles” is an addition to the base DoD EBTS document. It is used to describe customizations for individual 

operational scenarios that make use of the DoD EBTS. 

 Data elements pertaining to biometric data collection and sharing have been defined in a Glossary, an Integrated

Data Dictionary, and a Data Model. All of the data elements used in the DoD EBTS v2.0 are defined in the 

Integrated Data Dictionary v2.2.1.

 The DoD ABIS evolved into the Next Generation ABIS (NG-ABIS), which provides additional functionality such as 

searching of iris images and face images. Additionally, the DoD EBTS needs to be usable for communications with

DoD biometric repositories in addition to DoD ABIS (or NG-ABIS).
. 

20

DoD Biometrics Identity Management Agency and the DoD Biometrics Standards Working Group released an updated

version of DoD EBTS to allow for additional capabilities and modalities. The DoD EBTS v3.0 is based on ANSI/NIST ITL 1-

2011; new functionality to DoD EBTS v3.0 adopted from ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 is as follows:

 Type-18 shall be used to exchange DNA and related data 

 Type-20 shall contain the source representation(s) from which other Record Types were derived

 Type-21 shall contain an associated context, audio/visual recording or other related data (i.e., pocket litter) 

 Type-98 shall contain security information that allows for the assurance of the authenticity and/or integrity of the 

transaction including such information as binary data hashes, attributes for audit or identification purposes and 

digital signatures

Additionally, DoD EBTS v3.0 relies on companion documents to be consistently implemented: such as the DoD EBTS 

Integrated Data Dictionary v5.0 which defines individual data elements, the DoD EBTS Baseline Application Profile which 

describes mandatory and optional fields for commonly used Types of Transactions (TOT), and Information Exchange 

Package Documentation for XML implementation. 

8.7 Department of Homeland Security 

The Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) Exchange Messages (IXM) Specification is the transmission profile 

required for communicating with the US-VISIT IDENT system. The IDENT database was developed in 1994 to support rapid 

identification of subjects for immigration purposes. Approximately 138 million unique individuals are enrolled in the IDENT 

database. 

IXM is an XML based message exchange format that provides an easy-to-manage, standards based interface to the services 

offered by US-VISIT. The specification was designed for high volume rapid transaction processing of biometric and 

biographic data, and leverages existing data standards and data exchange models. IXM v5.0 and earlier versions also 

supports binary data transmission using existing Web services specifications and technology.

IXM v5.0 and earlier versions of the specification are based on the Global Justice XML Data Model (GJXDM) and the 

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2000 standard. 

IXM v6.0 was developed to support additional modalities and services, and is conformant with ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 and 

NIEM v2.1 design rules. As a NIEM-based version, IXM v6.0 is not backward compatible with prior versions, which are based 

on the GJXDM data model. However conversion from IXM v5.0 to IXM v6.0 can be accomplished via straightforward 

syntactic translations using common XML tools. Unlike previous versions, IXM v6.0 does not support the binary coded form 

of the FBI EBTS as an embedded attachment to IXM messages. 

US-VISIT is collaborating with the FBI and DOD to achieve and maintain full interoperability between US VISIT systems, the 

FBI’s IAFIS and the DOD ABIS system. US-VISIT will continue to support legacy transmission profiles as required for other 

stakeholders.

9. Biometric identity credentialing profiles

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD - 12), dated August 27, 2004, entitled “Policy for a Common 

Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors,” directed the promulgation of a Federal standard for secure 

and reliable forms of identification for Federal employees and contractors. It further specified secure and reliable 

identification that—

- Is issued based on sound criteria for verifying an individual employee’s identity 
. 

21

- Is strongly resistant to identity fraud, tampering, counterfeiting, and terrorist exploitation 

- Can be rapidly authenticated electronically 

- Is issued only by providers whose reliability has been established by an official accreditation process.

The directive stipulates that standards include graduated criteria, from least secure to most secure, to ensure flexibility in 

selecting the appropriate level of security for each application. 

Intended applicability Validity period Recommended Credentialing Profiles

Specifies the architecture and technical requirements for a 

common identification standard for Federal employees and 

contractors.

October 2007 --

Present

FIPS 201-1, 2006: Personal Identity 

Verification (PIV) of Federal 

Employees and Contractors.

Describes technical acquisition and formatting specifications 

for the biometric credentials of the PIV system, including the 

PIV Card itself.

October 2007 --

Present

NIST SP-800-76-1, 2007

Fosters a fully-interoperable, vendor-neutral Registered 

Traveler (RT) program within the United States.

April 2008 --

Present

Registered Traveler Interoperability 

Consortium

Technical Interoperability

Specification Version 1.7

April 15, 2008

March 2008—

April 2008

Registered Traveler Interoperability 

Consortium

Technical Interoperability

Specification Version 1.6

March 10, 2008

December 2007 

– March 2008

Registered Traveler Interoperability 

Consortium

Technical Interoperability

Specification Version 1.5

December 21, 2007

Specifies the behavior at the card interface of the TWIC card 

application as well as the requirements for TWIC readers, 

both fixed and portable, to be used with the Transportation 

Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)

May 2008 -

Present

TWIC Reader Hardware and Card 

Application Specification, Version 

1.1.1 May 2008

October 2007 –

May 2008

TWIC Reader Hardware and Card 

Application Specification, Version 1 

September 2007

Specifies the usage of inter-industry commands and data 

objects related to personal verification through biometric

methods

October 2007 -

Present

ISO/IEC 7816-11:2004

Table 10 - Registry of Identity Credentialing Profiles

The FIPS 201 standard specifies the architecture and technical requirements for a common identification standard for all US 

Government employees and contractors. It contains two major sections. Part one describes the requirements for a 

personal identity verification system that meets the control and security objectives of Homeland Security Presidential 

Directive 12, including personal identity proofing, registration, and issuance. Part two provides detailed specifications that 

will support technical interoperability among PIV systems. It describes the card elements, system interfaces, and security 

controls required to securely store, process, and retrieve identity credentials from the card. The interfaces and data 

formats of biometric information are specified in NIST Special Publication 800-76-1, Biometric Data Specification for 

Personal Identity Verification.

The TWIC Reader Hardware and Card Application Specification leverages FIPS 201. For all transportation workers requiring 

unescorted physical access to national facilities, the TWIC design defines the behavior at the card interface of the TWIC card 

application as well as the requirements for TWIC card readers to be used with the TWIC. TWICs are tamper-resistant 
. 

22

biometric credentials issued to workers who require unescorted access to secure areas of ports, vessels, outer continental 

shelf facilities and all credentialed merchant mariners.

Similarly the Registered Traveler Technical Interoperability Specification leveraged the FIPS 201 standard to specify the 

identify management infrastructure requirements for a fully-interoperable, vendor-neutral RT program within the United 

States. After TSA’s pilot ended in July 2008, all RT service providers were obligated to follow data security standards to 

continue offering service. Each service provider's use of data, however, is regulated under its own privacy policy and by its 

relationship with its customers and sponsoring airport or airline.

The DoD Common Access Card (CAC) is a card about the size of a credit card. It serves as the standard identification for 

active-duty military personnel, selected reserve, DoD civilian employees, and eligible contractor personnel to enable 

physical access to buildings and controlled spaces, and enables access to defense computer networks and systems. The 

Uniformed Services Identification Card is for military retiree or military family members to access military service benefits 

or privileges. 

10. Biometric technical interface standards

The biometric technical interface standards listed in Table 11 shall be used in all USG applications for biometric systems that 

include “plug and play” capability. This permits agencies to easily, rapidly and seamlessly integrate system components into 

functioning systems and swap components as needed without losing functionality, such as the ability to achieve data 

interchange and to protect the biometric data during transmission and storage.

The BioAPI standards (ISO/IEC 19784 series and INCITS 358) support “plug and play” compatibility by specifying how 

applications communicate with biometric vendor software in a common way independent of the biometric modality. This 

supports the swapping of products and the incorporation of new products with no application modification.

Intended applicability Validity period Recommended Standard(s)

Establishes the framework for plug and play functionality 

in client-side capture and verification (e.g., enrollment 

workstation, kiosk) or server-side verification for one-toone and multi-biometric applications. This is not 

applicable for embedded systems.

October 2007 –

Present

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19784-1:2006 

[2007]

October 2007 –

November 2010

INCITS 358-2002

Defines the interface between a biometric service 

provider (BSP) and a biometric archive function provider 

(BAFP) for BioAPI.

October 2007 –

Present

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19784-2:2007

[2008]

Specifies a biometric sensor interface for a Biometric 

Service Provider

December 2011 –

Present

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19784-4:2011 

[2011]

Defines a basic structure for standardized biometric 

information records (BIRs) that consists of three parts, 

the standard biometric header (SBH), the biometric data 

block (BDB), and the security block (SB)

October 2007 –

Present

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19785-1:2006

[2008]

Support for additional data elements in 19785-1 October 2010 –

Present 

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19785-

1:2006/Amd 1:2010

[2010]

Specifies several patron formats that conform to the 

requirements of ISO/IEC 19785-1

October 2007 –

Present

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19785-3:2007

[2008]

Support for additional data elements in 19785-3 October 2010 –

Present

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19785-

3:2007/Amd 1:2010

[2010]

Specifies a common set of data elements necessary to 

support multiple biometric technologies and to promote 

October 2008 –

Present

INCITS 398-2008

# Name Domain
. 

23

Intended applicability Validity period Recommended Standard(s)

interoperability of biometric-based application programs 

and systems by allowing for biometric data exchange.

1 Patron 

Format A

General 

purpose

2 BioAPI BIR BioAPI 

Interfaces

3 ICAO LDS e-Passports / 

MRTDs

4 PIV PIV

5 ANSI/NIST 

Type 99

Other 

modalities

6 Patron 

Format B

Complex 

structures

October 2007 –

October 2008

INCITS 398-2005

Specifies biometric services for identity assurance that 

are invoked over a services-based framework

December 2011 –

Present

INCITS 442-2010

December 2008 –

December 2011

INCITS 442-2008

Provides a common, yet flexible, Web services interface 

that can be used within both closed and open SOA 

systems.

May 2012 – Present BIAS SOAP Profile version 1, 

May 2012

Table 11 - Registry of Biometric Technical Interfaces

The CBEFF standard (INCITS 398) specifies data structures that support multiple biometric technologies in a common way. 

CBEFF's data structures, termed Biometric Information Records (BIRs), conform to a CBEFF Patron Format that allows for 

exchange of biometric data and related metadata (e.g., time stamp, validity period, and creator); moreover, it supports

security of biometric data in an open systems environment. While the current recommended CBEFF standard is INCITS 398-

2005 for FIPS 201-1, 2006 and ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011(Type-99), this standard has been withdrawn and is no longer being 

maintained by INCITS. Additionally, the FIPS 201 standard states that PIV cards shall adopt certain defined constants from 

ISO/IEC 19785-3:2007 for on-card matching. NIST has developed the Conformance Test Suite (CTS) for “Patron Format A”

data structures specified in INCITS 398-2008 to help users determine whether binary file implementations of BIRs based on 

this Patron Format conform to the standard. The International Biometrics and Identification Association (IBIA) recognizes 

both ISO/IEC 19785-1 and INCITS 398-2005 CBEFF versions. It should be noted that INCITS 398-2005 is not backwards 

compatible with enhanced revisions. 

The Biometric Identity Assurance Services (BIAS) standard defines biometric services used for identity assurance that are 

invoked over a services-based framework. It is intended to provide a generic set of biometric and identity-related functions 

and associated data definitions to allow remote access to biometric services. The BIAS SOAP Profile is a specific 

implementation (or binding) of INCITS 442-2010, which defines the requirements for BIAS operations and data elements 

that can be implemented using any encoding scheme or messaging protocol. The BIAS SOAP Profile defines a conformant 

implementation. These SOAP-based services enable a software application (requester) to invoke biometric identity 

assurance operations provided by a local or remote BIAS service provider (responder).

11. Biometric conformance testing methodology standards

Conformance testing methodology standards may specify physical test requirements, logical test requirements (e.g., test 

assertions, test cases), use of reference data, test reporting formats, and means of testing requirements. Such standards 

can serve as the basis for the development of test tools (e.g., executable test code, reference data) and reference 

implementations, which can be used by organizations operating conformance testing programs.

For data interchange standards, the
. 

24

― LEVEL 1 TESTING – in a data interchange standard, a conformance testing methodology that checks field by field and 

byte by byte conformance with the specification of the BDIR as specified in the standard, both in terms of fields 

included and the ranges of the values in those fields [ISO/IEC 19794-1:2011]

NOTE This type of testing tests morphological requirements of the base standard.

― LEVEL 2 TESTING - conformance testing methodology that tests the internal consistency of the BDIR under test, relating 

values from one part or field of the BDIR to values from other parts or fields of the BDIR [ISO/IEC 19794-1:2011]

NOTE This type of testing tests syntactic requirements of the base standard.

― LEVEL 3 TESTING - conformance testing methodology that tests that a BDIR is a faithful representation of the BDIR 

subject to the constraints of the parameters in the metadata records [ISO/IEC 19794-1:2011]

NOTE This type of testing tests semantic requirements of the base standard.

The biometric conformance testing methodology standards listed in Table 12 should be considered for all test runs, 

commissioned or otherwise sponsored by USG agencies.

Intended applicability Validity period Recommended Standard(s)

Specifies criteria for ensuring the image quality of fingerprint 

scanners and printers that input fingerprint images to, or 

generate fingerprint images from within, the Integrated 

Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS).

December 2011 -

Present

FBI EBTS Version 9.3, 

Appendix F

September 2007 –

December 2011

FBI EBTS Version 8.1, 

Appendix F

Specifies conformance testing of Biometric Service Provider (BSP) 

implementations claiming conformance to critical requirements 

specified in INCITS/ISO/IEC 19784-1:2006[2007] (BioAPI 2.0)

October 2007 –

Present

INCITS/ISO/IEC 24709-

1:2007[2009]

Specifies test assertions for testing conformance of BSPs of all 

conformance subclasses.

October 2007 –

Present

INCITS/ISO/IEC 24709-

2:2007[2009]

Defines a number of test assertions written in the assertion 

language specified in ISO/IEC 24709-1:2007. These assertions 

enable a user of ISO/IEC 24709-3:2011 (such as a testing 

laboratory) to test the conformance to ISO/IEC 19784-1 (BioAPI 

2.0) of any BioAPI Framework that claims to be a conforming 

implementation of ISO/IEC 19784-1. Each test assertion specified 

in ISO/IEC 24709-3:2011 exercises one or more features of an 

implementation under test.

December 2011 –

Present

ISO/IEC 24709-3:2011

Specifies generalized conformance testing methodologies for 1st

Generation 19794 Data interchange records.

December 2009 –

Present

INCITS/ISO/IEC 29109-

1:2009[2010]

Conformance testing methodology for INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-

5:2005[2007] when using 2D.

December 2010 –

Present

ISO/IEC 29109-5:2012

Specifies generalized conformance testing methodologies for 2nd

Generation 19794 Data interchange records.

December 2011 –

Present

ISO/IEC 19794-1 AMD 

1:2011

Methodology Standard for Biometric Data Interchange Format 

Standards – Part 1: Generalized Conformance Testing 

Methodology for INCITS data interchange records

October 2007 –

July 2012

INCITS 423.1-2008

Specifies conformance testing of application(s) or service(s) 

implementations claiming conformance to the INCITS 378-2004 

standard.

October 2007 –

July 2012

INCITS 423.2-2008

Specifies conformance testing of application(s) or service(s) 

implementations claiming conformance to the INCITS standard 

INCITS 398:2008.

December 2011 –

Present

INCITS 473-2011

Table 12 - Registry of Conformance Testing Methodologies

While conformance of individual elements of data interchange records to relevant requirements can be determined, no test 

can be absolutely comprehensive and prove that a given system generating or using biometric data interchange records is 
. 

25

conformant under all possible circumstances, especially when there are optional components of the standard. A well 

designed conformance test can, however, test all of the most likely sources of problems and ensure that the

implementation under test conforms under a reasonable set of circumstances, giving assurance, but not a guarantee, of 

conformance.

NOTE Conformance testing methodologies for 19794 Data interchange Formats 19794-x of second (2G) generation 

standards are currently under development. The trend is to merge conformance criteria and methodologies into the base

standards.

12. Biometric performance testing methodology standards

The biometric performance testing methodology standards listed in Table 13 should be considered for all tests run, 

commissioned or otherwise sponsored by USG agencies.

Use of the standards does not restrict testing laboratories from conducting additional activities or using different practices. 

The standards are therefore suitable for agencies sponsoring tests in experimental or developmental applications.

Intended applicability Validity period Recommended Standard(s)

Present the requirements and best scientific practices for

conducting technical performance testing

October 2007 – Present INCITS/ISO/IEC 19795-

1:2005[2007]

Defines "technology" and "scenario" evaluations October 2007 – Present INCITS/ISO/IEC 19795-

2:2007[2009]

Describes the methodologies relating to these modalitydependent variations. It presents and defines methods for 

determining, given a specific biometric modality, how to 

develop a technical performance test

October 2007 – Present ISO/IEC TR 19795-3:2007

Prescribes methods for technology and scenario 

evaluations of multi-supplier biometric systems that use 

biometric data conforming to biometric data interchange 

format standards

December 2008 – Present INCITS/ISO/IEC 19795-4:2008

Specifies a framework for testing and a grading scheme 

for reporting the performance of a biometric system 

suitable for use in access control applications

January 2011 – Present INCITS/ISO/IEC 19795-5:2011

Specifies metrics and provides guidance on the 

operational testing for biometric systems

July 2012 – Present INCITS/ISO/IEC 19795-6:2012

Testing of On-Card biometric comparison algorithms November 2011 – Present INCITS/ISO/IEC 19795-7:2011

Table 13 - Registry of Performance Testing Methodologies

Testing a biometric system will involve the collection of input images or signals, which are used for template generation at 

enrollment and for calculation of matching scores for verification or identification attempts. The images/signals collected 

can either be used immediately for an online enrollment, verification or identification attempt, or may be stored and used 

later for offline enrollment, verification or identification.

In a technology evaluation, testing of all algorithms is carried out on a standardized corpus, ideally collected by a

“universal” sensor (i.e. a sensor that collects samples equally suitable for all algorithms tested). Performance against this 

corpus will depend on both the environment and the population in which it is collected. Prior to technology tests example 

data may be distributed for developmental or tuning purposes. Actual testing needs to be done on data that has not 

previously been seen by algorithm developers, and is carried out using offline processing of the data. Because the corpus is

fixed, the results of technology tests are repeatable.

In a scenario evaluation, testing is carried out on a complete system in an environment that models a real-world target 

application of interest. Each tested system will have its own acquisition sensor and so will receive slightly different data. 

Consequently, if multiple systems are being compared, care will be required that data collection across all tested systems is 
. 

26

in the same environment with the same population. Depending on the data storage capabilities of each device, testing 

might be a combination of offline and online comparisons. Test results will be repeatable only to the extent that the 

modeled scenario can be carefully controlled.

In an operational evaluation, depending on the data storage capabilities of the operational system, offline testing might not 

be possible. In general, operational test results will not be repeatable because of unknown and undocumented differences 

between operational environments. Furthermore, “ground truth” (i.e. who was actually presenting a “good faith” biometric 

measure) can be difficult to ascertain, particularly if an operational evaluation is performed under unsupervised conditions 

without an administrator, operator or observer present.

13. References

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST) have provided funds to purchase single use licenses for fifteen of the copyrighted 

standards cited in the Registry. These licensed standards are being made available to U.S. Government workers (i.e., U.S. 

Government employees or U.S. Government contractors) whose names and email addresses have been provided to NIST by 

their respective U.S. agency. This nomination can be done by one of your agency representatives on the NSTC 

Subcommittee on Biometrics and Identity Management. If you are not presently included on the NIST listing of eligible 

recipients, please have your agency submit (or resubmit) your name and email address to NIST so that you can access these 

standards. If you don't know your agency representatives on the NSTC Subcommittee on Biometrics and Identity 

Management, please contact us at: incits@nist.gov . For a full listing of the fifteen available standards visit the NIST 

webpage at: http://www.nist.gov/itl/incits.cfm

1. ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-

2011

Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Face, & Other Biometric Information – Part 1. 

Published as NIST Special Publication 500-2290, November 2011. 

http://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/ig/ansi_standard.cfm

2. ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-

2007

Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Face, & Other Biometric Information – Part 1. 

Published as NIST Special Publication 500-271, May 2007. 

http://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/ig/ansi_standard.cfm

3. ANSI/NIST-ITL 1a 

2009

Amendment to ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2007 establishing code for multi-finger impressions.

http://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/ig/ansi_standard.cfm

4. ANSI/NIST-ITL 2-

2008

Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Face, & Other Biometric Information – Part 2: 

XML Version, Published as a NIST Special Publication 500-275, August 2008

http://www.nist.gov/itl/iad/ig/ansi_standard.cfm

5. DoD EBTS DoD Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification (EBTS) 

http://www.biometrics.dod.mil/CurrentInitiatives/Standards/dodebts.aspx

6. DoD EBTS IDD

v5.0

DoD Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification (EBTS) Integrated Data Dictionary version 

5.0, December 2011

http://www.biometrics.dod.mil/CurrentInitiatives/Standards/dodebts.aspx

7. DoD EBTS XML 

IEPD

DoD Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification (EBTS) Information Exchange Package 

Documentation

http://www.biometrics.dod.mil/CurrentInitiatives/Standards/dodebts.aspx

8. FBI EBTS FBI Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification (EBTS)

https://www.fbibiospecs.org/ebts.html

9. FBI EBTS XML IEPD FBI Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification (EBTS) Information Exchange Package 

Documentation

https://www.fbibiospecs.org/ebts.html

10. FIPS 201-1, 2006 Personal Identity Verification for Federal Employees and Contractors

http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/fips/fips201-1/FIPS-201-1-chng1.pdf

11. HSPD -12 Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors
. 

27

http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/laws/gc_1217616624097.shtm

12. ICAO 9303 Part 1 - Machine Readable Passport - Volume 2 Specifications for Electronically Enabled 

Passports with Biometric Identification Capabilities

http://www.icao.int/Security/mrtd/Pages/default.aspx

SUPPLEMENT to Doc 9303, Version: Release 8, March 19, 2010

13.. INCITS 358 INCITS 358:2002 [R2007] - American National Standard for Information Technology – The BioAPI 

Specification http://webstore.ansi.org/

14. INCITS 378 INCITS 378-2004 - American National Standard for Information Technology — Finger Minutiae 

Format for Data Interchange http://webstore.ansi.org/

15. INCITS 381 INCITS 381-2004 - American National Standard for Information Technology — Finger ImageBased Data Interchange Format. http://webstore.ansi.org/

16. INCITS 398 INCITS 398-2008 - Common Biometric Exchange Formats Framework (CBEFF)

http://webstore.ansi.org/

17. INCITS 423.1 INCITS 423.1-2008 - Conformance testing Methodology Standard for Biometric Data 

Interchange Format Standards – Part 1: Generalized Conformance Testing Methodology

http://webstore.ansi.org/

18. INCITS 423.2 INCITS 423.2-2008 - Conformance testing Methodology Standard for Biometric Data 

Interchange Format Standards - Part 2: Conformance Testing, Finger Minutiae 

http://webstore.ansi.org/

19. INCITS 442 INCITS 442-2010 - Biometric Identity Assurance Services (BIAS) 

http://webstore.ansi.org/

20. INT-I ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2000 Date Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Face & SMT Information 

INTERPOL Implementation, Version No. 4.22b - October 28, 2005

https://www.interpol.int/Public/Forensic/Fingerprints/RefDoc/default.asp

21. INT-Ib INTERPOL Implementation Version 5 (ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2000) , The INTERPOL AFIS Expert Group

Version 5.0 – Oct 23, 2008 

https://www.interpol.int/Public/Forensic/Fingerprints/RefDoc/default.asp

22. ISO/IEC 15948 ISO/IEC 15948:2004 Computer graphics and image processing – Portable Network Graphics 

(PNG): Functional specification.

http://webstore.ansi.org/

23. ISO/IEC 19784-1 INCITS/ISO/IEC 19784-1:2006[2007] BioAPI – Biometric Application Programming Interface –

Part 1: BioAPI Specification

http://webstore.ansi.org/

24. ISO/IEC 19784-

5/Amd 1

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19784- 1:2006/AM1 -2007 [2008 ], Information technology - BioAPI - Biometric

Application Programming Interface - Part 1: BioAPI Specification - Amendment 1: BioGUI

specification

25. ISO/IEC 19784-2 INCITS/ISO/IEC 19784-2:2007[2008] Biometric Application Programming Interface (BioAPI) –

Part 2: Biometric Archive Function Provider Interface

http://webstore.ansi.org/

26. ISO/IEC 19784-1, 

Amd. 1

19784-1:2006, Amd. 1:2007 [2008] - Information technology - Biometric application 

programming interface – Part 1: BioAPI specification – Amendment 1:2007

– BioAPI GUI specification

http://webstore.ansi.org/

27. ISO/IEC 19784-1, 

Amd. 2

19784-1:2006, Amd. 2:2009 [2009] - - Information technology - Biometric application 

programming interface – Part 1: BioAPI specification – Amendment 2: Framework-free BioAPI

http://webstore.ansi.org/

28. ISO/IEC 19784-1, 

Amd. 3

19784-1:2006, Amd. 3:2010 - Information technology -Biometric application programming 

interface – Part 1: BioAPI specification – Amendment 3: Support for interchange of certificates 

and security assertions, and other security aspects

http://webstore.ansi.org/
. 

28

29. ISO/IEC 19794-2 INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-2:2005[2008] — Information technology — Biometric data interchange 

formats — Part 2: Finger minutiae data. 

http://webstore.ansi.org/

ISO/IEC 19794-2:2005/Cor.1:2007 — Information technology — Biometric data interchange 

formats — Part 2: Finger minutiae data – Technical Corrigendum 1 

30. ISO/IEC 19794-4 INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-4:2005[2007] — Information technology — Biometric data interchange 

formats — Part 4: Finger image data. 

http://webstore.ansi.org/

31. ISO/IEC 19794-5 INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005[2007] — Information technology — Biometric data interchange 

formats — Part 5: Face image data. 

http://webstore.ansi.org/

32. ISO/IEC 19794-

5/AMD 1

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-5: 2005/Amd 1:2007 [2009] — Information Technology — Biometric Data 

Interchange Formats — Part 5: Face Image Data - Amendment 1 - Conditions for Taking 

Photographs for Face Image Data. 

http://webstore.ansi.org/

33. ISO/IEC 19794-6 INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-6:2005[2007] - Information technology — Biometric data interchange 

formats — Part 6: Iris image data.

http://webstore.ansi.org/

34. ISO/IEC 19795-1 INCITS/ISO/IEC 19795:2005[2007] - Biometric Performance Testing and Reporting – Part 1: 

Principles and Framework

http://webstore.ansi.org/

35. ISO/IEC 19795-2 INCITS/ISO/IEC 19795-2:2007[2009] - Biometric Performance Testing and Reporting – Part 2: 

Testing Methodologies for Technology and Scenario evaluations

http://webstore.ansi.org/

36. ISO/IEC 19795-3 ISO/IEC TR 19795:2007 - Biometric Performance Testing and Reporting – Part 3: ModalitySpecific Testing

http://webstore.ansi.org/

37. ISO/IEC 19795-4 INCITS/ISO/IEC 19795-4:2008 [2009] - Biometric Performance Testing and Reporting – Part 4: 

Interoperability Performance Testing

http://webstore.ansi.org/

38. ISO/IEC 24709-1 INCITS/ISO/IEC 24709-1:2007[2009] - Information technology -- Conformance testing for the 

biometric application programming interface (BioAPI) -- Part 1: Methods and procedures

http://webstore.ansi.org/

39. ISO/IEC 24709-2 INCITS/ISO/IEC 24709-2:2007[2009] - Information technology -- Conformance testing for the 

biometric application programming interface (BioAPI) -- Part 2: Test assertions for biometric 

service providers

http://webstore.ansi.org/

40. ISO/IEC 24713-1 ISO/IEC 24713-1:2008 - Biometric Profiles for Interoperability and Data Interchange – Part 1: 

Overview of Biometric Systems and Biometric Profiles

http://webstore.ansi.org/

41. IXM v2.0 Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) Exchange Messages

(IXM) Specification – v2.0, September 7, 2007, IDENT-TO007-MAN-IXMTSP-004-D.

42. IXM v3.1 Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) Exchange Messages

(IXM) Specification – v3.1, November 26, 2008, IDENT-TO007-MAN-IXMTSP-004-D

http://www.biometrics.gov/standards/IXM_Spec_3_1.pdf

43. IXM 5.0 Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) Exchange Messages

(IXM) Specification – v5.0

http://www.biometrics.gov/standards

44. JPEG 2000 ISO/IEC 15444-1:2004 - Information technology - JPEG 2000 image coding system - Part 1: Core 

coding system

http://webstore.ansi.org/
. 

29

45. MINEX04 P. Grother et al., Performance and Interoperability of the INCITS 378 Template, NISTIR 7296

http://fingerprint.nist.gov/minex04/minex_report.pdf

46. MITRE1000 Margaret Lepley, Profile for 1000ppi Fingerprint compression, Version 1.1 April 2004. Mitre 

Technical Report 04B0000022. http://www.fbibiospecs.org/fbibiometric/docs/J2K1000.pdf

47. NIEM National Information Exchange Model

https://www.niem.gov/Pages/default.aspx

48. NIST SP 800-76-1 NIST Special Publication 800-76-1, Biometric Data Specification for Personal Identity 

Verification, Revision 1, January 24, 2007

http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-76-1/SP800-76-1_012407.pdf

49. NSPD – 59/HSPD -

24

National Security Presidential Directive and Homeland Security Presidential

Directive http://www.biometrics.gov/Documents/NSPD59%20HSPD24.pdf

50. RTIC Registered Traveler Interoperability Consortium (RTIC), Technical Interoperability Specification, 

Version 1.7, April 15, 2008.

http://www.rtconsortium.org/_docpost/RTICTIGSpec_v1.7.pdf

51. TWIC TWIC Reader Hardware and Card Application Specification, May 30, 2008.

http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/TWICReaderHardwareandCardApplicationSpecification.pdf

52. TWPDES Terrorist Watchlist Person Data Exchange Standard, Version 3.0. 

https://www.niem.gov/documentsdb/Documents/Technical/TWPDES_3_final.zip

53. WSQv3.1 WSQ Gray-Scale Fingerprint Image Compression Specification, IAFIS-IC-0110(V3.1), October 04, 

2010.

https://www.fbibiospecs.org/docs/WSQ_Gray-scale_Specification_Version_3_1_Final.pdf

Table 14 - Reference of Standards