Registry of USG 

Recommended Biometric 

Standards

Version 5.0

September, 2014

White House National Science and Technology Council
. 

2

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............................................................................................................... 9

6. Registry concepts and standards nomenclature............................................................................... 10

7. Biometric data collection, storage, and exchange standards........................................................... 12

7.1 Friction ridge imagery .................................................................................................................... 14

7.2 Friction ridge features.................................................................................................................... 15

7.3 Face images.................................................................................................................................... 17

7.3.1 2D imagery in visible light .......................................................................................................... 17

7.3.2 Forensic markups....................................................................................................................... 19

7.3.3 2D imagery using light outside the visible range ....................................................................... 20

7.3.4 3D imagery ................................................................................................................................. 20

7.4 Scars, Marks and Tattoo ................................................................................................................ 21

7.5 Iris images...................................................................................................................................... 21

7.6 DNA ................................................................................................................................................ 22

7.7 Patterned injuries .......................................................................................................................... 23

7.8 Forensic dental (odontology)......................................................................................................... 23

7.9 Cheiloscopy (lip prints) .................................................................................................................. 24

7.10 Other body part imagery ............................................................................................................... 25

7.11 Forensic and investigatory voice ................................................................................................... 25

7.12 Video .............................................................................................................................................. 26

8. Biometric transmission profiles......................................................................................................... 26

8.1 Proprietary data............................................................................................................................. 27

8.2 Proprietary extensions................................................................................................................... 27

8.3 Biometric Profiles and Data Models for Large Scale Identification Applications.......................... 27

8.4 Terrorist Screening Center............................................................................................................. 29

8.5 Federal Bureau of Investigation..................................................................................................... 30

8.6 Department of Defense ................................................................................................................. 30

8.7 Department of Homeland Security................................................................................................ 31

9. Biometric identity credentialing profiles........................................................................................... 32
. 

3

10. Biometric technical interface standards........................................................................................ 34

11. Biometric conformance testing methodology standards.............................................................. 36

12. Biometric performance testing methodology standards.............................................................. 38

13. References ..................................................................................................................................... 39
. 

4

1. Introduction

On behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy this Registry of USG1

Recommended Biometric Standards was developed through a collaborative, interagency process and 

approved by the NSTC. 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 Biometric Standards and Conformity Assessment Working Group (BSCA WG) is tasked to develop 

and update the Registry as necessary. The BSCA WG reviews the content of this document, and 

releases updated versions as required to assist agencies in implementing and enforcing the use of 

biometric standards to promote interoperability and meet agency-specific mission needs. The 

approved version of this document is available on the NSTC web site www.biometrics.gov

The maintenance of this Registry is supported by USG agencies providing appropriate personnel and 

resources to participate in the BSCA WG activities. Federal agencies identifying issues with this 

Registry should notify their USG representatives to the BSCA WG Group.

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.

2. Scope 

This Registry lists recommended biometric standards for USG-wide use. Only standards published and 

approved by a standards setting or developing organization are eligible for recognition and registration 

in this document by the BSCA WG. Inclusion of a standard in this Registry represents consensus

agreement of USG agencies through the 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 legacy and current implementations as well as new implementations;

― the movement to international versions from national standards; and,

― the use of biometric characteristics for forensic applications.

All amendments, supplements and corrigenda are included as part of the recommended biometric 

standard.

 1 USG stands for United States Government.
. 

5

Along with the 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 agency-specific 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 

or additional categories are approved by the standards developing organizations and adopted for USGwide use.

These biometric standards in this Registry govern the use of biometric characteristics for both 

automated (biometric) applications, as well as partially or non-automated (forensic) applications.

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.

― application profile is conforming subsets or combinations of one or more base standards and/ or 

profiles necessary to accomplish particular functions specific to the application and its domain of 

use. 
. 

6

― 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.

― base standard - a generic standard containing options that may be profiled for application-specific 

purposes [Source: ISO/IEC 24713-1:2008]. Base standards can be used in diverse applications. For a 

specific application, it may be useful to construct a profile that specifies or restricts values and 

practices from the options in a base standard. The aim of such a profile is to achieve 

interoperability for a specific application. 

― 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]]

― best practice recommendations – documents that describe processes and procedures that, if 

followed, will assist in ensuring the integrity and usefulness of biometric data

― biometric data interchange record (BDIR) - data package containing biometric data that claims to 

be in the form prescribed by a base standard

If the BDIR is encapsulated in a Common Biometric Exchange Formats Framework (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.

― certification - third-party attestation related to products, processes, systems or persons [Source: 

ISO/IEC 17000:2004]

* Certification of a management system is sometimes also called registration.

* Certification is applicable to all objects of conformity assessment except for conformity 

assessment bodies themselves, to which accreditation is applicable.

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

conformity assessment, according to a procedure

― 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]

― exemplar – In earlier versions of this Registry, this term meant the friction ridge prints of an 

individual, associated with a known or claimed identity, and deliberately recorded directly from an 

individual -- whether electronically, by ink, or by another medium (also called 'known prints'). This 

term has now been expanded in this document to include other images taken directly from an 

individual (such as lip prints).
. 

7

― 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.

― 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.

― latent print - In earlier versions of this Registry, this term meant an impression or image of friction 

ridge skin left on a surface. It has now been expanded to include other impressions or images left 

by other body parts, such as lips prints on a surface or entire footprints in mud or impressions of 

teeth in a substance such as chewing gum. In other words, the biometric print is retrieved from an 

object or other person and not directly from the subject. 

― 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. 

― performance testing - measures the performance characteristics of an implementation such as 

system error rates, throughput, or responsiveness, sometimes under various conditions

― profile - conforming subsets or combinations of base standards used to effect specific functions 

[Source: ISO/IEC 24713-1:2008] Profiles define specific values or conditions from the range of 

options described in the relevant base standard(s), with the aim of supporting the interchange of 

data between applications and the interoperability of systems. [Source: ISO/IEC 24713-1:2008]

― 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

― 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

― 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

― 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] 
. 

8

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

― 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

― simple object access protocol - A formal set of conventions governing the format and processing of 

XML for implementation of web services. 

― standard – a 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]

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

standards

Such organizations may be: 

• accredited, such as American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited InterNational 

Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) and ANSI accredited National 

Institute of Standards and Technology – Information Technology Laboratory (NIST-ITL);

• international treaty based, such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), 

which is a specialized agency of the United Nations;

• international private sector based, such as International Organization for Standardization / 

International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC);

• a consortium, such as Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information 

Standards (OASIS); or,

• a government agency, such as the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland 

Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Institute of Standards and 

Technology.

― standards setting organization - any entity whose primary activities are developing, coordinating, 

promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpreting, or otherwise maintaining standards that 

address the interests of a wide base of users outside the standards development organization.
. 

9

― technology evaluation - the offline evaluation of one or more algorithms for the same biometric 

modality using a pre-existing 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.

― template - encoded representation of features extracted from a sample suitable for direct 

comparison

― 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]

5. Acronyms and abbreviations

ABIS Automated Biometric Identification System

ADA American Dental Association

ANSI American National Standards Institute

BIAS Biometric Identity Assurance Services

BioAPI Biometric Application Programming Interface

BIR Biometric Information Record

BSP Biometric Service Provider

CBEFF Common Biometric Exchange Formats Framework

DFBA Defense Forensics and Biometrics Agency

DHS Department of Homeland Security

DICOM Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine

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
. 

10

NEMA National Electrical Manufacturers Association

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

OASIS Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information 

Standards

OBIM Office of Biometrics and Identity Management

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

WSQ Wavelet Scalar Quantization

XML Extensible Markup Language

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 and is usually an attended operation. The capture may be from a cooperative, noncooperative or uncooperative subject. 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:

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

11

― 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.

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

When references in this Registry are to ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, they are also valid for later updates to 

that version, such as ANSI/NIST_ITL 1-2011 Update: 2013. When a specific Update is mentioned, that 

is because the specific capability referred to did not exist prior to that Update (such as forensic dental 

data)

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

 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.
. 

12

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

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;

― voice recognition;

― cheiloscopy (lip prints);

― patterned injury imagery;

― forensic dental and other identifying medical and physical characteristics; and

― associated metadata for all of the above.

Standards for other biometric modalities have been approved by the various standards setting or 

developing organizations; however they are not listed here because the imperative for development of 

this Registry is ongoing or anticipated multi-agency or USG-wide applications. For parties seeking to 

collect, store and exchange data from biometric modalities not covered by this Registry, they have the 

option of using standards approved by national or international standards setting or developing 

 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.
. 

13

organizations. It should be noted that the ANSI/NIST-ITL standard explicitly allows the transmission of 

data conforming to those standards within a Type-99 record.

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

to the standards enumerated below, such as the DoD or FBI’s Electronic Biometric Transmission 

Specification (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 3-15 address collection, storage and exchange of biometric data, existing transmission 

profiles such as the DoD or FBI's EBTS (see Table 17) might further modify or restrict the recommended 

standards of Tables 3-15. The shaded cells in all tables indicate the standard is no longer recommended 

for use, but may still be implemented in current or legacy systems.

It is important to note that several transmission standards rely upon other standards, such as for image 

compression. Any such cross-reference within standards that are listed in this registry is therefore 

incorporated by this Registry without being explicitly listed.

A rather unique standard affecting biometrics is the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) 

Biometrics Domain. NIEM specifies principles and enforceable rules for XML data components, 

including naming and design rules. XML schemas and components that obey the rules are considered 

to be NIEM-conformant. ANSI/NIST-ITL XML schemas are developed in accordance with NIEM 

principles. In 2012, the Biometrics Domain of NIEM was formally established. The NIEM Biometrics 

domain defines the XML representation for biometrics for the USG. 

Intended applicability Biometric 

data

Validity period Recommend standard(s)

The XML encoding of 

transmissions based upon 

standards in this registry.

All modalities December, 

2013 - Present

NIEM Version 2.1 (Valid for 

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update: 

2013)

November 2011 

– December 

2013

NIEM Version 2.1 (Valid for 

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011)

2007 - 2009 NIEM Version 2.0 (Used for 

ANSI/NIST-ITL 2-2008)

Table 3 – XML biometric encoding standards
. 

14

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

December 2013

– Present

ANSI/NIST_ITL 1-2011 Update: 

2013. Type 13, Type 14, Type 

15, Type 19 

November 2011 

– December 

2013

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 4 - Registry of Friction Ridge Imagery Standards

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011: Update 2013 includes both the Traditional and NIEM-conformant XML 

encodings. There are no longer separate versions of the standard for each encoding as in ANSI/NISTITL 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. 
. 

15

Users should coordinate with receiving agencies to ensure they have the capability to accept Type-14 

variable-resolution fingerprint image data.

The variable-resolution image data contained in the Type-13, Type-14, Type-15, and Type 19 records 

may be in a compressed form. 19.69 ppmm (500 ppi) images may be exchanged (however, images with 

lower ppi are not acceptable). It is strongly recommended that the resolution for fingerprint, palm and 

plantar images be 39.37 ppmm (1000 ppi). If images scanned at 1000 ppi are to be transmitted at 500 

ppi, then the guidance in NIST Special Publication 500-289 shall be followed for downsampling prior to 

compression using WSQ at 500 ppi. There are currently no published standards for compression of 

2000 ppi (or greater) images. 

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

compression ratio shall not exceed 15:1. An optimal compression rate of is 10:1 for card scan imagery, 15:1 for live 

scan imagery, and 12:1 for exemplars meant to be compared to latent imagery. Based on the automated matcher 

behavior data however, the compression rate of 10:1 shall be applied to all exemplar impressions to mitigate any 

potential performance degradation resulting from mixed compression cases (i.e., 10:1 to 15:1) . Exemplar images stored 

at 1000 ppi shal use lossy 10:1 compression with JPEG2000 using parameters specified in NIST Special Publication 500-

289. 

Latent friction ridge images should be acquired with a native resolution of 39.37 ppmm (1000 ppi). Latent images shall be stored according to NIST Special Publication 500-289 (lossless compression imagery using the 

JPEG2000 reversible filter ). If reduced resolution images are prepared (e.g., for transmission), then the parent high 

resolution image shall be retained.

PIV was designed to require the use of INCITS 381-2004 for the retention of fingerprint images. 

However, the INCITS standard for finger image (INCITS 381-2004) has been withdrawn and is no longer 

being maintained by the INCITS. When PIV was updated in 2013 (FIPS 201-2, 2013), the reference to 

INCITS 381-2004 was maintained to ensure backward compatibility with the millions of PIV cards that 

have already been issued, which is why it does not use ISO/IEC 19794-5 as a basis for the finger image 

specifications.

7.2Friction 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 

(Until 2008, 

fingerprint and 

palm print features 

only. Plantar print 

features were 

added in 2011)

December 2013

– Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

Update: 2013 

It adds a new optional 

field to Type-9 for 

temporary markup lines 

and corrects some data 

values from the 2011 

version. 

December ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Type 
. 

16

Intended applicability Biometric data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

2011–

December 2013

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 automated 

fingerprint recognition is 

involved

Fingerprint 

minutiae (only)

November 2011 

– Present

ISO/IEC 19794-2:2011

October 2007 –

November 2011

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-

2:2005[2008], clause 8 

compact card format with 

clause 9 format types 

0001, 0003, 0005

Table 5 - Registry of Friction Ridge Feature Standards

The primary use of the ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update: 2013, Type 9 (Minutiae data) record is for remote 

searching of latent prints in criminal justice organizations.

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 Update: 2013 for additional guidance. If ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update: 2013 

Type 9 is used, vendor blocks (i.e. fields 31 - 125 and 151-175) should not be used.

Identification / verification applications may use either the ISO/IEC 19794-2:2011 standard or the 

ANSI/NIST-ITL standard. This may include proprietary template data in “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 
. 

17

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 on-card comparison applications it is recommended to use the core three-byte-per-minutia format 

defined in ISO/IEC 19794-2:2011; moreover, instances of this format shall be produced from parent 

instances of the ISO/IEC 19794-2:2011 template. See Biometric Specifications for Personal Identity 

Verification [NIST SP-800-76-2] for additional guidance.

Although PIV (FIPS 201-1, 2006 and FIPS 201-2, 2013) requires the use of INCITS 378-2004 for the 

retention of fingerprint minutia; the INCITS national standard for finger minutia has been withdrawn 

and is no longer being maintained by INCITS. As an existing application, this use of an older standard is 

allowed, but new applications shall not be based upon obsolete standards. Guidance on minutia 

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

7.3 Face images 

There are several types of face images used in biometric and forensic applications, as described below.

7.3.1 2D imagery in visible light

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. Another important 

application is forensic 

investigation of unknown 

deceased.

2D face images December 2013 –

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

Update: 2013 

This adds new optional 

fields for Image subject 

condition, Capture 

organization name and 

Image capture date range 

estimate.

November 2011 –

December 2013

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, Type

10

Capture and storage (i.e., 

enrollment or registration 

processes) for which end-toend 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 
. 

18

Intended applicability Biometric data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

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

2D face images December 2005 -

Present

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-

5:2005[2007]

2D face images 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 6a - Registry of 2D Face Imagery Standards
. 

19

2D face images are the most widely used facial biometric. Facial imagery may be used for both 

automated and manual comparisons. Automated systems work best with several factors controlled, 

such as: lighting, pose of the subject, background, angle of the face, and without coverage of portions 

of the face by hair, glasses or scarves. It is also very important that there be sufficient resolution and 

that there be no photographic enhancement of the original image. Best Practice guidelines for the 

acquisition of facial images are available in:

• “ANNEX E: Facial Capture - SAPs 30 and above” of ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update: 2013

• “ICAO MRTD Photo Guidelines” 

• “Annex A: Best Practices for Face Images” of INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005[2007]

ISO/IEC 19794-5:2005[2007] standard is currently adopted by the International Civil Aviation 

Organization for e-Passports. Best practices are strongly recommended for the application in the epassport framework. This ensures that, issuing authorities and/or photographers do not have to 

change their already-published photo requirements that 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]).

The addition of new fields in ANSI/NIST-ITL Update: 2013 was intended to assist in the forensic 

identification of unknown deceased using photographic imagery. It is important to annotate whether 

the images are ante-mortem or post-mortem (Image subject condition). For ante-mortem 

photographs provided by families and other persons, the exact date of the photo may not be known, 

thus the introduction of the new field Image capture date range estimate. 

As an existing application, PIV (FIPS 201-1, 2006 and FIPS 201-2, 2013) continues to use facial images 

formatted such that they conform to INCITS 385-2004. That standard has been withdrawn and is no 

longer supported by INCITS. As an existing application, this use of an older standard is allowed, but 

new applications shall not be based upon obsolete standards.

7.3.2 Forensic markups

Intended applicability Biometric data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

Manual or automated 

markup of photographic 

imagery.

2D face images December 2013 –

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011: 

Update 2013, Type 10

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-

5:2005[2007]
. 

20

Intended applicability Biometric data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

November 2011 –

December 2013

October, 2007 -

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, Type

10

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-

5:2005[2007]

Table 6b - Registry of Forensic Markup Face Imagery Standards

Similar to the forensic markup of friction ridge images using the Extended Feature Set in Type-9 of 

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update: 2013, forensic analysts may desire to record detailed analytical 

information about the face image. Both ANSI/NIST-ITL and INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-5 use feature points 

based upon the MPEG4 standard for 2D markups. Additional feature points are available for 3D 

markups of 2D images (such as to indicate the depth of the nose, etc.). The feature points are the 

same in both standards.

7.3.3 2D imagery using light outside the visible range

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

2D face images December 2013 –

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

Update: 2013, Type 22

Table 6c - Registry of 2D Face Imagery light outside visible range Standards

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update: 2013 added the capability to transmit imagery that is not traditional 2D 

visible light photography. Included in this capability are capture systems compatible with infrared, 

ultraviolet and other wavelengths (such as X-ray). 

7.3.4 3D imagery

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

Specialized 3D 

imagery and 3D 

printing or cast 

models

December 2013 -

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

Update: 2013, Type 22

3D face images October 2007 –

Present

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-

5:2005[2007]

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

21

Intended applicability Biometric data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

99

Table 6d - Registry of 3D Face Imagery Standards

3D imagery is captured and stored in a manner very different from conventional 2D photography.

3D cast models and specialized medical imagery may be conveyed in the ANSI/NIST-ITL Type-22 record. 

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

December 2013 -

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

Update: 2013, Type 10

November 2011 –

December, 2013

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, Type

10

Table 7 - 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 December 2013 -

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

Update: 2013, Type 17

November 2011 -

December 2013

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011,

Type 17
. 

22

Intended applicability Biometric 

data

Validity period Recommend 

standard(s)

organizations that rely on

automated identification systems.

October 2007 –

November 2011

The rectilinear image

format of INCITS/ISO/IEC 

19794-6:2005[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 8 - Registry of Iris Image Standards

The ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update: 2013, 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 lossycompressed 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 non-standardized 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 DNA December 2013 - ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 
. 

23

Intended applicability Biometric 

data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

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.

Present Update: 2013, Type 18

November 2011 –

December, 2013

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 9 - Registry of DNA Standards

To provide full consideration to privacy, the ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update: 2013, 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

7.7 Patterned injuries

Intended applicability Biometric 

data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

The electronic exchange of imagery 

of patterned injuries on human 

bodies. 

Patterned 

Injuries

December 2013 -

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

Update: 2013, Type-10

and ANSI/ADA 1077

Table 10 - Registry of Patterned Injury Standards

Patterned injuries are those injuries on a body that exhibit characteristics typical of being caused by an 

external object, such as teeth or a whip. The analysis of such injuries can be an integral part of criminal 

investigations and determination of the cause of death. ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 Update: 2013 includes 

the capability to include images of the patterned injury and to include descriptors based upon the 

common taxonomy established in ANSI/ADA 1077 Dental Biometric Descriptors. In all imagery of 

patterned injuries, it is extremely important to follow the guidance of the Diplomates Reference 

Manual published by the American Board of Forensic Odontology. 

7.8 Forensic dental (odontology)

Intended applicability Biometric 

data Validity period Recommend standard(s)
. 

24

Intended applicability Biometric 

data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

The electronic exchange of 

descriptive data, imagery, 3D cast 

mold data, and other information 

that may assist in the forensic 

identification of deceased 

individuals and living persons 

unable to identify themselves (such 

as accident victims in comas) based 

upon dental and oral 

characteristics. 

Patterned 

Injuries

December 2013 -

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

Update: 2013, Type-10

(for photographic intraoral 

and extraoral images)

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

Update: 2013, Type-12 for 

forensic dental data and 

mouth condition 

descriptors, in conjunction 

with ANSI/ADA 1058 

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

Update: 2013, Type-22 for 

non-photographic imagery

NEMA/DICOM for 

electronic dental records 

from dentist offices

Table 11 - Registry of Forensic Dental Standards

The 2013 Update to ANSI/NIST-ITL includes new capabilities to transmit data associated with the 

identification of individuals based upon forensic dentistry (odontology). Visual images of the mouth 

(extraoral and intraoral) may be included in the Type-10 record. Non-photographic imagery (including 

images outside of the normal visible light range) such as radiographs and cone beam imagery and 3D 

cast models are conveyed in a Type-22 record. The Type-22 record also allows the encapsulation of 

DICOM imagery and data (which is a format commonly used in dental offices). Note that data stored 

according to the specification of NEMA/DICOM Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine can 

also be transmitted directly, without the use of ANSI/NIST-ITL standard. 

An important part of the transmission of forensic dental data is the Type-12 record of ANSI/NIST-ITL 

Update: 2013. It encodes the descriptors based upon the taxonomy of ANSI/ADA 1058 Forensic Dental 

Data Set and ANSI/ADA 1067 Standard Functional Requirements for an Electronic Dental Record 

System.

7.9Cheiloscopy (lip prints)

Intended applicability Biometric 

data Validity period Recommend standard(s)
. 

25

Intended applicability Biometric 

data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

The electronic exchange of imagery 

of lip prints and forensic markups of 

those prints.

Patterned 

Injuries

December 2013 -

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

Update: 2013, Type-10

Table 12 - Registry of Cheiloscopy Standards

The analysis of cheiloscopic imagery (lip prints) may assist in criminal investigations. Lip prints may be 

left upon inanimate surfaces (such as a glass) or on a person (lipstick and lip balm). A new field was 

added to the Type-10 record in the 2013 Update to accommodate the characterization of lip prints.

7.10 Other body part imagery

Intended applicability Biometric 

data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

The electronic exchange of imagery 

of non-facial body parts.

2D imagery December 2013 -

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, 

Type-10

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

Update: 2013, Type-22

Table 13 - Registry of Other Body Part Imagery Standards

Visible light imagery of body parts is transmitted in Type-10 ANSI/NIST-ITL records. Other imagery 

(such as x-rays) is transmitted using a Type-22 record. This is particularly useful in forensic applications 

when body parts may be separated (such as after a disaster) or when a body part has a particular 

characteristic that may be useful in identification of unknown deceased (such as a club foot). 

7.11 Forensic and investigatory voice

Intended applicability Biometric 

data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

The electronic exchange of voice 

recordings and associated analytical 

information.

Voice 

recordings

December 2013 -

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

Update: 2013, Type-11

Table 14 - Registry of Forensic and Investigatory Voice Standards
. 

26

A recording may be transmitted using the ANSI/NIST-ITL Update: 2013 Type-11 record along with 

descriptors (such as the timings of individual speakers’ voices being audible) and other metadata such 

as transcripts, translations, and results of automated matching against pre-stored voice data.

7.12 Video

Intended applicability Biometric 

data Validity period Recommend standard(s)

The electronic exchange of video 

recordings and associated analytical 

information.

Video clips December 2013 -

Present

ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 

Update: 2013, Type-20, 

Type-21 and Type-22

Video Surveillance data exchange Video clips December 2012 -

Present

ISO 22311

Table 15 - Registry of Video Standards

A video recording in visible wavelengths may be transmitted using the ANSI/NIST-ITL Update: 2013 

Type-20 and / or Type-21 records. This may include sources as different as television recordings, videos 

captured by computer cameras, and infrared videos presented in visible wavelengths. Other videos 

types, such as used in medical technology are transmitted using a Type-22 record.

ISO 22311 Societal security – Video Surveillance – Export interoperability is designed to provide for the 

exchange of data collected by CCTV systems from different locations. 

8. Biometric transmission profiles

Biometric transmission profiles identified in Table 16 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 minutia 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 
. 

27

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 noninteroperable 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 16 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.
. 

28

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.

July 2013 - Present FBI EBTS Version 10.0 for 

both Traditional and XML 

formats

December 2011 – July 2013 FBI EBTS Version 9.3

January 2012 –July 2013 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

November 2008

FBI EFTS Version 7.1

For communicating electronically 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 

OBIM/IDENT messaging services. It 

describes the IDENT eXchange Messaging 

(IXM) specification and rules for its use.

October 2013 – Present IDENT IXM version 6.0.7

June 2010 – October 2012 IDENT IXM version 5.0

For exchanging biometric data in a NATO. October 2013 - Present STANAG 4715 – NATO 

Biometrics Data, 

Interchange, Watch listing 

and reporting Standard

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
. 

29

Intended applicability Validity period Recommended 

Transmission Profiles

(INT-I)

Exchange of latent prints and data among 

law enforcement agencies.

February 2013 - Present Latent Interoperability 

Transmission Specification

(LITS)

Table 16 - Registry of Biometric Transmission Profiles

Table 16 does not include other profiles that are used internationally (such as that of the Royal 

Canadian Mounted Police or of the European Visa Information System), or state and local profiles such 

as those of New York, Florida and Texas. The reason is that this document is focused upon the 

transmission profiles that are used by the USG. It may be necessary, upon occasion to interface with 

non-USG systems that use different profiles, which is acceptable practice. 

8.4 Terrorist Screening Center

The Terrorist Screening Center’s Business Model is to reduce effort on our partners by sharing Terrorist 

Screening Database information in their preferred format. The TSC’s primary exchange of Known or 

Suspected Terrorist (KST) data is the Terrorist Watchlist Person Data Exchange Standard (TWPDES). 

TWPDES was developed by the intelligence community to exchange information about KST’s. 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 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.
. 

30

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 replaced by Next Generation Identification (NGI) to incorporate additional functionalities 

including new biometric modalities and higher accuracy rates. As NGI has been phased into service, 

the FBI EBTS was continually updated to keep pace with newly installed NGI enhancements, 

culminating in EBTS 10.0.x, which represents NGI's Full Operational Capacity (FOC). It inherits the basic 

requirements for logical records set forth in the ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011 standard. The FBI EBTS's scope 

has been expanded over previous versions to include additional biometric modalities (e.g., palm print, 

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. 

8.6 Department of Defense

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

Standards Working Group and lead by the Defense Forensics and Biometrics Agency 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

specification and its supplemental documentation. The DoD-unique capabilities are defined in the 

current version of the DoD EBTS Integrated Data Dictionary.

The first widely distributed version of the DoD EBTS v1.2 was released by DFBA 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 version 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.
. 

31

 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).

The Defense Forensics and Biometrics Agency and the DoD Forensic and Biometric Standards Working 

Group released an updated version of DoD EBTS to allow for additional capabilities and modalities. The 

DoD EBTS v3.0 and IEPD v1.0 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 (TOTs), and Information Exchange Package Documentation for XML implementation. 

Currently the DoD is developing revisions to the DoD Biometrics IEPD which aims to incorporate the 

ANSI/NIST ITL 1-2011 Update: 2013 and align with NIEM v3.0. 

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 Office of Biometric Identity Management 

(OBIM), formerly known as the US Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT), IDENT 

system. The IDENT database was developed in 1994 to support rapid identification of subjects for 

immigration purposes.

The IXM is an XML based message exchange format provides an easy-to-manage, standards based 

interface to the services offered by OBIM. 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.
. 

32

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 v6.0.7 can be accomplished via straightforward syntactic translations using common 

XML tools. Unlike previous versions, IXM v6.0.7 does not support the binary coded form of the FBI

EBTS or DOD EBTS as an embedded attachment to IXM messages. OBIM is collaborating with the FBI 

and DOD to achieve and maintain full interoperability between DHS' IDENT, the FBI's IAFIS and the DOD 

ABIS system.

IXM 7.0 has been developed and is NIEM conformant; however, 7.0 is not currently in production but 

when it is will be made available on www.biometrics.gov

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 

- 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.

September 

2013 -

Present

FIPS 201-2, 2013: Personal 

Identity Verification (PIV) of 

Federal Employees and 

Contractors.

October 

2007 –

September 

2013

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.

July 2013 -

Present

NIST SP-800-76-2, 2013

October 

2007 --

Present

NIST SP-800-76-1, 2007

ADD Row for 800-76-2 July 

2013
. 

33

Intended applicability Validity 

period

Recommended Credentialing 

Profiles

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 17 - 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 for FIPS 201-2 are specified in NIST Special 

Publication 800-76-2, Biometric Data Specification for Personal Identity Verification. This now includes 

a section for iris data specifications, extending the format requirements of ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011 with 

image quality related properties. 

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 biometric credentials issued 
. 

34

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. Editors Note: Update from TSA or remove paragraph 

and associated tables

10.Biometric technical interface standards

The biometric technical interface standards listed in Table 18 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-to-one 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]
. 

35

Intended applicability Validity period Recommended 

Standard(s)

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 interoperability of 

biometric-based application programs and 

systems by allowing for biometric data 

exchange.

October 2008 –

Present

INCITS 398-2008

# Name Domain

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 servicesbased 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

OASIS Biometric Identity 

Assurance Services 

(BIAS) SOAP Profile 

version 1, May 2012

Provides a command and control protocol for 

biometric devices.

March 2012 -

Present

NIST Special Publication 

500-288 Specification for 

WS-Biometric Devices 

(WS-BD)

Table 18 - 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 
. 

36

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

― 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]

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

The biometric conformance testing methodology standards listed in Table 19 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 July 2013 - FBI EBTS Version 10.0, 
. 

37

Intended applicability Validity period Recommended 

Standard(s)

fingerprint scanners and printers that input fingerprint 

images to, or generate fingerprint images from within, 

the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification 

System (IAFIS).

Present Appendix F

December 2011 

– July 2013 

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

NIST Special Publication 500-295 Conformance Testing December 2011 NIST SP 500-295
. 

38

Intended applicability Validity period Recommended 

Standard(s)

Methodology for ANSI/NIST-ITL 1-2011, Data Format 

for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial & Other 

Biometric Information (ANSI/NIST_ITL 1-2011 Record 

Types 1,4,10,13,14,15 and 17)

- Present

Table 19 - 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 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 20 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 

modality-dependent 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 

January 2011 – 

Present

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19795-

5:2011
. 

39

Intended applicability Validity period Recommended 

Standard(s)

biometric system suitable for use in access 

control applications

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 20 - 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 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

1. ANSI/NISTITL 1-2011 Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Face, & Other Biometric Information Published 

as NIST Special Publication 500-290, Rev.1 December 2013. 
. 

40

Update: 

2013

(adds new record types and fields to the base 2011 standard)

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

ANSI/NISTITL 1-2011Data Format for the Interchange of Fingerprint, Face, & Other Biometric Information Published 

as NIST Special Publication 500-290, November 2011. 

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

2. ANSI/NISTITL 1-2007Data 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/NISTITL 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/NISTITL 2-2008Data 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. BioCTS Conformance test tool for ANSI/NIST_ITL 1-2011 

www.nist.gov/itl/csd/biometrics/biocta_download.cfm

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

http://www.dfba.mil/References/Standards.aspx

7. DoD EBTS 

IDD 

DoD Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification (EBTS) Integrated Data Dictionary 

http://www.dfba.mil/References/Standards.aspx

8. DoD EBTS 

XML IEPD

DoD Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification (EBTS) Information Exchange Package 

Documentation

http://www.dfba.mil/References/Standards.aspx

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

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

10. FBI EBTS 

XML IEPD

FBI Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification (EBTS) Information Exchange Package 

Documentation

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

11. FIPS 201-

2, 2013

Personal Identity Verification for Federal Employees and Contractors

http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/PubsFIPS.html

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

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

13.. 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/Document9303.aspx

SUPPLEMENT to Doc 9303

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

BioAPI Specification http://webstore.ansi.org/

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

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

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

41

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

http://webstore.ansi.org/

18. 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/

19. 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/

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

http://webstore.ansi.org/

21. 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

22. 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

23. ISO 22311 ISO 22311 First edition 2012-11-15 Societal security – Video-surveillance – Export 

interoperability

24. ISO/IEC 

15948

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

(PNG): Functional specification.

http://webstore.ansi.org/

25. ISO/IEC 

19784-1

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

Part 1: BioAPI Specification

http://webstore.ansi.org/

26. 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

27. 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/

28. 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/

29. 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/

30. 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/

31. ISO/IEC 

19794-2

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

formats — Part 2: Finger minutiae data. 
. 

42

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 

32. ISO/IEC 

19794-4

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-4:2011 — Information technology — Biometric data interchange formats 

— Part 4: Finger image data. 

http://webstore.ansi.org/

33. ISO/IEC 

19794-5

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-5:2011 — Information technology — Biometric data interchange formats 

— Part 5: Face image data. 

http://webstore.ansi.org/

34. 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/

35 ISO/IEC 

19794-6

INCITS/ISO/IEC 19794-6:2011 - Information technology — Biometric data interchange formats 

— Part 6: Iris image data.

http://webstore.ansi.org/

36. ISO/IEC 

19794-14

ISO/IEC 19794-14:2012 Information technology — Biometric data interchange formats — Part 

14: DNA data.

http://webstore.ansi.org/

37. ISO/IEC 

19795-1

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

Principles and Framework

http://webstore.ansi.org/

38. 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/

39. ISO/IEC 

19795-3

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

http://webstore.ansi.org/

40. 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/

41. 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/

42. 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/

43. 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/

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

(IXM) Specification – v5.0
. 

43

http://www.biometrics.gov/standards

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. NIEM National Information Exchange Model

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

47. NIST SP 

500-288

NIST Special Publication 500-288, Specification for WS-Biometric Devices (WS-BD), Version 1, 

March 2012

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

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. OASIS BIAS 

SOAP 

Profile 

Biometric Identity Assurance Services (BIAS) SOAP Profile v.1

www.oasis-open.org/standards, May 2012

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

Version 1.7, April 15, 2008.

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

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

http://www.tsa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/pdf/twic/twicreaderhardwarea

ndcardapplicationspecification.pdf

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

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

54. 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 21 - Reference of Standards