Exception to Fair Opportunity for Credit Report Services

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) has issued a sole-source task order under its IDIQ contract HS002123D0004, solicitation number HS002126FE029, to Verato, Inc. for the provision of Single Bureau and Tri-Merge Credit Reports in support of its Personnel Vetting mission. The award is justified under FAR 16.507-6(b)(1) as an Exception to Fair Opportunity due to an urgent mission need and administrative ineligibility of all other potential contractors, specifically Array US, Inc., whose SAM registration lapsed on April 30, 2026, rendering it ineligible for award under FAR 4.203-1(b). Verato, Inc. is the only vendor currently capable of delivering the required credit reports via a pre-established, tested system-to-system interface—BI Connect Direct Batch File—with DCSA’s legacy Personnel Investigations Processing System (PIPS), making any transition to another vendor technologically infeasible within the required timeframe. The task order is firm-fixed-price, has a six-month performance period with no option periods, and requires daily processing of approximately 1,000 initial vetting reports and weekly processing of around 7,000 continuous vetting reports, with all data delivered electronically from Verato’s performance location in Boca Raton, Florida. Acceptance of deliverables is based solely on compliance with the Performance Work Statement’s technical requirement for uninterrupted data transmission to PIPS in a Department of Defense-specified format, with no scored evaluation factors or weighted criteria applied; award is determined by the Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) method, though competition was not pursued. Certified cost or pricing data is not required under FAR 15.403-2(b)(3), as pricing relies on historical data from the base IDIQ. The contract is funded through DCSA Working Capital Funds (DWCF), identified by agency code 97AV and NAICS code 561450, and no packaging, marking, or invoicing specifics are detailed. Although no formal contract clauses, section K certifications, or line-item pricing tables are provided, the administrative and technical exclusivity of Verato’s system interface serves as the foundational basis for the award, with no provision for future competition during the term. The contracting officer and technical representatives remain unnamed, and the delivery method is entirely automated, with inspection and