Social Security Card Envelopes

Location:	Federal
Posted:	Feb 18, 2026
Due:	Mar 5, 2026
Agency:	U.S. Government Publishing Office
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	75 - Office Supplies and Devices
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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Program 228-S

Specifications by DLL

Page 1 of 18

U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

Washington DC

GENERAL TERMS, CONDITIONS, AND SPECIFICATIONS

For the Procurement of

Social Security Card Envelopes

as requisitioned from the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) by the

Social Security Administration (SSA)

Single Award

TERM OF CONTRACT: The term of this contract is for the period beginning July 1, 2026 and ending

June 30, 2027, plus up to four (4) optional 12-month extension period(s) that may be added in accordance with the

“OPTION TO EXTEND THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT” clause in SECTION 1 of this contract.

BID OPENING: Bids shall be opened virtually at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Time (ET), on March 5, 2026, at the

U.S. Government Publishing Office. All parties interested in attending the bid opening shall email bids@gpo.gov

one (1) hour prior to the bid opening date and time to request a Microsoft Teams live stream link. This must be a

separate email from the bid submission. The link will be emailed prior to the bid opening.

BID SUBMISSION: Bidders must email bids to bids@gpo.gov for this solicitation. No other method of bid

submission will be accepted at this time. The program number and bid opening date must be specified in the subject

line of the emailed bid submission. Bids received after the bid opening date and time specified above will not be

considered for award.

BIDDERS, PLEASE NOTE: Requirements for this program were previously procured under Program 585-S.

These specifications have been revised; therefore, all bidders are cautioned to familiarize themselves with all

provisions of these specifications before bidding.

Abstracts of contract prices are available at: https://www.gpo.gov/how-to-work-with-us/vendors/contract-pricing.

For information of a technical nature, call David Love at (202) 512-0104 or email dlove@gpo.gov.

Social Security Card Envelopes

228-S (06/27)

SECTION 1 - GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

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GPO CONTRACT TERMS: Any contract which results from this Invitation for Bid will be subject to the

applicable provisions, clauses, and supplemental specifications of GPO Contract Terms (GPO Publication 310.2,

effective December 1, 1987 (Rev. 01-18)) and GPO Contract Terms, Quality Assurance through Attributes Program

for Printing and Binding (GPO Publication 310.1, effective May 1979 (Rev. 09-19)).

GPO Contract Terms (GPO Publication 310.2) – https://www.gpo.gov/docs/default-source/forms-and-standards-

files-for-vendors/contractterms2018.pdf.

GPO QATAP (GPO Publication 310.1) – https://www.gpo.gov/docs/default-source/forms-and-standards-files-for-

vendors/qatap-rev-09-19.pdf.

GPO IMPRINT REQUIREMENTS: The GPO imprint requirement, GPO Contract Terms, Supplemental

Specifications, No. 9, is waived for envelopes.

SUBCONTRACTING: The predominant production function shall be either the printing of the envelopes or the

construction of the envelopes. The predominant production function for printing contractors shall be printing the

envelopes, and the predominant production function for envelope contractors shall be the construction of the

envelopes. Bidders who must subcontract both the printing and construction operations will be declared non-

responsible.

QUALITY ASSURANCE LEVELS AND STANDARDS: The following levels and standards shall apply to

these specifications:

Product Quality Levels:

(a) Printing (page related) Attributes – Level IV.

(b) Finishing (item related) Attributes – Level IV.

Inspection Levels (from ANSI/ASQC Z1.4):

(a) Non-destructive Tests - General Inspection Level I.

(b) Destructive Tests - Special Inspection Level S-2.

Specified Standards: The specified standards for the attributes requiring them shall be:

Attribute

P-7. Type Quality and Uniformity

Specified Standard

O.K Proofs/Electronic Media/Furnished Samples

OPTION TO EXTEND THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT: `The Government has the option to extend the

term of this contract for a period of 12 months by written notice to the contractor not later than 30 days before the

contract expires. If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this

clause, except, the total duration of the contract may not exceed five (5) years as a result of, and including, any

extension added under this clause. Further extension may be negotiated under the “EXTENSION OF CONTRACT

TERM” clause. See also “ECONOMIC PRICE ADJUSTMENT” for authorized pricing adjustments(s).

EXTENSION OF CONTRACT TERM: At the request of the Government, the term of any contract resulting

from this solicitation may be extended for such period of time as may be mutually agreeable to the GPO and the

contractor.

Social Security Card Envelopes

228-S (06/27)

Page 3 of 18

ECONOMIC PRICE ADJUSTMENT: The pricing under this contract shall be periodically adjusted in

accordance with this clause, provided that in no event will any pricing adjustment be made that would exceed the

maximum permissible under any law in effect at the time of the adjustment. There will be no adjustment for orders

placed during the first period specified below. Pricing will thereafter be eligible for adjustment during the second

and any succeeding performance period(s). For each performance period after the first, a percentage figure will be

calculated as described below and that figure will be the economic price adjustment for that entire next period.

Pricing adjustments under this clause are not applicable to reimbursable postage or transportation costs, or to paper,

if paper prices are subject to adjustment by separate clause elsewhere in this contract.

For the purpose of this clause, performance under this contract will be divided into successive periods. The first

period will extend from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 and the second and any succeeding period(s) will extend for

12 months from the end of the last preceding period, except that the length of the final period may vary. The first

day of the second and any succeeding period(s) will be the effective date of the economic price adjustment for that

period.

Pricing adjustments in accordance with this clause will be based on changes in the seasonally adjusted “Consumer

Price Index For All Urban Consumers - Commodities Less Food” (Index) published monthly in the CPI Detailed

Report by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The economic price adjustment is the percentage variation between Index averages as specified in this paragraph.

An index called the variable index will be calculated by averaging the monthly Indexes from the 12-month interval

ending three (3) months prior to the beginning of the period being considered for adjustment. This average is then

compared to the average of the monthly Indexes for the 12-month interval ending March 31, 2026, called the base

index. The percentage change (plus or minus) of the variable index from the base index will be the economic

adjustment for the period being considered for adjustment.

The Government will notify the contractor by contract modification specifying the percentage increase or decrease

to be applied to invoices for orders placed during the period indicated. The contractor shall apply the percentage

increase or decrease against the total price of the invoice less reimbursable postage or transportation costs and

separately adjusted paper prices. Payment discounts shall be applied after the invoice price is adjusted.

PAPER PRICE ADJUSTMENT: Paper prices charged under this contract will be adjusted in accordance with

“Table 9 - Producer Price Indexes and Percent Changes for Commodity Groupings and Individual Items” in

Producer Price Indexes report, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as follows:

1. BLS code 0913 for All Paper will apply to all paper required under this contract.

2. The applicable index figures for the month of June 2026 will establish the base index.

3. There shall be no price adjustment for the first three (3) production months of the contract.

4. Price adjustments may be monthly thereafter, but only if the index varies by an amount (plus or minus)

exceeding 5% by comparing the base index to the index for that month which is two months prior to the

month is being considered for adjustment.

5. Beginning with order placement in the fourth month, index variances will be calculated in accordance with

the following formula:

X – base index

__________________________ x 100

base index

= ____________ %

where X = the index for that month which is two months prior to the month being considered for adjustment.

Social Security Card Envelopes

228-S (06/27)

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6. The contract adjustment amount, if any, will be the percentage calculated in 5 above less 5%.

7. Adjustments under this clause will be applied to the contractor’s bid price(s) for Item II. “PAPER” in the

“SCHEDULE OF PRICES” and will be effective on the first day of any month for which prices are to be

adjusted.

The Contracting Officer will give written notice to the contractor of any adjustments to be applied to invoices for

orders placed during months affected by this clause.

In no event, however, will any price adjustment be made which would exceed the maximum permissible under any

law in effect at the time of the adjustment. The adjustment, if any, shall not be based upon the actual change in cost

to the contractor, but shall be computed as provided above.

The contractor warrants that the paper prices set forth in this contract do not include any allowance for any

contingency to cover anticipated increased costs of paper to the extent such increases are covered by this price

adjustment clause.

PREAWARD SURVEY: In order to determine the responsibility of the prime contractor/subcontractor, the

Government reserves the right to conduct an on-site preaward survey at the contractor’s/subcontractors’ facility or

to require other evidence of technical, production, managerial, financial, and similar abilities to perform, prior to

the award of a contract. As part of the financial determination, the contractor in line for award may be required to

provide one or more of the following financial documents:

1) Most recent profit and loss statement

2) Most recent balance sheet(s)

3) Statement of cash flows

4) Current official bank statement

5) Current lines of credit (with amounts available)

6) Letter of commitment from paper supplier(s)

7) Letter of commitment from any subcontractor

The documents will be reviewed to validate that adequate financial resources are available to perform the contract

requirements. Documents submitted will be kept confidential, and used only for the determination of responsibility

by the Government. Failure to provide the requested information in the time specified by the Government may

result in the Contracting Officer not having adequate information to reach an affirmative determination of

responsibility.

PREAWARD TEST: The contractor being considered for award may be required to demonstrate their ability to

produce the items required in these specifications at the requisite quality level by completing a preaward test. The

Government reserves the right to waive the preaward test if there is other evidence that, in the opinion of the

Contracting Officer, indicates that the contractor being considered for award has the capability to successfully

produce the items required.

For the preaward test, the Government will furnish PDF files (consisting of PDF mockups)) and/or hard copy

samples that are representative of the materials to be furnished under these specifications. Files will be sent via

email; hard copy samples will be shipped to the contractor.

The prospective contractor must provide back a press quality PDF proof of the envelope within 2 workdays. SSA

will hold the proof for no more than 2 workdays.

Once the PDF proof is approved, the prospective contractor must produce 40,500 envelopes in accordance with the

requirements specified herein.

Social Security Card Envelopes

228-S (06/27)

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Samples must be printed on the required stock as specified herein. Samples must be boxed in units of 500 envelopes

(including corrugated cardboard), boxes packed suitable in shipping containers (including corrugated cardboard),

and if needed, shipping containers packed on pallets. All packing must be in accordance with the requirements

under “PACKING” specified herein.

The preaward test samples will be inspected and tested for accuracy and conformance of materials to the furnished

specifications and must comply with the specifications stated herein.

SSA will run the test samples through their inserters (EPIC Y503 inserters).

20,000 test samples must be delivered to each of these locations:

• PEB, Attn: Print Mail Facility, 6201 Security Blvd, Baltimore, MD 21235.

• Second Support Center (SSC), 3604 Louis Stephens Dr. Durham, NC 27709

NOTE: On the same day of delivery of test samples to SSA, contractor must notify GPO of delivery with a

confirming email to the contract administrator, David Love [email to: dlove@gpo.gov]

500 test samples must be delivered to:

• U.S. Government Publishing Office, Quality Control for Procured Printing , 732 North Capitol Street NW,

Stop: CSPS, Room C-613, Washington, DC 20401.

Samples should be clearly marked as: “Pre-Award Test Samples for Program 228-S” . When the package

is shipped a tracking number for the delivery should be emailed to: QCPP@gpo.gov

Contractor must submit preaward test sample within 15 workdays of receipt of furnished test materials.

If the preaward test samples are disapproved by the Government, the contractor may be permitted, at the option of

the Government, additional time to correct defects or to submit additional test samples if so notified by the

Contracting Officer.

In the event the revised test samples are disapproved by the Government, the contractor shall be deemed to have

failed to comply with the applicable requirements of these specifications and may be reason for a determination of

non-responsibility.

Failure to deliver the completed test files within the stated time period may disqualify the contractor from further

consideration for award.

All operations necessary in the performance of this test shall be performed at the facilities and on the equipment in

which the contract production will be performed.

No charges will be allowed for costs incurred in the performance of this preaward test.

POSTAWARD CONFERENCE: The total requirements of the job as indicated in these specifications will be

reviewed by Government representatives with the contractor’s representatives at the Social Security Administration,

Baltimore, MD, immediately after award. At the Government’s option, the postaward conference may be held via

teleconference.

ASSIGNMENT OF JACKETS, PURCHASE AND PRINT ORDERS: A GPO jacket number will be assigned

and a purchase order issued to the contractor to cover work performed. The purchase order will be supplemented

by an individual print order for each job placed with the contractor. The print order, when issued, will indicate the

quantity to be produced and any other information pertinent to the particular order.

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.