Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System
FAPIIS
Also known as: FAPIIS, the contractor integrity database
Visit FAPIIS →Operated by Department of Defense (for the government)
At a Glance
- Official site
- cpars.gov (a module within CPARS); public view at sam.gov
- Run by
- DoD, on behalf of the government
- When you use it
- Checked by COs before award; you may need to self-report certain records
- Cost
- Free — public records are viewable at SAM.gov
- What it holds
- Terminations, non-responsibility findings, and certain legal/administrative proceedings
What It Is
The Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System, FAPIIS, is the government's repository of contractor integrity and business-ethics information. Integrated as a module within CPARS, FAPIIS collects records that bear on whether a firm is a responsible contractor — terminations for default or cause, defective-pricing determinations, non-responsibility determinations, administrative agreements, and certain criminal, civil, and administrative proceedings the contractor must report. Under FAR 9.104-6, before making a responsibility determination a contracting officer must review FAPIIS, so its contents can directly affect whether a firm is awarded a contract. Larger contractors are also required, under FAR 52.209-9 and FAR 42.1503(h), to report certain covered proceedings into FAPIIS. Much of the FAPIIS data is made public through SAM.gov, so it functions both as an internal responsibility-screening tool for contracting officers and as a public transparency record.
When You Touch It
- Before award — the contracting officer must review FAPIIS as part of the responsibility determination.
- When you have covered proceedings — larger contractors must report certain legal/administrative proceedings into FAPIIS.
- To monitor your own record — check the public FAPIIS data on SAM.gov to see what buyers will see.
- During due diligence — you can review a potential teaming partner's public integrity record.
Key Features
| Feature | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Feeds the responsibility determination | Contracting officers must review FAPIIS under FAR 9.104-6 before finding a firm responsible, so its records can block an award. |
| Integrity, not performance | Where CPARS rates how well you performed, FAPIIS records integrity events — terminations, non-responsibility findings, and covered proceedings. |
| Part public | Much of the FAPIIS data is exposed publicly through SAM.gov, so it doubles as a transparency record. |
| Some self-reporting | Larger contractors must report certain criminal, civil, and administrative proceedings into FAPIIS themselves. |
What It Means for an SDVOSB
FAPIIS is the record that can quietly sink an award before evaluation even matters, so for an SDVOSB the goal is a clean one. Because a contracting officer must review FAPIIS before finding you responsible, a termination for default or a non-responsibility determination sitting in the system can cost you contracts regardless of how strong your proposal is. Check the public FAPIIS view on SAM.gov periodically so you know what buyers see and can address any inaccurate or dated entry. If you grow into the size where the self-reporting rules apply, build the reporting of covered proceedings into your compliance routine — an unreported proceeding is itself an integrity problem. And when you vet a prime or joint-venture partner, a look at their public integrity record is cheap insurance against tying your name to a firm with responsibility issues.
Watch Out For
- Ignoring your public record — a stale or inaccurate FAPIIS entry on SAM.gov can hurt you if you never check it.
- Underestimating a termination for default — it lands in FAPIIS and directly feeds future responsibility determinations.
- Missing self-reporting duties — larger contractors must report covered proceedings; failing to is itself an integrity issue.
- Confusing FAPIIS with CPARS — CPARS rates performance quality; FAPIIS records integrity and responsibility events.
Run the Numbers
Frequently Asked
What is FAPIIS?
FAPIIS, the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System, is the government's database of contractor integrity and business-ethics records — such as terminations for default or cause, non-responsibility determinations, defective-pricing findings, administrative agreements, and certain reported legal proceedings. It is integrated with CPARS, and much of its data is public through SAM.gov. Under FAR 9.104-6, contracting officers must review FAPIIS before determining that a firm is a responsible contractor, so its contents can affect whether a firm is awarded a contract.
How is FAPIIS different from CPARS?
CPARS records how well a contractor performed — quality, schedule, cost control, and management ratings used to evaluate past performance. FAPIIS records integrity and responsibility events — terminations, non-responsibility determinations, and certain legal or administrative proceedings — used in the responsibility determination that must precede award. In short, CPARS is about performance quality and FAPIIS is about integrity and responsibility, though they are technically integrated in the same platform.
Can I see my own FAPIIS record?
Yes. Much of the FAPIIS data is made public through SAM.gov, so you can review the publicly available records on your firm to see what contracting officers and potential partners will see. Monitoring your public record lets you catch and address inaccurate or outdated entries before they affect a responsibility determination. Larger contractors also have accounts to enter the covered proceedings they are required to report.
Primary Sources
- FAR 9.104-6 — FAPIIS
- FAR 42.1503 — Procedures (reporting to FAPIIS)
- FAPIIS — Public access via SAM.gov
Plain-English reference, not legal advice. Government systems are periodically consolidated, renamed, or migrated to new addresses, and the FAR/DFARS sections that govern them are amended from time to time — always confirm the current system, its URL, and its requirements against the official site and the actual solicitation before relying on it, and consult qualified counsel for your specific situation.
Change log (1)
- LaunchedPublished the federal contracting systems & databases reference covering the online systems an SDVOSB registers in, is found in, and is evaluated through — SAM.gov (FAR Subpart 4.11), the Unique Entity ID (FAR 52.204-6), VetCert (13 CFR Part 128), SAM.gov Contract Opportunities (FAR 5.201), the Dynamic Small Business Search (FAR 19.202-2), SBA SubNet (FAR Subpart 19.7), the Federal Procurement Data System (FAR Subpart 4.6), USAspending.gov (FFATA/DATA Act), CPARS (FAR Subpart 42.15), FAPIIS (FAR 9.104-6), the Supplier Performance Risk System (DFARS 252.204-7019/7020), the electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (FAR 52.219-9), and the FFATA Subaward Reporting System (FAR 52.204-10) — each with an at-a-glance quick-facts card showing the official site and operating agency, a when-you-touch-it list, a key-features table, an SDVOSB-specific angle, watch-outs, FAQPage, Article, Dataset, and BreadcrumbList structured data, primary-source citations, and cross-links into the glossary, how-to guides, forms, clauses, FAQ, and the set-aside eligibility, size-standard, win-probability, price-to-win, and subcontracting calculators.