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166 AUTOMATED FINGERPRINT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS

The standard is reviewed every 5 years. If there are sufficient changes to the
current standard, a new standard is released.

8.2 ELECTRONIC FINGERPRINT TRANSMISSION
SPECIFICATION (EFTS)

The ANSI standard defines the content, format, and units of measurement for
the exchange of fingerprint information between AFIS systems and an inter-
face with IAFIS. The Electronic Fingerprint Transmission Specification (EFTS) 3
defines that interface. It specifies the file and record content, format, and data
codes necessary for the exchange of fingerprint identification information
between federal, state, and local users and the FBI. It provides a description of
all requests and responses associated with electronic fingerprint identification
services, including tenprint, latent, and fingerprint image services.
To ensure that existing protocols are not adversely affected, EFTS honors
these protocols. It uses a process that provides for coordinated enhancements
within the various systems while maintaining reliable interoperability. This
process is based on the tagged-field structure and two key concepts.
The first concept states that field definitions cannot change over time or
from system to system. If a change is needed, a new field is defined and assigned
a new tag number. The second concept states that the new field cannot be made
mandatory for established functionality; it can only enhance functionality for
those systems wishing to incorporate it. With this process in place, every system
on the network has the opportunity to enhance its own system on its own sched-
ule, and no system is ever forced to make a change in order to maintain current
functionality.
This has led to many states developing their own EFTS. Building on the FBI
EFTS, the states are allowed to collect additional information in their versions
of the EFTS by adding a new tagged field with a new tag number. The infor-
mation in these new tagged fields is used in the state AFIS system, but the fields
are stripped off before transmission to IAFIS.
As part of its commitment to ensure image quality, the EFTS includes two
image quality specifications (IQS) as appendices: Appendix F: IAFIS Image Quality
Specifications, and the less stringent Appendix G: Interim IAFIS Image Quality Spec-
ifications for Scanners. To ensure that only equipment that meets the require-
ments of Appendix F or Appendix G is used, the FBI Communication and
Technology Branch of the CJIS Division undertakes testing of equipment
claimed by the manufacturer to meet the specifications. If the equipment meets
the requirements of Appendix F or Appendix G, it is listed as certified for

3 http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/iafis/efts70/cover.htm.