Updates

Printing Procurement Regulations (PPR) Revision (February 2024)

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) has revised the Printing Procurement Regulations (PPR). For more information, see Printing Procurement Regulations and Printing Procurement Regulations Summary of Changes.

Reevaluation of Vendor Samples (June 27, 2023)

GPO conducts a continuous process of evaluating vendor ability to produce products in accordance with GPO Quality Assurance through Attributes Program (QATAP) standards as part of GPO’s procurement procedure. A vendor’s quality level is used as one of the factors in determining vendor responsibility by Contracting Officers. With rapid changes in technologies, it has become necessary to have vendors resubmit proofs and printed samples every 5-years. This requirement only applies to current vendors that have proven the ability to meet Quality Level 1 and 2 tolerances according to QATAP. Please contact our Quality Control for Published Products Team if you have any questions via email at [email protected] or phone via 202.512.0542.

Regional Agency Procurement Services (APS) Teams Realignment (effective October 1, 2022)

Effective October 1, 2022, GPO will be restructuring our former Regional Agency Procurement Services (APS) Offices into virtual Regional APS Teams. We have consolidated a few of our former offices to create teams to enhance support of our customers procurement requirements. Therefore, we are in the process of vacating our physical leased space. In doing so, we have renamed our Regional APS Offices to reflect the broader geographic regions they serve rather than individual physical locations. For more detailed information, see GPO's Circular Letter.

Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Now Required for Government Registration (April 4, 2022)

As of April 4, 2022, the Federal Government has transitioned from using the DUNS number to a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) created in SAM.gov. Current SAM.gov registrants have already been assigned their Unique Entity Identifier (SAM) and can view it within SAM.gov. GPO will use this number to confirm exclusion status. GPO requests all vendors previously registered in Contractor Connection, to enter this number in your registration. For more information, visit https://sam.gov/content/home.

Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors (October 7, 2021)

On September 24, 2021, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force issued guidance to implement the Executive Order 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors, which implements workplace safety protocols that apply to all covered contractor employees working on a Federal Government contract or contract-like instrument. You are encouraged to become familiar with this mandate by going to this site For Federal Contractors | Safer Federal Workforce.

**Parking Rate Notification for all Contractors**

Effective immediately, all contractors who wish to park on any of the GPO’s parking lots will be charged for a fee. The rate listed will apply to all contractors without exception.

For general questions regarding this policy or compliance information, please contact GPO Security Department at 202-512-1338.

The parking rates are as follows:
Daily Rate: $9.00
Monthly Rate: $145.00

Working with GPO, On Demand Webinar - Contract Compliance 

The 30 Minutes with GPO webinar series presented by the Government Publishing Office Contract Compliance has created an on-demand webinar that will define contract compliance and discuss the roles and processes of GPO Customer Service’s Contract Compliance section. 

This presentation will give you a better understanding of how the section operates and the contractor’s roles and responsibilities in maintaining compliance with GPO contracts. 

Additional contractual information can be found in the GPO publication Contract Terms 310.2 on gpo.gov. It is incumbent upon contractors to be familiar with this document.

Notices

All Contractors Wishing To Do Business With the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO)

Every contractor seeking to do business with the GPO must first complete and thereafter maintain the accuracy of its GPO Contractor Connection registration with the following mandatory taxpayer information boxes:

  • "EIN/TIN #" (Employer Identification Number or Taxpayer Identification Number)
  • "Subject to Backup Withholding" (See Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification)
  • "Current W-9 Request" (See Form W-9)

GPO will withhold payment of any invoices for work completed by any contractor who fails to provide these tax data in GPO Contractor Connection. Such invoices will be declared ineligible for payment until all requirements for payment, including providing these tax data in GPO Contractor Connection, have been satisfied.

Imprint Line for GPO Contracts

The GPO imprint line has been updated with the new GPO logo and agency name. This imprint line should appear on all products and publications produced by, or for the GPO:

  1. at the bottom of the last printed page on books and pamphlets
  2. at the bottom of the back on face and back products
  3. at the bottom of face-only products (except letterheads, certificates, etc.), or in the stub of multipart sets.

The GPO logo for the new imprint line is available as a .zip file here: GPO Logos

The GPO imprint line must be set in 6-point sans serif type (e.g., Arial regular) and should consist of the GPO logo which can be downloaded from the website, the current calendar year, an em dash, and the jacket number. In the case of term contracts, the print order number must also be included in the imprint line. The items following the GPO logo in the imprint should be added manually by the contractor. Additional commercial identification mark(s) of any kind must not appear on any product(s) ordered.

Contractor Quality Level Evaluations

As part of GPO's procurement procedure, our agency maintains a continuous Quality Control Process to support its customers. One aspect of this process is to determine a contractor's ability to consistently produce orders at the required quality level without undue assistance on the part of the Government. These ratings are also used when generating bid lists for procurements that determine who solicitations will be issued to on a rotating basis and by our Contracting Officers as an aid in making responsibility determinations on individual contracts. With the rapid changes in technologies and the industry in recent years it has become necessary to have vendors resubmit after a 5-year period to ensure our Government Contractors are still producing at the level when they were originally rated. GPO is currently contacting vendors to request that they proceed with the resubmission process. Please contact our Quality Control Team if you have any questions via email at [email protected] or phone via 202.512.0542.

The Government Publishing Office posts all solicitations of the Agency Procurement Services (APS) opportunities online at GPO’s Contractor Connection. In addition, formal bids can also be found on FedBizOps. Upon request, GPO’s various procurement offices will make available single copies of specific solicitations free of charge to interested parties.

For anyone interested in obtaining a comprehensive service of all GPO solicitations and abstracts for commercial printing contracts daily, subscriptions are available. This may also include a daily email of all small purchase abstracts and/or a hard copy of all DC Print Orders. All pricing is on a cost-recovery basis.

For additional information:

  • Call the Manager, Bid Section, on 202.512.0526
  • Write to the U.S. Government Publishing Office, Bid Section, Room C-848, Stop CSPS, 732 North Capitol Street, NW, Washington, DC 20401
  • Or email [email protected].

Most of the contractors that produce work for GPO also are involved in commercial sector printing. Standards of conduct of government versus commercial employees may at times be confusing and are oftentimes different. What is acceptable for one group may not be acceptable for the other.

All GPO personnel are covered by an instruction that clearly spells out what is considered proper standards of conduct. In pertinent part, those standards are as follows:

No GPO employee shall solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, any gift or favor, entertainment, loan or any other thing of monetary value, from any person, corporation, or group which —

  1. Seeks to obtain, contractual or other business or financial relationships with the GPO
  2. Conducts operations or activities that are regulated by GPO
  3. Has interests which may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of his/her official duty

Whether or not specifically prohibited it is intended that GPO employees avoid any action which might result in, or create the appearance of —

  1. Using public office for private gain
  2. Giving preferential treatment to any organization or person
  3. Impeding government efficiency or economy
  4. Losing complete independence or impartiality of action
  5. Making a government decision outside of official channels
  6. Affecting adversely the confidence of the public in the integrity of the GPO

A GPO employee shall not use Federal property of any kind for other than officially approved activities. He/she must protect and conserve all Federal property, including equipment and supplies, entrusted or issued to him/her.

A GPO employee shall not directly or indirectly make use of, or permit others to make use of, for the purpose of furthering a private interest, official information not made available to the general public.

Any questions should be addressed to the Manager, Printing Procurement Department.

The Director and the Inspector General have made a strong commitment to reducing and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in GPO programs and operations. Contractors or their employees who discover instances of waste, fraud, or abuse in dealing with government employees or other contractors are encouraged to notify GPO.

In keeping with this commitment, a GPO Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Telephone Hotline has been established at 1.800.743.7574. The hotline is staffed Monday through Friday between the hours of 7 a.m. through 6 p.m. EST. Callers are encouraged to speak directly to an OIG hotline representative, but you can leave a message during non-duty hours and weekends.

As an alternative to the hotline, contractors may submit a GPO OIG complaint form to:

Office of Inspector General
Office of Investigations
Post Office Box 1790
Washington, DC 20013-1790

Individuals are not required to identify themselves when providing information by telephone or in writing. However, those electing to identify themselves are assured of confidentiality.

Contract Pricing and Specification Archive

Abstracts and specifications for Term Contracts are posted on the Contract Pricing page after award and available for the term of the contract.

GPO Form 712 – Certificate of Conformance

The Government Publishing Office will no longer provide GPO Form 712 Certificate of Conformance in the three part carbon paper format to contractors using a Postage and Fees Paid mailing label or indicia. GPO Contract Terms (Publication 310.2), Supplemental Specification #11, is changed to require contractors to access a digital copy of the form which is revised and available with instructions on our Forms and Standards page.