The General Services Administration will issue solicitations seeking smart-card services and devices next month on behalf of the Social Security Administration.

In recent notices, GSA said it will release the requests for proposals by Aug. 4.

The RFPs will be issued more than two months before the late October deadline for agencies to start issuing Personal Identity Verification cards to new employees under Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12. The cards must meet Federal Information Processing Standard 201-1, and there is widespread concern that many agencies will struggle to meet the upcoming deadline.

One RFP will be for a PIV card management system that will help SSA oversee the issuance and management of employee ID cards.

A second RFP will be for the smart cards themselves, which must meet GSA and National Institute of Standards and Technology requirements.