
Article 1 

1. The minimum data quality standards set out in the Annex shall apply to all fingerprint records used within SIS II.
2. The fingerprint input format used within SIS II, which does not comply with the standards set out in the Annex, shall be rejected by the Central System of SIS II (CS-SIS) and shall not be used or stored.
3. Compliant fingerprint input format that contains fingerprints below the quality threshold shall not be inserted into the Automated Fingerprint Identification System to permit searching. These files shall be stored in SIS II and may be used only to confirm a person's identity in accordance with Articles 22(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 and Decision 2007/533/JHA.
Article 2 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 4 August 2016.
For the Commission
Dimitris AVRAMOPOULOS
Member of the Commission
ANNEX
1. 
This annex sets forth minimum requirements relating to standards and input formats which are to be met when capturing and transmitting biometric (fingerprint) data to SIS II.

2. 
The input format of fingerprint images (and their accompanying alphanumeric data) shall be compliant with the ANSI/NIST binary format. The SIS II fingerprint input format shall be based on a NIST standard and shall become part of the SIS II Interface Control Document (SIS II ICD). Only the specific SIS NIST (based on one specific version of the ANSI/NIST format) definition shall be used and enforced.

3. 
The CS-SIS AFIS shall be compatible and interoperable with data captured using live-scan devices at the national level which are capable of capturing and segmenting up to 10 individual fingerprints; rolled, flat or both.

The CS-SIS AFIS shall be compatible and interoperable with ‘inked’ fingerprints, acquired before the date of this Decision; rolled, flat or both, which were then digitally scanned at the relevant quality and resolution.
 3.1. 
The Central System of SIS II (CS-SIS) shall receive fingerprint images of a nominal resolution of either 1 000 dpi or of 500 dpi with 256 grey levels.

500 dpi images shall be sent using the WSQ format while 1 000 dpi images must be in JPEG2000 (JP2).

4. 
The following requirements, for use with live-scan and paper-scan devices, must be met:
 4.1. 
The CS-SIS AFIS shall establish quality thresholds for accepting fingerprints. A check on quality must be performed locally by Member States prior to sending the images to SIS II, which must meet the specifications that will be defined in accordance with Article 51 of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 and Article 67 of Decision 2007/533/JHA.

Fingerprint images that do not meet the quality threshold determined by the CS-SIS AFIS shall not be inserted for automated searching, but shall be stored in SIS to confirm the identity of a person pursuant to point (b) of Article 22 of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 and point (b) of Article 22 of Decision 2007/533/JHA.

If a non-compliant SIS NIST file is rejected, an automatic message shall be sent to the Member State explaining the issue.

If the SIS NIST file is compliant with the ICD, but the content is of insufficient quality for identification purposes in the AFIS, an automatic message shall be sent to the Member State clarifying that the fingerprints cannot be used for identification purposes (enrolment or search). This mechanism provides the opportunity for the Member State to re-capture the prints and send a new set to the central system.

The quality threshold may be modified in the future.

The management authority shall provide, maintain and update a tool for checking quality and deliver it to the Member States in order to ensure the same level of quality check and to avoid low-quality data.

5. 
CS-SIS AFIS shall insert into the biometric database the fingerprint images above the quality threshold with at most one image per finger type (NIST identification 1 to 10), therefore meaning between 1 to 10 flat prints and 1 to 10 rolled fingerprints. Each fingerprint image shall be correctly labelled as to which finger it relates. Missing or bandaged fingerprints shall always be identified accordingly as specified by the SIS II ICD in compliance with the NIST standard. All fingerprint images shall be retained by CS-SIS, allowing rejected fingerprints to be used for verification purposes. As an exception, partial (low quality) fingerprint images may be used for storing and inserting where this concerns missing persons.

6. 
CS-SIS AFIS shall perform biometric searches (biometric identifications) using the fingerprint images above the quality threshold and with at most one image per finger type (NIST identification 1 to 10). Each fingerprint image shall be correctly labelled as to which finger it relates. Missing or bandaged fingerprints shall always be identified accordingly as specified by the SIS II ICD in compliance with the NIST standard.

7. 
CS-SIS AFIS shall be able to perform biometric verifications with any number of flat or rolled fingerprints between 1 and 10. Each NIST file shall contain at most one image per finger type (NIST identification 1 to 10). The use of ‘permutations’ shall be performed for verifications by CS-SIS AFIS regardless of the fingerprint labelling. Missing or bandaged fingerprints shall always be identified accordingly as specified by the SIS II ICD in compliance with the NIST standard.
