FAPIIS or integrity records?
They are the same information under a new name. The Part 9 proposed rule of September 18, 2026 says GSA retired FAPIIS as part of its systems modernization, that the records are now read in SAM.gov and reported in CPARS.gov, and it replaces the term "FAPIIS" with "integrity records". That rule isn't final and the FAR as codified still says FAPIIS, so you will see both names for a while.
What's in them
- Responsibility records entered by agencies: for example terminations for default or cause, non-responsibility determinations and administrative agreements
- Proceedings the contractor reported itself under FAR 52.209-7: criminal, civil and administrative proceedings connected with federal awards over the last five years
These records are shown with the entity's record in SAM.gov. Under FAR 9.104-6, contracting officers review them before awards above the simplified acquisition threshold. A record isn't an exclusion; it is information a responsibility decision takes into account. The proposed text also says records posted by the government go public after 14 calendar days, so a contractor has a short window to see a posting first.
Why a prime watches it for subs
A new termination for default or a newly reported proceeding is the kind of thing you want to know before you renew or expand a subcontract, not after a contracting officer asks about it.
The FAR makes responsibility a chain. A prospective prime is responsible for determining the responsibility of its prospective subs, and the proposed text keeps the point that those determinations can affect the government's view of the prime. A record doesn't bar a sub, but it should prompt a question, and your file should show the answer.
What to do when you find a record
- Read what it is: a termination for default weighs differently from an administrative agreement, and a reported proceeding may have closed in the company's favor
- Check the date and whether it relates to the kind of work you are buying
- Ask the sub what happened and what changed since
- Record your decision and the reason, so the next person doesn't have to start over
How Watch does it
Watch asks the SAM.gov Entity API for the registrations its customers watch, within SAM.gov's daily call allowance, and turns each responsibility record and reported proceeding into a finding with its date. A new supplier's answer can take a day or more to arrive; until it does, Watch shows it as unknown, never as "none".
Proceedings are shown by their named fields (date, type, disposition, instrument); free-text descriptions, which can name people, aren't kept. A watch can be told to alert on these ("Watch UEI … for FAPIIS records, critical").