Registering on SAM.gov

What SAM.gov is and why you must register

SAM.gov — the System for Award Management — is the federal government's official vendor database and the primary portal where contract opportunities are posted. Before any agency can award you a contract or pay you, your business must have an active entity registration in SAM. Registration is also how you make your basic representations (small business status, socioeconomic categories, and so on) that solicitations rely on.

One thing to internalize before anything else: registering in SAM.gov is 100 percent free. The government never charges for registration, renewal, or a UEI.

Warning: paid-registration scams

The moment your registration information becomes visible, third-party companies will start calling and emailing you. Many use official-sounding names, urgent language about your registration 'expiring,' and invoices for hundreds of dollars to 'complete' or 'renew' your SAM registration. Some are legitimate consultants; many are predatory; none of them are the government.

You never need to pay anyone to register or renew in SAM.gov. If you want help, free assistance is available from APEX Accelerators and the Federal Service Desk (fsd.gov). If you do choose to hire a consultant, that is a business decision — but make it knowingly, not because an email scared you.

The identifiers: UEI and CAGE

The Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is a 12-character ID issued by SAM.gov itself (it replaced the old DUNS number in 2022). You get a UEI as part of registration — there is no separate vendor to deal with.

The CAGE code (Commercial and Government Entity code) is a five-character ID assigned by the Department of Defense. For US businesses, the CAGE code is assigned or validated automatically during SAM registration; you do not apply separately. Agencies use both identifiers constantly, so keep them handy once assigned.

What to gather before you start

Registration goes much faster with everything in hand: your legal business name and physical address exactly as they appear on official records, your Taxpayer Identification Number (EIN) and the name/address the IRS has on file, your bank account and routing numbers for electronic payment, your NAICS codes, and basic company data like start date and average revenue or employee count (used to determine size status).

You will also need a Login.gov account with multi-factor authentication — that is how individuals sign in to SAM.gov.

The registration steps

Step one is entity validation: SAM must verify that your legal name and physical address match an authoritative record. Mismatches (a suite number missing, an old address on file with the IRS) are the most common source of delays, and you may be asked to upload documentation such as articles of incorporation or a utility bill.

Step two is the core registration: business information, IRS consent for TIN matching, financial information for payment, points of contact, and your assertions — NAICS codes, and answers to the representations and certifications questionnaire that establishes your size and socioeconomic statuses.

Step three is submission and processing. After you submit, the registration goes through IRS and CAGE validation. Plan for the whole process to take from a few days to several weeks, so register well before you want to bid — not the week a proposal is due.

Renew every year — and keep it accurate

SAM registration expires after 365 days. If it lapses, you cannot receive new awards, exercised options, or payments until you renew, and a lapse at the wrong moment can cost you a contract you already won on paper. Renewal is free and usually faster than initial registration.

Beyond the annual renewal, update your record promptly whenever anything material changes — address, ownership, size status, banking details. Contracting officers check SAM at award time, and stale data creates real problems.

After registration: make yourself findable

An active registration lets you bid, but it also makes you visible. The Small Business Administration runs the Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS), populated partly from your SAM profile — many agency small business specialists and prime contractors use it to find vendors. Write a clear, keyword-rich capabilities narrative in your SBA profile: what you sell, the NAICS codes you serve, certifications you hold, and geographic coverage.

From here, the natural next steps are confirming your NAICS codes and size status, pursuing any set-aside certifications you qualify for, and setting up saved searches for live opportunities.