SAM.gov: The Federal System for Award Management

What is SAM?

The System for Award Management (SAM) is an online procurement system that collects, validates, and stores data from suppliers and disseminates it to various U.S. government agencies. All entities soliciting Federal grant aid or vendor contracts must register with SAM and renew the registration each year. For detailed information on SAM, see the SAM.gov Help Center.

SAM Lingo

CAGE codes

The Commercial And Government Entity (CAGE) Code is a five-character ID number used within the federal government as a standardized method of identifying a given legal entity at a specific location. It is assigned by the Department of Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). U.S. registrants do not need to have a CAGE Code prior to registering in SAM. Once a registrant submits the Entity Registration for processing, SAM sends the entity information to the DLA for CAGE Code assignment. Once the DLA assigns the CAGE Code, SAM will receive and apply the code to the Entity Registration. 

Entities and Entity Registrations

Parties looking to do business with the Federal government must register as “entities” in SAM. Entities can be sole proprietors, small businesses, and large corporations contracting with the government to provide goods or services, individuals, nonprofits and state governments receiving Federal assistance, as well as Federal government agencies participating in intra-governmental transactions. Entity Registrations expire after one year and must be renewed to be eligible to do business with the Federal government. 

Unique Entity ID

In the past SAM used Dun & Bradstreet DUNS numbers to identity entities but now uses an internal Unique Entity ID. This can be found on the entity list within your SAM.gov workspace.

Points of Contact

SAM.gov Entity Registrations includes a section for Points of Contacts, also knowns as POCs. These POCs are used for various types of electronic communication within SAM. There are several different types of POCs: Accounts Receivable POC, Electronic Business POC, Electronic Business Alternate POC, Government Business POC, Government Business Alternate POC. The main main POCs should be either the organization's primary executive or someone on the entity's staff with direct oversight of Federal grants and contracts. You can add alternate points of contact but they need to be someone associated with the organization so don't use a third party service provider as an alternate point of contact.

Logging into SAM

SAM uses the Login.gov system for user authentication, but you should still click the login button via the SAM landing page. See the section below on creating a SAM/Login.gov account for instructions.

Login.gov forces two-factor authentication either via SMS, voice call, or an authenticator app such as Google Authenticator. The system will default to whatever method you selected when you first set up your account, but you can choose an alternative method by clicking the Choose another security option link (this will only work if you have configured alternative 2FA methods for your account.

Creating a SAM/Login.gov account

1. Visit https://sam.gov/content/home and click Sign in.
2. Click Accept on the pop up.
3. Click Create an account.
4. Enter your email, select a language, confirm that you read the rules of use and click Submit.
5. Check your email and click the confirmation link.
6. Create a password and save it in your private vault in 1Password. I recommend adding both https://sam.gov/content/home and https://login.gov as websites on this 1Password entry so that you can use 1PW as a convenience link to get to SAM and also autofill when on login.gov.
7. Choose an authentication method. Google Authenticator is preferred but you may want to add your cell phone as well as a backup. Follow the prompts for the method you choose.
8. On the account confirmation page, click Agree and continue.
9. Click Sign in and enter your credentials.
10. Add your name to your SAM profile and click Submit.

More information: How to create a login.gov account

Identity Verification

As of 2022, certain government agencies require that users verify their identity by providing a state-issued ID, SSN, and phone number associated with their name (Google Voice is not eligible). For more information see the SAM.gov Help Center article on this topic.

Access to entities

After creating an account, sign into SAM and navigate to the Request A Role section at the bottom of the workspace dashboard. Select the role that you would like to request, check the box to verify that you have a business need for the role and click the Request Role button. You will need to select Data Entry if you want to make changes to the system.

On the following screen, enter the Unique Entity ID, Cage Code, or name of the entity you want to access in the Entity field and select the name from the dropdown. If the entity is not found, it may mean that the organization has never registered as an entity (see the section below for how to register a new entity).

In the Domain dropdown, select one of the following options.

• Contract Opportunities
• Entity Reporting
• Entity Registration

Add a note about why you need the role and click Submit. A request will go to the Entity Administrator to approve the request.

If you need access to multiple roles, complete the role request process once for each role.

Registering a new entity in SAM

See the SAM.gov Getting Started guide for a series of guides and checklists on how to start a new registration.

Renewing a SAM entity registration

SAM entity registrations must be renewed annually in order for an organization to receive Federal grant awards or contracts.

Before you begin

Be sure to review the SAM Quick Start Guide for Updating an Entity Registration and SAM Entity Registration Checklist to ensure that you have a solid understanding of the process before beginning.

Updating registration data

1. Login to sam.gov with an Entity Registration Administrator or Entity Administrator account. You will need your Login.gov credentials to do this.
2. Click the Agree button on the Terms of Service pop up.
3. Select See all under Entities in the Workspace.
4. Search or scroll to find the name of the organization whose Entity Registration you want to renew. From the meatball menu next to the organization's name, select Update.
5. Select the appropriate option depending on whether or not you are an employee of the entity. If you are not an employee you will need to enter specific contract dates and the email of the Entity Administrator who authorized you to submit the registration.
6. Check the box to indicate that you are authorized and click Next.
7. Download the Quick Start Guide (optional) and click Next.
8. If you are only using SAM to apply for grants, on the What is your goal? screen select Directly with the federal government and apply for federal financial assistance, then click Next.
9. On the following screen make the appropriate selection to indicate why you are registering with SAM. For federal grants, select Federal government and select the appropriate government agency from the Federal Hierarchy dropdown (e.g. 417 - National Endowment for the Arts)
10. Under What would you like to update?, select on of the following options:
    I would like to update my Points of Contact: If you just need to update the Points of Contact without affecting the registration. This will not renew the registration for another year.
    I would like to update/renew my entire Entity Registration: This process must be completed at least once every 365 days and requires IRS and CAGE validation, which can take up to 10 business days.
11. Click Next.
12. If your organization is only pursuing federal grants, select Financial Assistance. Otherwise select All Awards. SAM will search its database and return your entity information. Confirm that it is the correct entity and click Next.
13. Confirm the purpose of registration and click Next. Download the Entity Registration Checklist for more details on the steps you will complete in the following sections.
14. Click Next on the CAGE Code screen.
15. Confirm the purpose of the registration and click Next.
16. Confirm whether the entity's name and address are correct. If you need to update the name or address, select the appropriate option and click Next. Check the appropriate box and complete the steps that follow. A list of documents required to validate a new address can be found in the guide What documentation do I need to validate my entity?
    Note: if you make changes, SAM will need to validate the changes before you can proceed with the registration. This can take several business days.
17. Leave the box to include your organization in public search unchecked. Checking this box means your registration status, legal business name, physical address, and other non-sensitive information can be displayed on SAM.gov to any authenticated user. Click Next.
18. Click Continue on the Core Data page.
19. Review/update data on the Business Information page and click Save and Continue.
20. Review/update data on the Business Information page and click Save and Continue. Typically you will only need to update the Most Recent Tax Year field. Click Save and Continue. A one time password will be sent to your account email for IRS TIN matching. Click Send Password, enter the password received via email in the OTP field, and click Confirm Password.
21. Review/update data on the General Information page and click Save and Continue.
22. On the Financial Information page, verify that the banking information matches the organization’s current bank account and update the Remittance Address information if necessary. You may need to update the Name field if staff at the organization has changed. This information is used for electronic payment of Federal grants and contracts so it should be updated whenever the organization’s primary bank account changes. Select No on "Do you accept credit cards as a method of payment?" unless you want to accept payment via a government purchase card (not recommended for grantees). Once the information is updated, click Save and continue.
23. Update the Executive Compensation Questions information if necessary. The first question in usually set to No since it only applies to organizations with $25 million or more in Federal contracts. The second question is not applicable by default if you answer No to the first question. Click Save and continue.
24. Update the Proceedings Questions information if necessary. The first question in usually set to No since it only applies to organizations with $10 million or more in Federal contracts. The second and third questions are not applicable by default if you answer No to the first question. Click Save and continue.
25. Review the data and then click Save and continue.
26. On the Representations and Certifications page, indicates whether your organization is applying for or is a current recipient of a Federal financial assistance project or program. Review the representations and certifications, check the box at the bottom of the page, and click Save and Continue.
27. In the Points of Contact section, enter a current staff member as Accounts Receivable POC, Electronic Business POC and Government Business POC. This will need to be updated when there is staff turnover in key roles. Optional/alternate POCs can be left blank. Click Save and Continue.
28. Review the data and click Submit.
29. Click the Send Password button in the popup box to have a one-time password sent to your email address. Enter the one-time password, and click Confirm Password.

Once the registration is submitted, you will receive a confirmation email of the submission. At this stage the registration is in a pending state while it is validated by the IRS and CAGE Code system. SAM will also verify that the Entity has submitted a notarized letter designating an Entity Administrator. They can be accessed via the Google Docs Template Gallery.

Notarized Entity Administrator Authorization Letter

As of July 1, 2018, all entities must submit a notarized Entity Administrator Authorization letter designating the primary administrator of their account. This only needs to be completed once but it must be done within 30 days of the submission of the entity registration or the registration will expire.

1. Make a copy of the template for the Single Entity or Multiple Entity notarized letter
2. Rename the document to include the name of your organization and remove the word “Template.” 
3. Complete the highlighted fields on the first page of the letter (second page of template): DATE, NAME, TITLE, and COMPANY. The Designation of Entity Administrator should be completed with the information of your organization's authorized signatory (e.g. Executive Director, Managing Director).
4. Complete the section Entity Covered by this Letter with the organization’s DUNS number, Legal Business Name, and Physical Address. The DUNS number and Business Name can be found by going to Entity Registrations > Existing Entity Registrations on SAM.gov. Select the entity from the Entity List, and the information will appear right below the list.
5. Enter the contact information for the primary Entity Administrator in the Entity Administrator Contact Information section.
6. For the Account Administrator Preference, check Self-Administration Confirmation.
7. Complete the Attestation section with the information of the authorized signatory used in the Designation section above.

The letter is now ready to be signed, notarized and mailed.

You will will need to print the letter onto your letterhead. Be sure to confirm that the box for Self-Administration Confirmation is checked on the printed version. Sign the form in the presence of a Notary Public, then mail to the following address:

FEDERAL SERVICE DESK

ATTN: SAM.GOV REGISTRATION PROCESSING

460 INDUSTRIAL BLVD

LONDON, KY 40741-7285

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Issues or unexpected results

Make sure to watch your email for any notices from @dla.mil. If there are any issues with the CAGE code, your Entity Administrator will receive an email, and you have only 5 business days to respond or the SAM registration will be deactivated. If you run into any problems with the registration update (i.e. the CAGE Code does not clear review because it is connected with an affiliate or some other reason), it’s best to start by contacting the Sam.gov Service Desk at 866-606-8220. For CAGE code specific issues, you may also need to contact the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) DLA Customer Interaction Center at 1-877-352-2255 (press 6 for Other Options; then press 5 for CAGE).

After getting information on the nature of the issue and correcting it per SAM/DLA instructions, you’ll need to re-submit the SAM.gov registration.

Entity Users

Adding an Entity User

In SAM.gov, an organization is known as an “Entity,” and each Entity can have a number of users associated with them with various roles. To grant access:

1. Log in to an existing Entity Administrator SAM.gov account.
2. Once you have logged in, scroll down to the section titled User Directory.
3. Select Assign Role.
4. Under Email Address, enter the email address of the user you want to grant access to.
5. Indicate whether or not the user is an employee, officer, or board member of the organization. For third party users, enter the start and end date of their contract with your organization.
6. Search for and select your organization on the Entity Selector.
7. On the Role pick list, select the role that you want to grant to the user, e.g Data Entry.
8. On the Domain pick list, select the domain that corresponds to what you want to allow the user to do, e.g. Entity Registration. Note that only Entity Administrators will see all options. Third party service providers have limited administrative privileges and will only see a subset of options
9. Add the invite reason “Entity Registration admin” or other note and click Send Invitation

Removing an Entity User

1. Log in to an existing Entity Administrator SAM.gov account.
2. Once you have logged in, scroll down to the section titled User Directory.
3. Select See all.
4. Search for and select your organization in the Entity Picker.
5. Select View Access from the Actions menu next to the name of the user you want to remove.
6. Click the trash can icon on the right side of the pane listing the organization name and the permissions granted. If you only want to edit access permissions click the pencil icon.
7. Click Delete to confirm removal of their access to the organization in SAM.gov. This does not delete the user account. It only removes the connection between the user and the organization.