How to Register in SAM.gov

What SAM is and why you have to register

SAM stands for the System for Award Management. It lives at sam.gov. Run by the General Services Administration (GSA). One central place where every business that wants to do federal work registers itself, says who it is, what it sells, and where to send the money.

You need to be registered, and your registration has to be in Active status, to do any of these things:

• Submit a bid or proposal on a federal contract
• Receive payment for work performed under a federal contract
• Be evaluated as a subcontractor on a federal prime contract
• Apply for most federal grants and assistance programs

SAM does not get you contracts. It just makes you eligible to be considered for them. Treat registration like getting a fishing license, not catching a fish.

For a brand-new LLC pursuing prime contracts, you want a full All Awards registration. There is also a "Unique Entity ID only" record (UEI but no full registration) and a "Financial Assistance Only" path (grants but not contracts). Neither of those lets you bid on contracts. Pick All Awards.

The realistic timeline

Anybody telling you SAM registration takes "an afternoon" is selling something. Here's the honest version:

Bottom line: budget 2-6 weeks from the day you start to the day you're "award-ready." If anything needs manual review or correction, it can be longer. Do not commit to a contract proposal deadline that depends on SAM activating in the next two weeks unless you've already submitted and validated.

Phase 1 · Before you start: the prep checklist

The single biggest reason new contractors get stuck is data mismatch. Your legal name in SAM has to match what the IRS has, your address has to be a real physical location, your bank info has to be exact. Get all of this in front of you before you log into anything.

About DUNS numbers (the question you're going to ask)

You don't need one. DUNS was retired in April 2022 and replaced by the UEI (Unique Entity Identifier). The UEI is a 12-character code that SAM assigns to you automatically during registration. If anyone tells you to "buy a DUNS first," they're either out of date or scamming you.

About CAGE codes (the other question you're going to ask)

CAGE stands for Commercial and Government Entity code. Five characters. Issued by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). For U.S. companies, you do not need to obtain one separately. SAM submits your registration to DLA and DLA assigns you a CAGE automatically as part of post-submission processing. If anyone offers to "get you a CAGE" for a fee, they're scamming you.

Phase 2a · Create your Login.gov account

SAM uses Login.gov to handle sign-ins. Free, run by GSA, no account at SAM until you have an account at Login.gov.

1. Go to login.gov and click Create Account. Use an email address you actually own and will keep using. If you own the LLC, use your personal business email, not a shared mailbox.
2. Create a strong password. Login.gov requires at least 12 characters. A password manager is your friend.
3. Set up multi-factor authentication (MFA). This is the second login step that proves it's actually you. Login.gov gives you several options.
4. Set up a SECOND MFA method as backup. If you only have one and lose access to it, Login.gov may require you to delete and recreate the account, which means re-doing your SAM registration linkage. Set up two from the start.

Phase 2b · The SAM registration, screen by screen

You have your prep checklist. You have a Login.gov account with two MFA methods. Now you actually fill out the form. Plan 45-90 minutes uninterrupted. Don't try to do this five minutes at a time across a week. SAM doesn't auto-save the way a web app might, and the validation step is sequential.

1. Go to sam.gov directly. Type the URL. Don't click a link in an email. There are dozens of lookalike sites that exist only to steal your credentials.
2. Click Sign In and use your Login.gov credentials. If this is your first time signing into SAM, it will associate your Login.gov identity with a SAM account.
3. Click "Get Started" on the home page (or use the Entities widget in your Workspace).
4. Click "Create New Entity" and answer the short questionnaire that appears:
   • What is your goal? → Do business directly with the U.S. federal government
   • Who required your entity to be in SAM.gov? → Either "I chose on my own" or whichever federal agency told you to register
   • SAM will recommend a registration path based on your answers. For a new contractor, the right path is All Awards. If SAM recommends something different and you know it's wrong, override it.
5. Confirm entity type and CAGE status:
   • Are you registering a government entity? → No (a normal LLC is not a government entity)
   • Do you already have a CAGE code? → No (SAM will assign one after submission)
6. Enter your legal business name and physical address. Type the legal name exactly as it appears on your Articles of Organization (or equivalent). When you enter the ZIP code, the city and state may auto-populate. Verify they're right.
   Address rules. Real physical address. No P.O. boxes. No mailbox stores. If you operate from home, your home address is acceptable. If you use a virtual office for mail, the physical address SAM wants is wherever you actually keep your records, which is often still your home.
7. Wait for entity validation. SAM tries to match what you entered against external records. Three possible outcomes:
   • Clean match → you proceed immediately to UEI assignment
   • Partial match or no match → SAM asks you to upload supporting documents (typically your formation document plus a recent utility bill, bank statement, or certificate of good standing showing the same name and address)
   • Validation ticket → if documents don't satisfy the auto-checker, SAM creates a manual validation ticket and a human reviewer takes over. This can take days or several weeks.
8. Get your UEI. Once validation succeeds, SAM assigns your 12-character UEI. Write it down or screenshot it. You'll need it for everything from now on.
9. Complete Core Data. The biggest section. Includes:
   • Business start date (your LLC formation date)
   • Fiscal year end (most small businesses use Dec 31)
   • Optional website URL
   • Mailing address (can differ from physical)
   • TIN information: this is where the IRS match happens. The taxpayer name and address you enter must match what the IRS has on file for your EIN. Use your CP 575 letter from the IRS or your most recent W-9.
   • IRS Consent: you check a box authorizing SAM to verify your TIN with the IRS. Without this consent and a successful match, your registration cannot activate.
   • Banking info for EFT: routing number (the EFT ABA one, not the wire one), account number, account type, remittance address.
   • Ownership and structure questions
   • Executive compensation disclosure (only if your entity received $25M+ in federal funding in the previous year, which a new LLC has not)
   • MPIN: you'll be asked to create one. Treat it like a password. Some federal systems use it for additional verification.
10. Complete Assertions. What your business does and how big it is:
    • Primary NAICS code (the one that best matches your main line of business)
    • Optional secondary NAICS codes (only the ones you actually perform under, not aspirational ones)
    • Optional PSC codes (Product Service Codes: the government's classification of what they buy)
    • Size metrics: number of employees, average annual receipts
    • Optional EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) info, optional Disaster Response Registry
    About size. The SBA has size standards by NAICS code. If you're under the threshold, you're a small business for that NAICS, and that opens up small-business set-aside opportunities. Be honest. Misrepresenting size is a False Claims Act issue and can void contracts.
11. Complete Representations and Certifications (Reps and Certs). The section that scares everyone. It's a long set of yes/no questions and disclosures that contracting officers rely on instead of asking you the same questions every time you bid.

    Topics covered include: small business status and socio-economic categories, equal employment compliance, covered telecommunications equipment (the Huawei/ZTE bans), foreign ownership questions if you do DoD work, integrity and business ethics certifications, and many more.

    Plan 30-60 minutes for this section alone. Read each question. If you don't understand one, stop and look it up rather than guessing. You're certifying these answers under penalty of law.

    This section deserves its own deep dive. The KTHQ SAM Reps and Certs guide walks through every major category from a contracting officer's perspective: what we read first during market research, the pitfalls that cost vendors awards, and what to get right. Read it before or alongside this section.
    Don't copy another company's reps and certs. They're company-specific. Wrong answers can disqualify your bids or expose you to liability later.
12. Complete Points of Contact. Three required:
    • Accounts Receivable POC: the person who handles payment problems
    • Electronic Business POC: the person who manages SAM, registration issues, and electronic systems
    • Government Business POC: the person agencies should contact about bids, capability, and business questions

    If you're a one-person LLC, you can be all three. Just make sure the email and phone you provide are ones you actually monitor daily.

13. Optional: SBA Supplemental Profile. If you marked yourself as a small business under at least one NAICS, SAM offers you a link to the SBA's Small Business Search profile. Fill this out if you want to be findable in SBA's vendor directory. Not required for SAM registration.
14. Review and Submit. The Entity Review page shows you everything you entered. Read it. Read it again. Once you submit, you cannot edit until reviews are complete.
    Save the confirmation. Screenshot it, save the email, write down your UEI somewhere safe. You'll need this if anything goes wrong later.

Phase 3 · The wait, and what to do if it stalls

You hit Submit. Now what? Here's what's actually happening:

1. SAM sends your TIN information to the IRS. The IRS checks whether the taxpayer name and address you entered match their records. This is the #1 reason registrations get rejected. If they match, the IRS sends a thumbs-up back to SAM. Time: usually a few business days.
2. SAM sends your registration to the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). DLA assigns you a CAGE code (or verifies one if you said you had it). Time: usually a few business days.
3. SAM activates your record. Once both checks pass, your status flips to Active. You get an email.
4. Other federal systems pick up your active status. 24-48 hours typical for downstream systems to sync.

Officially, the Federal Service Desk says steps 1-3 take 10-15 business days. That's the average. Some clear in 5 days. Some take 6+ weeks if anything needs manual review. Don't panic if you're at day 12 with no update.

If your registration has been "Submitted" for more than 15 business days

Check two places:

1. Your Workspace in SAM (sign in, look at your entity)
2. The Check Entity Status tool on SAM (publicly accessible)

Compare what they say. If both show the same "Submitted - In Progress" status, your registration is stuck on the CAGE side. Contact DLA's Customer Interaction Center: 1-877-352-2255.

If the two tools show different statuses, there's a sync issue and you should contact the Federal Service Desk: 1-866-606-8220.

The 10 most common rejections

1. TIN / IRS name mismatch. Your taxpayer name in SAM doesn't match exactly what the IRS has for your EIN. Fix: use your CP 575 EIN confirmation letter or W-9 as the source of truth. If the IRS has an old name and you've since changed it, update with the IRS first.
2. Address mismatch across IRS, state, and SAM. Same business should have the same address everywhere. Fix: reconcile your records before submitting.
3. P.O. box used as physical address. Won't pass entity validation. Fix: use a real physical address. Your home address is fine.
4. Wrong routing number type. SAM wants the EFT ABA routing number. The wire routing number is a different number. Fix: call your bank and specifically ask for the ACH/EFT routing number.
5. Validation documents rejected. Outdated documents, low-resolution scans, documents in a foreign language without certified translation, or documents that don't match the legal name/address you entered. Fix: use clean, current, official documents. Read FSD's acceptable-document guidance carefully before re-submitting.
6. Stale state business records. Brand-new LLCs sometimes don't appear in the data sources SAM checks against because the state hasn't published yet. Fix: upload your formation documents during validation. The reviewer will work with you.
7. Foreign ownership question answered incorrectly. If you do DoD work, certain foreign-ownership questions trigger additional review. Fix: answer truthfully. If you're a wholly U.S.-owned domestic LLC, you have nothing to worry about.
8. Reps and Certs left incomplete. If you skip required questions, the registration won't submit. Fix: go back to the Reps and Certs section and complete every required field.
9. Only one Entity Administrator. If your only admin loses access, your registration becomes orphaned and recovering it takes weeks. Fix: always designate at least two Entity Administrators (employees or officers of your company, not service providers).
10. Trying to use a service provider as Entity Administrator. GSA changed the rules in 2023. Entity Administrators must be employees, officers, or board members of the entity itself. Outside consultants and "registration services" cannot legally hold the role. Fix: name an internal person.

Annual renewal (and not getting scammed)

SAM registration expires 365 days after activation. You have to renew every year to stay Active. Renewal is free, takes 15-30 minutes if your information hasn't changed, and is done at sam.gov directly.

Recommended: start renewal 60 days before your expiration date. The post-submission validation can take just as long as initial registration, and if your registration lapses you can't bid or get paid until it reactivates.

Critical detail: FAR 52.204-7 requires you to maintain an active SAM registration not just to win an award, but throughout contract performance and through final payment. If your registration lapses mid-contract, payments can stop until you reactivate. Don't let it lapse.

Scam protection & account security

The SAM scam industry is real and pulls millions out of small businesses every year. Three categories of attack to know about:

1. Predatory "registration services"

Companies that charge $300-$1,500 to fill out the SAM form for you. It's technically legal. You're paying for data entry. But it's almost always a bad deal: the form isn't that hard once you have your information ready, the companies often store your sensitive credentials, and many of them auto-renew you next year so they can bill you again.

The best move: do it yourself or work with a free APEX Accelerator (see Free Help below). Save the $1,000.

2. Fake invoices and renewal emails

Fake invoices and "your registration expires in 7 days, pay now" emails are constant. Tells:

• The word "INVOICE" or a dollar amount. SAM never invoices anyone.
• A link that goes anywhere other than sam.gov. Hover before you click.
• An urgency tactic ("act today or lose eligibility")
• A phone number to call a "renewal specialist"

Real SAM emails come from @sam.gov, @gsa.gov, or @dla.mil. Real SAM emails never ask for money. Full breakdown here.

3. Lookalike domains and credential theft

Sites like sam-gov.us, samgov.org, federal-sam.com, samrenewal.us are not real. Some show up as paid Google ads above the real sam.gov result. They exist to capture your Login.gov credentials.

Bookmark sam.gov and login.gov. Never click a SAM link from an email. Always type the URL or use your bookmark.

Account security on day one

• Two Entity Administrators minimum. Both must be employees, officers, or board members of your company.
• Two MFA methods on Login.gov. Don't rely on SMS as your only second factor.
• One Login.gov account per person. Don't share.
• Verify any bank-info change request through a second channel you initiate yourself. If you get an email claiming to be from a contracting officer asking you to update your banking, call the contracting officer at the number in your contract (not the number in the email).

If you got scammed

• Call your bank or credit card company immediately and request a chargeback
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission
• Report to the GSA Office of Inspector General
• Renew yourself, free, at sam.gov. The scammer is not actually doing your renewal.
• Change your Login.gov password and reset MFA if you gave the scammer credentials

Free help when you need it

Every help resource you need is free. Don't pay anyone for help you can get from these:

Plain-English glossary

SAM.gov. The federal government's official site for registering as a vendor. Run by GSA. Free.

UEI (Unique Entity Identifier). Your 12-character federal business ID. Assigned to you automatically by SAM during registration. Replaced DUNS in 2022.

EIN (Employer Identification Number). Your federal business tax ID. Issued by the IRS, free, in nine-digit format like 12-3456789.

TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number). Generic term for your federal tax ID. For most LLCs, your TIN is your EIN.

CAGE Code (Commercial and Government Entity). A five-character identifier issued by the Defense Logistics Agency. SAM assigns one to you automatically during registration. You don't apply for it separately.

NAICS (North American Industry Classification System). A federal industry code that describes what your business does. SAM uses it to determine your size status and what work you can compete for.

PSC (Product Service Code). The federal classification of what the government buys (services, supplies, R&D, etc.). Different from NAICS.

Reps and Certs (Representations and Certifications). The annual legal disclosures every contractor makes in SAM. Contracting officers rely on these instead of asking the same questions on every solicitation.

POC (Point of Contact). A named person at your company. SAM requires three: Accounts Receivable, Electronic Business, and Government Business POCs.

Entity Administrator. The internal person at your company with the highest level of control over your SAM registration. Must be an employee, officer, or board member; cannot be an outside service provider.

MPIN (Marketing Partner Identification Number). A short code you create during SAM registration. Some federal systems use it as an extra verification step.

Entity Validation. The process where SAM confirms your legal business name and physical address actually identify a real company. Auto-passes if the data matches; goes to manual review if not.

EFT ABA Routing Number. The 9-digit electronic transfer routing number for your business bank account. Different from your wire routing number. SAM wants the EFT one.

FAR 52.204-7. The Federal Acquisition Regulation clause that requires you to maintain an active SAM registration to bid, win, perform, and get paid.

FAR Subpart 4.12. The FAR section that establishes how Reps and Certs work in SAM and how contracting officers incorporate them into contracts.