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SAM.gov registration is the front door to federal contracting. No matter how strong your proposal is, you cannot be awarded a federal contract without an active SAM.gov registration and a Unique Entity ID. This guide walks through the entire process — from creating a Login.gov account to entity validation, NAICS codes, representations and certifications, and keeping your registration active year after year.
SAM.gov (the System for Award Management) is the official U.S. government website where businesses register to do business with federal agencies. It is where the government stores your entity information, your representations and certifications, and your eligibility to receive contracts and grants. The same site also publishes contract opportunities. Registration costs nothing, and you complete it directly at SAM.gov — you never need to pay a third party to register on your behalf.
Access to SAM.gov runs through Login.gov, the government's shared secure sign-in service. Before you can begin a registration, create a Login.gov account with multi-factor authentication enabled. Use an email address you will keep long-term, because this account controls access to your federal contracting profile.
Most registration delays come from mismatched or missing information, so assemble everything before you start. You will need:
The single most important detail is consistency: your legal name and address must match authoritative records exactly, or entity validation will fail.
Entity validation is the step where SAM.gov confirms your business is real and unique. You submit your legal name and address, and the system matches them against authoritative records. When validation succeeds, you receive your Unique Entity ID (UEI) — the 12-character identifier that replaced the old DUNS number. The UEI costs nothing and is issued as part of this process. This is the most common point of delay, so if your details do not match, be prepared to provide supporting documentation.
Next, complete the core data: your business type, organization structure, financial information for electronic payment, and your points of contact. Select the NAICS codes that describe what you do. NAICS codes drive which opportunities you appear eligible for and which small business size standards apply to you, so choose them carefully. You can list several — pick a primary code plus any others that genuinely reflect your offerings. For finding the opportunities those codes unlock, see our guide on how to find federal opportunities on SAM.gov.
The representations and certifications (reps and certs) are a set of FAR-required questions about your business — covering everything from organizational conflicts of interest to compliance certifications. This is also where you report your small business status and any socioeconomic designations such as 8(a), Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB/EDWOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), or HUBZone. Answer these accurately, because contracting officers rely on them when evaluating set-aside eligibility. Knowing your size standard for each NAICS code matters here.
Once every section is complete, submit your registration. SAM.gov runs it through internal reviews, including an IRS and CAGE code check. The registration is not usable until its status shows "Active." This can take from a few days to several weeks. Check the status periodically and respond to any requests for additional information promptly. Do not wait until a proposal deadline is near to start — most agencies require an active registration at the time you submit.
SAM.gov registrations expire every year. A lapsed registration makes you ineligible for new awards and can hold up payments on existing contracts. Set a reminder roughly 60 days before your expiration date, review and update your reps and certs, confirm your banking and contact details, and renew. Treat renewal as a recurring compliance task, not a one-time event.
Once your SAM.gov registration is active, GovCon helps you turn it into wins. The platform helps you discover relevant opportunities, organize a library of past performance and proposal content, and — on paid plans — draft compliant responses with AI. You can start on the entry plan to build your discovery feed and library, then move up to Silver when you are ready to begin AI drafting. Start free →
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