SAM.gov Registration, UEI, CAGE, and Reps & Certs

SAM.gov, the System for Award Management, is the federal government's central registry of entities eligible to receive contracts, grants, and other federal awards. It replaced the older Central Contractor Registration (CCR) system, and it is now the single point of entry for the identifiers, banking information, and certifications every federal contract depends on. A company that has not completed this process does not exist, functionally, to NASA's contracting system. This chapter treats the registration as a numbered procedure because that is the most useful way to get it right the first time.

Step 1: Confirm the entity itself is in order before starting

SAM.gov validates a company against its legal formation records, so registration goes faster when the basics are already consistent: the legal business name matches state incorporation or formation documents exactly, the physical address matches what a state or IRS record shows, and the company already has an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. Mismatches between what is entered in SAM.gov and what a third-party data source shows are the single most common cause of delay.

Step 2: Entity validation

SAM.gov now performs entity validation through a vetted third-party data provider before it will issue a Unique Entity Identifier. This step confirms that the legal business name and physical address entered actually correspond to a real, distinct legal entity. If the automated check cannot confirm the entity, SAM.gov will request supporting documentation, such as articles of incorporation, a business license, or a utility bill showing the physical address. Upload clean, current documents the first time; resubmissions extend the timeline considerably.

Step 3: Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)

Once entity validation is complete, SAM.gov issues a Unique Entity Identifier, a twelve-character alphanumeric code that replaced the legacy DUNS number as the government's primary entity identifier. The UEI is generated automatically inside SAM.gov; there is no separate application. Every contract, past performance record, and award notice tied to the company will reference this identifier.

Step 4: CAGE or NCAGE code assignment

As part of registration, a domestic entity is assigned a CAGE code by the Defense Logistics Agency; a foreign entity receives the equivalent NCAGE code. This happens automatically during SAM.gov entity registration for most companies and does not require a separate submission. The CAGE code is used in contract numbering, shipping and logistics systems, and some solicitation eligibility checks, so it is worth confirming it appears correctly on the completed registration.

Step 5: Core data, financial information, and points of contact

1. Core data: business type, NAICS codes describing what the company does (see the next chapter), organizational structure, and executive compensation disclosures where applicable.
2. Banking information: routing and account information for Electronic Funds Transfer, required so the Treasury can pay the company directly under any resulting contract. Enter this carefully; errors here delay payment on every downstream award.
3. Points of contact: at minimum, an Electronic Business point of contact and a Government Business point of contact, along with an individual authorized to update the entity's registration on the company's behalf, called the Entity Administrator.

Step 6: Representations and certifications (reps and certs)

Within SAM.gov, a company completes its representations and certifications, a standardized set of disclosures required under FAR Part 52 covering matters such as small business size status, whether the company is owned or controlled by a foreign government, whether it has been debarred or suspended, and compliance with labor and equal opportunity requirements. These responses are pulled automatically into most solicitations rather than re-entered contract by contract, which is the main efficiency SAM.gov was built to provide. Answer them accurately; they are certifications made to the federal government, and false certifications carry legal consequences independent of any specific contract.

Step 7: Activation and the one-year renewal clock

Once submitted, a registration typically takes a small number of business days to process absent validation issues, and it becomes active and searchable in SAM.gov once approved. From that activation date, the registration is valid for exactly one year and must be renewed. Renewal is not automatic. A registration that lapses immediately removes the entity from eligibility for new awards, and in some cases can affect payment or administration of existing contracts, so treat the anniversary date as a hard internal deadline, not a suggestion.

Common failure modes

• Legal name or address in SAM.gov does not exactly match state or IRS records, stalling entity validation
• Waiting until immediately before a proposal deadline to begin registration, when the process needs weeks, not days
• Letting the one-year registration lapse without a calendared renewal reminder
• Paying a third party for a registration service that duplicates a free government process
• Entering incorrect banking details, which delays payment on every award tied to the registration
• Leaving reps and certs incomplete or inconsistent with the company's actual size and ownership status

Registration in SAM.gov is a prerequisite, not a strategy. Once it is active, the next decision that shapes what a company sees and is seen for is the choice of NAICS and PSC codes, covered in the next chapter. Companies planning to reach NASA through an established prime rather than by bidding directly still need this registration; see the chapter on subcontracting and teaming for how the two paths interact.

Registration information should be treated as accurate and current, since NASA contracting officers, prime contractors performing due diligence, and automated award systems all rely on it. The authoritative source for current procedures is sam.gov itself, and general federal acquisition guidance is maintained at acquisition.gov.