SAM.gov Registration: The Step-by-Step Checklist

What SAM.gov registration actually is

SAM.gov (the System for Award Management) is the federal government’s vendor registry. If you want to bid on federal contracts, your business must be registered there. Registration is free — you never need to pay a third party to get registered.

Step 1 — Create your login

SAM.gov uses Login.gov for sign-in. Create an account with your business email and set up two-factor authentication. Use an email the whole team can access, not a personal inbox.

Step 2 — Get your Unique Entity ID (UEI)

The UEI replaced the old DUNS number. You request it inside SAM.gov, and validation checks your legal business name and address against state records — so make sure they match your formation documents exactly.

Step 3 — Complete the entity registration

Have these ready before you start: your legal name and physical address, Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN/EIN), banking details for electronic payments, your NAICS codes (the industry codes you will bid under), and basic size information like revenue and employee count.

Step 4 — Wait for validation, then keep it active

Processing typically takes up to ten business days. Once active, your registration must be renewed every year — set a reminder, because an expired registration silently blocks you from receiving awards.

Shortcuts that help

Our free Chrome extension, SAMextension, walks you through each registration screen as you go. The full path from registration to your first bid is covered in our Become a Contractor guide, and when you are ready to find opportunities worth bidding on, here is how SAMstream does the heavy lifting.