How to Register with SAM.gov: Step-by-Step Guide for 2026
Registering with SAM.gov is the entry ticket to federal contracting. It is free, it is mandatory for any business that wants to bid on federal contracts or receive federal grants, and it is the single most common place new contractors stall, usually because of small data entry errors that block the validation step for weeks at a time.
This guide walks through every step of the SAM.gov registration process: what to gather before you start, how to move through each section of the form, and the specific mistakes that delay registration. For broader context, what SAM.gov is, what CAGE codes do, and what comes after registration, see our complete SAM.gov registration guide.
Quick Answer: How Do I Register with SAM.gov?
Registering with SAM.gov is free and takes 7–10 business days when submitted correctly. Sign in at SAM.gov using a login.gov account, complete entity validation to receive your UEI (Unique Entity Identifier), then work through the multi-section Entity Registration: business info, NAICS codes, banking, Representations and Certifications, and points of contact. You must be registered to receive any federal contract or grant award.
What You Need Before You Start
Starting SAM.gov registration without complete information is the fastest way to add weeks to your timeline. Gather all of the following before you sign in.
- Legal business name that matches IRS records exactly (character-for-character, including punctuation and "LLC" / "Inc." suffixes)
- EIN (Employer Identification Number) from the IRS, or SSN for sole proprietors
- Physical business address in USPS-validated format (no P.O. boxes for the physical address)
- Entity validation document: articles of organization, IRS CP 575 letter, utility bill, bank statement, or business license
- Business start date and state of incorporation
- Bank routing number, account number, and ACH department contact phone number (for federal payment via Electronic Funds Transfer)
- At least one NAICS code that matches your core business activity (you can add more)
- Product Service Code (PSC) selections if you sell products to the government
- Business size data: employee count and average annual receipts
- Monitored email addresses for your login.gov account and for at least one Government Business Point of Contact and one Electronic Business Point of Contact
- MPIN, a self-selected Marketing Partner Identification Number (9 characters, must include letters and numbers); you create this during registration but choose it ahead of time so you do not get stuck
- Notarized letter authorizing your Entity Administrator (required for most new registrations and for changes that update your Entity Administrator)
If any of the above is missing, pause and gather it. Starting SAM.gov registration with incomplete information is the number one reason businesses end up two or three weeks behind schedule.
Step 1: Create Your login.gov Account
SAM.gov uses login.gov for authentication. Before you can do anything in SAM.gov, you need a personal login.gov account.
Go to login.gov, click "Create an account," and sign up using an email address you control long-term. The system requires multi-factor authentication, set up at least one method (an authenticator app or text message to a phone number you will keep). Save your backup codes somewhere safe; losing access to your login.gov account effectively locks you out of managing your SAM.gov registration.
Important: your login.gov account is personal. It identifies you, the human, not your business. Multiple people from the same company can each have their own login.gov accounts and be authorized on the same SAM.gov entity record.
Step 2: Get Your UEI (Entity Validation)
Once you sign in to SAM.gov with login.gov, the first thing you do for a new entity is get a UEI (Unique Entity Identifier). This is the 12-character alphanumeric code that replaced the DUNS number in April 2022 and now identifies your business across all federal systems.
In SAM.gov, open your Workspace, find the Entities widget, and start a new registration. Choose "Register Entity" (not "Get UEI Only") if you intend to bid on contracts or receive grants. Enter your legal business name, physical address, and business start date. SAM.gov sends this information to its entity validation service (operated by Ernst & Young) to confirm your business is a real, distinct legal entity.
If your information matches public records, validation completes in minutes to a few hours and your UEI is issued. If the validator cannot confirm your business automatically, it requests supporting documents, articles of organization, your IRS CP 575 letter, a utility bill, a bank statement, or a business license. Upload one that clearly shows your legal business name, physical address, and start date.
For the full UEI walkthrough, including how to look one up, how UEI compares to CAGE codes and EINs, and how to fix entity validation rejections, see our UEI number guide.
Step 3: Start Entity Registration
After your UEI is issued, SAM.gov walks you through the rest of Entity Registration. You will see a multi-section form that captures your tax ID, financial information, business details, and certifications. Each section saves independently, so you can leave and come back without losing progress.
The first major section is financial information:
- Tax Identification Number (EIN/TIN). Your IRS-issued tax ID. SAM.gov verifies this against the IRS database during processing, the legal business name on your SAM.gov record must match the IRS record for that EIN exactly.
- Banking information for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). The federal government pays contractors and grant recipients electronically. Provide your bank's routing number, your account number, account type (checking or savings), and the ACH department contact phone number. The ACH contact matters because that is who the government calls if there is a payment problem after you win an award.
- Remittance information. This is where the government sends payment notifications. Often the same as the entity address but can differ.
- Debt subject to offset. A simple yes/no question asking whether your entity has delinquent federal debt that could be offset against future awards.
Triple-check the routing and account numbers. A typo here means delayed payment after you win contracts, the kind of problem that takes weeks to unwind.
Step 4: Add Business Information
This section captures the data federal contracting officers use to determine whether your business matches their solicitations.
NAICS codes. Federal contracting officers attach a single NAICS code to each solicitation, and that code drives which vendors get notified. Add 3–5 codes that accurately describe your core business activities, with one designated as primary. Use the Census Bureau NAICS lookup or research recent awards in your industry to see which codes federal buyers actually use. Each NAICS code has its own SBA size standard, so your selections also determine whether you qualify as a small business for set-aside contracts.
Product Service Codes (PSC). Used alongside NAICS by some agencies, particularly DoD and GSA, to add granularity to vendor searches.
Business size and ownership. Employee count, average annual receipts, and ownership characteristics. This is where you indicate whether your business is woman-owned, veteran-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, HUBZone-located, or qualifies as an economically disadvantaged small business. Claiming a status you do not qualify for is misrepresentation regardless of intent.
Points of contact. Designate at least a Government Business Point of Contact and an Electronic Business Point of Contact (can be the same person). Use actively monitored email addresses, registration notifications, renewal deadlines, and contract opportunities all flow there.
Disaster Response Registry (optional). Useful if you sell goods or services FEMA buys.
Step 5: Complete Reps & Certs
The Representations and Certifications section is the longest and slowest part of SAM.gov registration. It is where the federal government asks you to confirm compliance with dozens of statutory and regulatory requirements outlined in FAR 52.204-8.
Topics include independent price determination, tax-payer identification, lobbying disclosures, Buy American and Trade Agreements Act compliance, Section 889 telecommunications restrictions, equal opportunity and drug-free workplace requirements, subcontracting plan obligations (for larger businesses), small business size representations across each NAICS code, and socioeconomic certifications (8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, SDVOSB).
Read each question carefully, many trigger conditional follow-ups. The most dangerous mistake is accidentally self-certifying as a Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) when you do not qualify. The SAM.gov interface confuses many businesses into making this claim, and misrepresentation is a serious offense regardless of intent, penalties can include suspension or debarment.
If any question is unclear, stop and consult a free APEX Accelerator advisor. Plan to spend 2–4 hours on this section.
Step 6: Submit and Wait
Once Reps and Certs are complete, you submit the registration. SAM.gov runs your information through several validation checks in sequence:
- IRS verification. Your legal business name and EIN are checked against IRS records. New EINs (less than 14 days old) typically fail this step because the IRS has not yet propagated them to its verification database. This is a common delay point.
- CAGE code assignment. SAM.gov forwards your registration to the Defense Logistics Agency, which automatically assigns your CAGE code (a 5-character facility identifier required for DoD contracts). You do not apply separately.
- Notarized letter review. If your registration requires a new Entity Administrator notarized letter, the Federal Service Desk reviews and approves it. Missing or incorrect letters block completion entirely.
- Final activation. Once all checks pass, your registration is activated and your UEI shows as "Active."
Typical timeline: 7–10 business days. New entities, businesses with very new EINs, or registrations that hit any validation issue often take 3–4 weeks. Do not start registration the week before bids are due. Check the email tied to your login.gov account regularly during validation.
After You're Active: What Comes Next
Once your SAM.gov registration shows "Active," you are eligible to receive federal contract awards and grants. The work shifts from administrative setup to finding and pursuing opportunities.
Set up saved searches in SAM.gov. Filter by your NAICS codes, agency, place of performance, and dollar range, then turn on email alerts so new solicitations come to you.
Look for low-barrier entry points first. Micro-purchases under $10,000, Simplified Acquisition Procedures up to $250,000, and small-business set-asides have meaningfully lower barriers than full-and-open solicitations. The easiest government contracts to win covers the contract types first-time vendors actually win.
Learn the search tools. Beyond SAM.gov, several other tools and platforms aggregate federal opportunities and add filtering, alerts, and competitive intelligence.
Build past performance. Treat the first one or two contracts as foundation-building. Smaller contracts, subcontracting roles, and micro-purchases all build the past performance you cite in larger proposals later.
Common Mistakes That Delay SAM Registration
Most SAM.gov registrations that take 3+ weeks could have taken 7–10 days. These are the mistakes that cause the gap.
Bank account mismatch. The account holder name does not match your SAM.gov legal business name, or the routing number is wrong. Verify the exact account holder name with your bank, and confirm the routing number from a paper check, not a Google result.
EIN-name mismatch with IRS records. A stray period, a missing "LLC," or a different spelling between your SAM.gov entry and your IRS record blocks IRS verification. Pull your original IRS EIN confirmation letter (Form CP 575) and use that exact name string.
Brand new EIN that the IRS has not propagated. EINs less than 14 days old often fail SAM.gov's IRS verification step. Wait at least 14 days after receiving an EIN before starting registration, there is no workaround.
Address discrepancies. Non-standard formatting, P.O. boxes (not allowed for the physical address), or suite numbers in the wrong field cause USPS validation to fail. Use the USPS ZIP Code Lookup and enter the exact format it returns.
Too many NAICS codes that do not actually fit. Padding with 15+ codes you do not service creates noise and exposes you to misrepresentation risk if you also self-certify as a small business. Keep it to 3–5 codes with one primary.
Missing or incorrect notarized letter. Most new registrations require a notarized Entity Administrator letter submitted to the Federal Service Desk. Skipping it or sending the wrong format stops registration completion entirely. Use SAM.gov's exact template, do not improvise.
Accidentally self-certifying socioeconomic status. The Reps and Certs interface confuses many businesses into claiming SDB, WOSB, or veteran status they do not qualify for. Read each question carefully and select the conservative answer when in doubt. Consult an APEX Accelerator for anything unclear.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is registering with SAM free?
Yes, completely free. SAM.gov is operated by the U.S. General Services Administration and does not charge any fee to register, renew, or maintain an account. Multiple third-party websites offer to "register your business with SAM.gov" for $200–$1,000+. They sell something the government provides for free, and many of their ads are designed to look like official government notifications. If you receive an email or letter asking for payment to register or renew SAM.gov, do not pay it.
How long does SAM registration take?
7–10 business days from submission to active registration when everything is correct on the first attempt. New entities, businesses with EINs less than 14 days old, or registrations that hit any validation issue often take 3–4 weeks. The longest delays come from IRS verification problems, banking validation issues, or incorrect notarized letters.
Do I need to renew SAM registration?
Yes. SAM.gov registration expires every 365 days and must be renewed annually. An expired registration immediately blocks new contract awards and grant applications, and can disqualify in-flight proposals. Start renewal 60–90 days before expiration. For the full walkthrough, see our SAM renewal guide.
Can I register with SAM without an EIN?
No. You need a taxpayer identification number, and for most businesses that means an EIN. Sole proprietors can technically use their SSN, though most get an EIN first to keep their SSN out of a publicly searchable database. Getting an EIN from the IRS is free and takes minutes via the IRS website.
What if SAM.gov rejects my registration?
SAM.gov flags issues for correction rather than rejecting outright. Common flags: IRS verification failure (fix the legal business name to match IRS records), entity validation failure (upload supporting documents), and notarized letter problems (resubmit a corrected letter). For persistent issues, the Federal Service Desk provides direct support, and a free APEX Accelerator advisor can help you work through registration problems.
Do I need to register with SAM for state contracts?
No. SAM.gov is a federal registration. State agencies, cities, counties, and school districts have their own vendor registration portals. Some non-federal procurements that flow through federal funds (federal grants administered by states, FEMA reimbursements, federal-aid highway projects) require active SAM.gov registration, but typical state and local procurement does not. For more, see what is SLED.
Where to Go From Here
Active SAM.gov registration unlocks the federal market. What you do with that access depends on your business and goals.
For broader context on the SAM.gov ecosystem. CAGE codes, renewal mechanics, FAR 52.204-8 specifics, and the validation queue your registration runs through, see the complete SAM.gov registration guide. For the identifier-specific deep-dive, including UEI lookup and entity validation troubleshooting, see our UEI number guide. For first-contract strategy, the easiest government contracts to win and our overview of what government contracting actually is lay out the realistic entry paths for new federal vendors.
If you would rather skip the administrative learning curve, working with a government contracting partner like SLED.AI means SAM.gov registration, annual renewals, and ongoing compliance happen in the background while you focus on the work that wins contracts. Either way, the destination is the same: a clean, active SAM.gov registration that lets your business compete for the same contracts as everyone else.
