The complete guide to registering for government contracts

Updated February 2026. This guide reflects current SAM.gov requirements, including the Login.gov MFA authentication requirement and updated entity validation timelines.

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To bid on a federal government contract, your business must be registered in SAM.gov with an active status. The registration is free, takes 2-4 weeks for most small businesses, and requires a UEI number, CAGE code, NAICS codes, and IRS validation of your business name and EIN. No consultant needed. This guide walks through every step.

I spent six weeks getting my first SAM.gov registration approved. Three of those weeks were wasted on mistakes nobody warned me about. The official SAM.gov help pages read like they were written by someone who already knew the answer. The consultant blogs I found all conveniently stopped explaining around step three, right before the “schedule a free consultation” button appeared.

So here’s the full process, zero to active registration, with the specific details that trip up most first-time registrants.

The registration process at a glance

Before we get into the details, here’s the full process from zero to active registration. Each step is covered in the sections below.

• Create a Login.gov account and configure multi-factor authentication (MFA) — same day
• Start SAM.gov entity registration and get your UEI — same day
• Complete all registration sections: core data, entity type, IRS TIN validation, financials, reps and certs, points of contact (2-4 hours)
• Choose your NAICS codes (part of registration)
• Submit and wait for IRS TIN validation (3-7 business days)
• Complete entity validation with a notarized letter (7-14 business days)
• Monitor status via SAM.gov; open a workspace ticket at fsd.gov if validation stalls past 14 business days
• CAGE code assigned automatically (runs in parallel)
• Registration goes Active — you’re eligible to bid (2-4 weeks total for a clean submission)

If any step gets rejected, see the SAM.gov rejection troubleshooting guide for how to fix each error and resubmit.

What you’ll need before you start

Gather these before you touch SAM.gov. Starting the registration and then scrambling for documents mid-process causes more delays than anything else.

• Your legal business name, exactly as the IRS has it. Not your DBA. Not the name on your business cards. The name on your IRS CP-575 or 147C letter, character-for-character.
• Your EIN (Employer Identification Number). Sole proprietors can use an SSN, but get an EIN first. It’s free and takes minutes on the IRS website.
• Your IRS CP-575 or 147C letter. The letter the IRS sent when they assigned your EIN. Lost it? Request a 147C by calling (800) 829-4933.
• Business bank account details. Routing number and account number for electronic funds transfer.
• Physical business address. P.O. boxes don’t work as your primary address.
• Your NAICS codes picked out. More on choosing these below.

Warning: Do not start your SAM.gov registration until you have your IRS letter in hand. The number one cause of rejection is a mismatch between the business name you type into SAM.gov and the name the IRS has on file. Even “LLC” vs “L.L.C.” will fail validation.

Step 1: Create a Login.gov account (with MFA)

SAM.gov requires a Login.gov account for authentication. This is not optional — you cannot access SAM.gov to register or manage your entity without one.

Go to login.gov and create an account with your business email. During setup, Login.gov requires you to configure multi-factor authentication (MFA). Your options include:

• An authentication app (recommended — Google Authenticator, Authy, or similar)
• SMS text message codes
• A physical security key
• Backup codes

Login.gov and SAM.gov are separate systems run by separate agencies. Your Login.gov account is just the key to get in the door. If you already have one from USAJOBS, Grants.gov, or another federal site, use that — you don’t need a new one.

Step 2: Get your UEI number

The Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) replaced the old DUNS number in April 2022. If older guides tell you to get a DUNS from Dun & Bradstreet, ignore that. DUNS numbers are dead for federal purposes.

When you start a new entity registration in SAM.gov, the system checks whether your business already has a UEI. If not, it generates one during registration. You don’t apply for a UEI separately. It’s built into the SAM.gov flow.

The UEI is a 12-character alphanumeric code. It looks something like JF1KP39RE4Z7. Write it down. You’ll put this number on every federal form and contract for as long as your business exists.

Three things worth knowing:

• The UEI doesn’t expire, but your SAM.gov registration does (annually). Lapsed registration = can’t bid.
• If you had a DUNS number, your profile was migrated automatically and a UEI was assigned. Search for your entity in SAM.gov to find it.
• You can get a UEI without full SAM.gov registration. There’s a “UEI only” option for entities that just need the identifier for grant applications.

Step 3: Complete your SAM.gov entity registration

Log into SAM.gov, go to Entity Registrations, and click “Register New Entity.” The registration has several sections.

Core data. Enter your legal business name, physical address, and entity start date. The “Legal Business Name” field must match your IRS records exactly. If the IRS has “Smith Consulting Services LLC” and you type “Smith Consulting Services, LLC” with a comma, validation fails. Pull out that CP-575 letter and copy it character by character.

Entity type. Sole proprietor, LLC, S-Corp, partnership, etc. Pick what matches your IRS filing status.

IRS TIN validation. SAM.gov sends your TIN and business name to the IRS for verification. This is the step that causes the most rejections. Common failures: name doesn’t match IRS records, using a DBA instead of the legal name, typos in the EIN, or leading zeros dropped from the EIN.

Tip: Upload your IRS CP-575 or 147C letter when the system asks for supporting documentation. This gives the Federal Service Desk something to reference if validation stalls, and it can speed up manual review.

Financial information. Your bank routing and account numbers. This is how the government pays you on actual contracts. Double-check these.

Representations and certifications. A long section asking about your business size, ownership demographics, domestic manufacturing, and other regulatory items. Answer honestly. These answers determine whether you qualify for small business set-asides. One change to watch: the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul rolling out in 2026 will move some of these certifications from the registration level to individual solicitations.

Points of contact. Government business POC, electronic business POC, and optionally a past performance POC. Use email addresses you actually check. The Federal Service Desk contacts these if there are problems.

Step 4: Choose your NAICS codes (and don’t overdo it)

NAICS codes tell the government what your business does. Every federal contract is assigned a NAICS code, and contracting officers search SAM.gov for vendors by code.

You can register up to 1,000 codes. Don’t.

Listing 50 unrelated codes tells a contracting officer you’re either unfocused or gaming the system. A landscaping company that also claims to do cybersecurity consulting and medical device manufacturing doesn’t look versatile. It looks suspicious.

Start with 3 to 5 codes that match your current capabilities. Only select codes for work you can perform today. If you’re an IT services company, pick 541512 (computer systems design), 541511 (custom programming), and maybe one or two others. Don’t add construction codes because you “might expand someday.”

How to find the right codes:

1. Search the Census Bureau’s NAICS database at census.gov/naics
2. Read the full description of each code, not just the title
3. Check SBA size standards for each code. Your NAICS code determines whether you’re “small” for that type of work. Revenue thresholds ($16.5 million is common) and employee counts vary by code.

Step 5: Your CAGE code (it comes to you)

The Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code is a five-character ID assigned by the Defense Logistics Agency. Good news: you don’t apply for it separately.

For U.S. businesses, the CAGE code is assigned automatically after your SAM.gov registration clears validation. It typically appears in your entity record 5-10 business days after validation, running in parallel with other processing.

International businesses need an NCAGE code from their country’s NATO codification bureau before registering in SAM.gov.

Step 6: Entity validation and the notarized letter

This step surprises everyone. SAM.gov requires entity validation to confirm the person registering is authorized to act for the business. For many registrants, this means a notarized Entity Administrator Appointment Letter (EAAL).

The process:

1. SAM.gov emails you a link to the EAAL template
2. Fill out the template with your entity info and administrator details
3. An authorized official (CEO, managing member, or partner) signs it
4. A notary public notarizes it
5. Upload it to SAM.gov or email it to the Federal Service Desk

This letter gets rejected more often than you’d think. Top reasons:

• Information mismatch. Email, phone, or address in the letter doesn’t match your SAM.gov registration. Check every field.
• Missing UEI digits. All 12 characters. Don’t drop leading zeros.
• No administration preference. The template asks if you’ll self-administer or use a third-party agent. You must choose one.
• Wrong signer. Must be someone with legal authority. For an LLC, that’s the managing member.

Tip: Compare every field in the letter against your SAM.gov registration before visiting the notary. Reprinting is cheaper than resubmitting.

Step 6b: Checking your validation status and submitting a workspace ticket

After you upload your notarized letter, validation does not happen instantly. Here’s how to track where things stand and what to do if the process stalls.

Checking your status:

1. Log into SAM.gov with your Login.gov credentials
2. Go to “Entity Management” and click on your entity
3. The registration status will show as “Pending” until validation clears, then “Active”

You can also check the Federal Service Desk case status at fsd.gov if you submitted your letter via email or have an open case.

If validation stalls beyond 14 business days:

SAM.gov uses a workspace ticket system for validation issues. If your entity validation is stuck:

1. Go to fsd.gov and click “Submit a Case”
2. Select “SAM.gov” as the system and “Entity Validation” as the issue type
3. Include your UEI, the date you submitted your notarized letter, and any case numbers from prior correspondence
4. You’ll receive a ticket number — use this in all follow-up communications

The Federal Service Desk can see exactly where your validation is in the queue and whether there’s a specific problem holding it up. Don’t wait passively if 14 business days have passed without a status change. Submit a ticket and ask for an update.

Timeline: what to actually expect

SAM.gov’s official estimate is 10-15 business days. Based on current processing times, expect 2-4 weeks for a clean submission with no issues. Here’s the realistic breakdown:

Phase	Official Estimate	Realistic (2026)
Login.gov account + MFA setup	Same day	Same day
UEI assignment	Same day	Same day
Registration forms	1-2 hours	2-4 hours with docs ready
IRS TIN validation	2-3 business days	3-7 business days
Entity validation (notarized letter)	5-7 business days	7-14 business days
CAGE code assignment	5-10 business days	Parallel with validation
Total: clean submission	10-15 business days	2-4 weeks
Total: with a rejection	Not stated	4-8 weeks

Start early. Entity validation in particular has been running at the longer end of the 7-14 business day window. Start your SAM.gov registration at least 6 weeks before you want to bid on anything — ideally 8 weeks if you’ve never registered before. That gives you a buffer for one rejection cycle and still leaves time to prepare your first proposal.

Common mistakes that delay everything

1. Business name mismatch with IRS records. The number one problem. Get your 147C letter. Match it exactly.
2. Starting without documents ready. SAM.gov sessions time out. Scrambling mid-registration costs you progress.
3. Too many NAICS codes. Stick to what you actually do. Add more later as capabilities grow.
4. Notarized letter errors. Triple-check against your SAM.gov profile before the notary visit.
5. Forgetting to renew. Registration expires annually. Set a reminder for 60 days out. Renewal validation takes 48-72 hours, but a lapse means you can’t bid or get paid.

Warning: Companies charge $500-$3,000 to register you in SAM.gov. Some are legitimate. Many just fill out the same free forms you can do yourself. The entire process described here costs $0 in government fees. The only expense is notarization: $5-$15 at most banks and UPS stores.

After your registration goes active

Once SAM.gov shows “Active,” you’re eligible to bid. That week, do four things: verify your entity record is correct, save your UEI and CAGE code somewhere accessible, set up contract opportunity alerts in SAM.gov filtered by your NAICS codes, and mark your annual renewal date on the calendar.

Registration is step one. The real work is finding solicitations, writing proposals, and building past performance. But none of that starts until you’re registered. Get your SAM.gov profile active, and you’re in the game.

If your registration hits a wall, the SAM.gov rejection troubleshooting guide walks through every common error and how to fix it. When renewal time comes around (365 days from activation), the SAM.gov renewal guide covers what to update and when to start.

Once you’re registered, your next move is figuring out which set-aside certifications fit your business — they open pools of contracts with less competition. And if you’re wondering about the difference between your UEI and the old DUNS number, the DUNS vs UEI guide has the full breakdown.