Integrated Award Environment| For People Who Make, Receive, and Manage Federal Awards 1

New to SAM.gov

A Quick Overview

for Financial 

Assistance
Integrated Award Environment| For People Who Make, Receive, and Manage Federal Awards

● All entities—that is, people or organizations wishing to do 

business with the federal government—must register in the 

System for Award Management (SAM) at SAM.gov

● Registrations must be updated every 12 months to remain active

● There is no fee to register or renew at SAM.gov

● Businesses and grant or loan recipients need a DUNS number 

which they get from Dun and Bradstreet before registering in SAM

● Businesses and grant or loan recipients must have an active 

SAM registration to receive federal funds

● Successfully registering with SAM makes your business visible and 

accessible to every civilian and military federal agency out there 

who might otherwise not be aware of your business

Integrated Award Environment| For People Who Make, Receive, and Manage Federal Awards 2

SAM.gov

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Integrated Award Environment| For People Who Make, Receive, and Manage Federal Awards

• We’ve created a single 

registration process for doing 

business with any federal 

agency (agencies used to 

collect the data on their own)

• The system provides 

information grants officers 

need to make awards

How the Government Uses SAM.gov

SAM collects entity data for grants 

officials’ use:

• Unique Entity Identifier (DUNS)

• Entity banking information

• Entity executive compensation

• Taxpayer Identification Number

• Assigned CAGE code

• Validation of entity uniqueness

• Representations and certifications

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Integrated Award Environment| For People Who Make, Receive, and Manage Federal Awards

Getting Started

● Create a login.gov user account 

○ You can easily do this from SAM.gov 

by selecting Log In 

● Enter your email address

● Have a working phone number and 

install an authentication app on your 

phone

○ We use two-factor authentication to 

ensure your security

○ You need a phone number, an app, a 

security key, or a secondary phone 

number as a backup factor

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Integrated Award Environment| For People Who Make, Receive, and Manage Federal Awards

Be sure to check out our Help section on SAM.gov where you will find quick start guides, full guides, demonstration videos, 

release notes, and much more. 

As always the Federal Service Desk stands by ready to assist at FSD.gov.

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What You Need to Know To Register on SAM.gov

● Taxpayer Identification Number 

(TIN) / Employer Identification 

Number (EIN)

● CAGE/NCAGE (if you do not have 

one, you will be assigned one 

during the registration process)

● Notarized Letter (for certain entity 

administrators)

● Review required representations 

and certifications 

● Why are you registering? 

○ Response: I only want to apply for 

federal assistance opportunities like 

grants, loans, and other financial 

assistance programs.

● DUNS (assigned by Dun & Bradstreet)

● Ownership information

● Bank account information

● Executive compensation information 

(as required)
Integrated Award Environment| For People Who Make, Receive, and Manage Federal Awards

Getting a DUNS Number

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● Go to the Dun & Bradstreet site: https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/

● Select the link to request your DUNS Number via the web 

● Follow the on-screen instructions to check whether your business or organization 

already has a DUNS number

○ Enter your business name and state and the validation text, then press Submit

○ If your business is listed, you can request the existing DUNS number

○ If it is not, you can request a new one

● Please note that there is no fee for getting a DUNS number in order to do business 

with the U.S. Government
Integrated Award Environment| For People Who Make, Receive, and Manage Federal Awards

Steps to Register in SAM (1 of 4)

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1. Type www.sam.gov in your Internet browser address bar. 

2. Select Log In to complete authentication and create a user account, then Log In. 

3. On the My SAM page, select Entity Registrations from the sub-navigation menu 

and select Register New Entity. 

4. Select your type of Entity.

5. If you are registering in SAM.gov so you can apply for a Federal financial assistance 

opportunity on Grants.gov, or through another Federal application process, and are 

not interested in pursuing Federal contracts at this time, you will have a much 

shorter registration path. To choose the “grants only” path: 

Select “I only want to apply for federal assistance opportunities like grants, 

loans, and other financial assistance programs.” in response to the question 

“Why are you registering this entity to do business with the U.S. government?” 
Integrated Award Environment| For People Who Make, Receive, and Manage Federal Awards

Steps to Register in SAM (2 of 4)

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Integrated Award Environment| For People Who Make, Receive, and Manage Federal Awards

Steps to Register in SAM (3 of 4)

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6. Complete the Core Data section: 

● Validate your DUNS information. 

● Enter Business Information (TIN, etc.) This page is also where you create your Marketing 

Partner Identification Number (MPIN). Remember your MPIN as it will help identify you in 

several other government systems. You must have it to apply in Grants.gov. 

● Enter your CAGE Code if you have one. CAGE codes are tied to DUNS Numbers and cannot be 

reused. Don’t worry if you don’t have a CAGE Code for the DUNS Number you are registering: 

one will be assigned to you after your registration is submitted. Foreign registrants must enter 

their NCAGE Code before proceeding. 

● Enter General Information (business types, organization structure, etc.) about your entity. 

● Provide your entity’s Financial Information, i.e. U.S. bank Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) 

Information for Federal government payment purposes. Foreign entities do not need to 

provide EFT information. 

● Answer the Executive Compensation questions.

● Answer the Proceedings Details questions.
Integrated Award Environment| For People Who Make, Receive, and Manage Federal Awards

Steps to Register in SAM (4 of 4)

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7. Complete the Points of Contact section: 

● Your Electronic Business POC is integral to your Grants.gov registration and application 

process. Your Government Business POC will be used by other government systems, such as 

the CAGE program, when they contact you. List someone with direct knowledge of this 

registration for both of those POCs. 

8. Complete the Representations and Certifications section (for nonfederal entities only): 

● Select Yes/No on the Financial Assistance Response page. 

9. Make sure to select Submit after your final review. 

● You will get a Registration Submitted - Confirmation message on the screen. If you do not 

see this message, you have not submitted your registration. Your registration will be reviewed. 

You will receive an email from SAM.gov when your registration is active.
Integrated Award Environment| For People Who Make, Receive, and Manage Federal Awards

Track Your Registration

NOTE: New registrations take an average of 7–10 business days to process, but can take up to 30 business days 

during periods of peak volume. Log in and use the SAM Status Tracker under Check Status to quickly check your 

status.

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Integrated Award Environment| For People Who Make, Receive, and Manage Federal Awards

For technical assistance, contact our supporting Federal Service Desk 

at https://www.fsd.gov

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