W_SAM.GOV® 

I. APPENDIX A 

REGISTERING A NEW ENTITY IN SAM 

A registration within SAM.gov (System for Award Management) is required in order to receive Federal 

Grant Funds from the United States government. 

A SAM.gov registration is required for any business, organization, or agency that is eligible to, or plans 

to, receive payments from the federal government. In order to qualify for federal contracts or grants, a 

fully accurate, and compliant SAM registration is required. More importantly, if you have already 

completed a government contract or have been awarded a grant, an up-to-date SAM registration is 

required in order for you to receive payment. 

You need a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) to register your entity in SAM.gov. UEIs are unique for each 

physical location you register. 

It takes no more than 1-2 business days to obtain a DUNS. 

Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN): 

You need your entity’s Taxpayer ID Number (TIN) and Taxpayer Name (as it appears on your most recent 

tax return). Foreign entities that do not pay employees within the U.S. do not need to provide a TIN. 

Your TIN is usually your Employer Identification Number (EIN) assigned by the Internal Revenue Service 

(IRS). Sole proprietors may use their Social Security Number (SSN) assigned by the Social Security 

Administration (SSA) as their TIN; however, we strongly encourage you to obtain a free EIN from the IRS. 

Allow approximately two weeks before your new EIN is ready for use when registering in SAM. 

Login to SAM.gov 

1. Navigate to SAM.gov. 

2. Select the “Sign In” button in the upper right corner. Select “Accept” to accept the US 

Government System terms. 

3. After selecting “Accept,” the system will redirect you to login.gov. 

4. Enter your login.gov credentials and select “Sign In.” The system may prompt you to enter a 

one-time security code. (You will receive this code via the authentication method you selected 

during account creation.) Note: If you do not already have a Login.gov account, please create an 

account. https://login.gov/create-an-account/ 

5. After signing in, the system will redirect you to your SAM.gov workspace. 

Start a New Entity Registration in SAM.gov 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. From the workspace select the “Register Entity” button. 

2. Select the “Start Registration” button at the bottom of the registration overview page. 

3. Review the Before You Start information, and gather all required information needed to 

complete your registration. 

4. Select the “Continue” button to proceed. 

5. Complete and submit the online registration. If you have all the necessary information this 

should take approximately 45 minutes to complete. The time to complete could vary depending 

on the size and complexity of your registration. 

Completing an Entity Registration in SAM.gov 

1. Select your entity type. 

2. If you are registering in SAM.gov to apply for a federal grant funding opportunity on Grants.gov 

and you are NOT interested in pursuing federal contracts, you will have a much shorter 

registration. 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?” 

3. Complete the Core Data section: 

4. Validate your Entity information. 

5. 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. 

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

7. 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. 

8. Answer the Executive Compensation questions. 

9. Answer the Proceedings Details questions. 

10. Complete the Points of Contact section: 

Your Electronic Business POC is essential to your Grants.gov registration and application process. 

List someone with direct knowledge of this registration for both of the POC fields. 

11. Complete the Representations and Certifications section (for non- federal entities only). Select 

Yes/No on the Financial Assistance Response page. 

12. After your final review, make sure to select “Submit.” You will receive a Registration Submitted -

Confirmation message on the screen. If you do not see this message, you have not submitted 

your registration. 

13. Note: We will review your registration. SAM.gov will send an email when your registration is 

active. 

14. How long will it take for submission to become active? 

15. Allow up to 12-15 business days after you submit before your registration is active in SAM.gov. 

16. How to check the status of an Entity Registration 

17. Login to SAM.gov (Registration Status is not available without login) 
 

 

 

 

 

 

18. From your workspace, select Home from the menu, then select “Check Registration Status” on 

the homepage. The same “Check Registration Status” is also located on the Entity Registration 

landing page 

19. From the check entity registration status you can enter a public entity's Unique Entity Identifier 

or EFT Identifier 

20. The status provides a quick summary for an entity, displaying the progress of that entity's most 

recent record. It will also display what steps remain until it is completed. The steps required are 

determined based on the purpose of registration. 

21. Select the topic under the ‘More About’ for additional help on any of the status symbols or steps 

22. To get the full entity details with reps and certs or any exclusions or to see non-public entities, 

you will need to use the main search. 

23. For FREE help registering in SAM.gov contact support at the Federal Service Desk (FSD) at 

https://www.fsd.gov/ 

**It is important to note that your SAM registration needs to be renewed every year. If you neglect to 

renew it every year, you will not be able to access government websites nor will you be able apply for 

Federal grant funds.**