DUNS numbers have served federal procurement for over 30 years, establishing themselves as the default business identifier. However, this longevity also created systemic dependencies that hindered modernization efforts and limited the government’s ability to optimize procurement processes. Having entity data controlled by a private corporation created potential vulnerabilities and limited the government’s ability to quickly verify or update business information during critical procurement cycles. We want to make the change easier by sharing information about the coming changes and transition plan. The DUNS number remains the official identifier for doing business with the U.S. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

REGISTRATIONS

The identifier follows your business throughout its federal journey, linking contracts, grants, compliance records, and performance history. This persistent identification ensures government agencies can quickly access your complete federal business profile. This transition allows the government to streamline the entity identification and validation process, making it easier and less burdensome for entities to do business with the federal government.

Frequently Asked Questions by Applicants

• Contact the respective grant program if you are experiencing significant issues that may impact your ability to meet the grant application deadline.
• These steps laid the foundation for a more efficient and standardized approach to entity identification for businesses and organizations engaging with federal agencies.
• Yes, Dun & Bradstreet maintains their database independently of federal requirements.
• Government agencies had prepared extensively, updating their systems and training personnel to support the new identification method.

Passwords are valid for 60 days and will not be valid on the 61st day onward. If your account is already linked to Login.gov or any other 2 factor provider, you will not need this password to log in. If you have not yet linked your Grants.gov account to Login.gov, you will be given an opportunity to do so during the linking process. Please consult Login.gov help center for assistance with logging in. For more information, read the Workspace Roles page and the Manage Organization Profile help article. Generate and download Entity Extracts, Exclusions Extracts, and Responsibility/Qualification data reports (formerly in fapiis.gov).

AMS is monitoring this situation and will contact stakeholders should the delays significantly impact open Requests for Applications. Contact the respective grant program if you are experiencing significant issues that may impact your ability to meet the grant application deadline. To search for an entity in SAM.gov, you can use the entity’s legal business name, CAGE code, or Unique Entity ID. All of the Integrated Award Environment systems unique entity identifier update — SAM.gov, eSRS, FSRS, FPDS, and CPARS — as well as all other GSA systems, are now only using the Unique Entity ID to identify entities.

Integrate With Data Services

To learn how to view your Unique Entity ID (SAM) go to this help article. Government is changing, GSA explains that the “definition of entity uniqueness is not changing”. The financial industry’s adoption of the global LEI means data reported externally to regulators and used internally for risk management will be more consistent and usable. What kind of information can be entered into form fields within my application? Grants.gov application packages offer fields to enter a set amount of data. When the limit is reached for a certain field, you will no longer be able to enter data into that field.

Why Do We Need The Lei?

The system prioritizes accuracy over speed, ensuring each UEI correctly represents the applying entity. APEX Accelerators (formerly known as PTACs) is an official government contracting assistance resource for small business. Find your local APEX Accelerators (formerly known as PTACs) to get free help completing registration in SAM.gov. You can register to bid and apply for federal awards or you can request a Unique Entity ID only without having to complete a registration. On April 4, 2022, the Federal government transitioned from using the DUNS Number to the Unique Entity ID (UEI) (generated by SAM.gov).

The GSA also implemented regular system audits to catch and rectify any discrepancies in UEI assignments, ensuring the integrity of the new identifier system across government platforms. Federal agencies conducted comprehensive audits to verify UEI integration across government platforms following the transition. The General Services Administration coordinated with various departments to ensure seamless incorporation of the new identifier in procurement systems, grant management tools, and financial databases. This process involved testing data exchange protocols, updating API connections, and validating UEI functionality in legacy systems to maintain operational continuity across the federal procurement landscape. The U.S. federal government has used services from Dun and Bradstreet to both identify and validate/verify federal contractors since 1978.

• Grants.gov application packages offer fields to enter a set amount of data.
• The transition from UEI (DUNS) to UEI (SAM) is a federal, government-wide initiative.
• There are different types of applications and compression methods, so please be sure to check the agency instructions for guidance on quality, resolution, and bit rate standards they allow for submission.
• Each legal entity typically needs its own UEI, but subsidiaries and divisions may operate under parent company identifiers depending on their legal status.

Cost elimination was a primary motivator—many businesses paid fees to expedite DUNS processing, creating an unfair advantage for larger companies. The UEI system levels the playing field by providing instant, free identification to all entities regardless of size or resources. Visit the UEI technical specifications and API information page to learn more about UEI/EVS technical specifications for interfacing systems and sample data extracts. If you operate a system that connects with IAE systems, documentation about using APIs to access SAM.gov is found at is open.GSA.gov. What should I do if I receive the message “Email Already Exists in System” and I am unable to register? If you receive the message “Email Already Exists in System,” your email address has already been used to register.

If your organization needs to stay eligible for federal funds, don’t take chances. Consider assigning specific personnel responsibility for SAM maintenance to ensure continuity regardless of staff changes or business priorities. Obtaining your UEI requires careful attention to detail, but the process is designed for efficiency and user-friendliness.

Copying and pasting data into a Grants.gov application form from Word may lead to errors in the Adobe Reader form. If using the copy and paste function, copy the information from a text editor, such as Notepad or TextEdit, which does not have proprietary fonts or special characters. If you use other attachment functions, such as those built into Adobe Reader or the menu bar, this will cause errors in the submission and the attachments will not actually transmit to the federal agency.

When a Workspace Participant clicks the Webform link to start working on an online form, Grants.gov Workspace automatically locks the form to that user. A different Workspace Participant cannot fill out a webform at the same time. The Unique Entity ID from SAM.gov is now the authoritative identifier for those doing business with the federal government. The DUNS Number is no longer valid for federal award identification. Past PerformanceGo to CPARS.gov to evaluate and review contractor past performance (federal users only) or to view your evaluations by the federal government (non-federal users).