Five Things Every Company Needs Before It Can Sell to the Federal Government
Five registrations and codes. None cost money, all live on SAM.gov, and a lapse in any one can stall an award. Here they are in the order you will meet them.
Reviewed and updated October 2026
System for Award Management (SAM.gov)
The registration everything else hangs on. No active SAM.gov record, no Federal contract.
SAM.gov is the official system for entity registration, contract opportunities, award data and exclusions. Registering tells the government who you are, where you are, how to pay you and which small-business categories you qualify for. It is also where you complete your FAR and DFARS representations and certifications.
Register at SAM.gov directly; the government never charges, so any "SAM registration fee" is a third party. Have your legal name, physical address, formation documents, tax ID and bank details ready. Entity validation checks the name and address against public records, and mismatches are the most common cause of delays.
Unique Entity ID (UEI)
The 12-character code that replaced DUNS. SAM.gov issues it free.
On April 4, 2022 GSA retired the Dun & Bradstreet DUNS number, the Federal identifier since 1998, and began issuing its own Unique Entity ID inside SAM.gov. There is no outside company to call any more.
Your UEI is created when your entity is validated, stays with your company permanently and appears on every award, invoice and grant record. It never expires on its own, but when the registration behind it lapses, buyers see you as inactive. Grant applicants can request a UEI without the full registration.
Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code
Five characters naming one company at one address. Assigned automatically through SAM.gov.
The CAGE Code identifies your company at one physical location, one code per site. The government uses it throughout procurement, from awards and payments to facility clearances and the DoD supplier databases.
You no longer apply for it separately. When a U.S. company completes its SAM.gov registration, the DLA CAGE Program Office assigns a new code or links your existing one, adding about a week to the timeline. Foreign companies get an NCAGE code from NATO first. The free DLA CAGE Search tool finds any company's code, including competitors and teaming partners.
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
Six-digit codes for what you do. Buyers search by them; the SBA sizes you by them.
NAICS classifies businesses by what they do: six-digit codes, one primary and as many secondary codes as genuinely apply. Contracting officers put a NAICS code on every solicitation, buyers search SAM.gov by it, and the SBA size standards that decide whether you count as small are set per code. Your codes decide which set-asides you can even see.
Product Service Codes (PSC) and Federal Supply Classes (FSC)
Four-character codes for what the government buys. Every award carries one.
Product Service Codes describe what the government buys. Where NAICS describes your company, the PSC describes the purchase, and every award in SAM.gov carries one. The older Federal Supply Classification is the product half: codes starting with a digit are FSC groups (group 70 is IT equipment); codes starting with a letter are services and R&D.
Before SAM: a little history
Remember CCR, the Central Contractor Registration? In 2012 it merged into SAM, and SAM.gov has kept absorbing systems since. If an old document points you to any of these, the answer is now on SAM.gov.
- 2012CCR, ORCA, EPLS and FedReg merge into SAM
- 2019FBO.gov opportunities move to SAM.gov
- 2022DUNS retired; SAM.gov issues the UEI
- 2026FPDS ezSearch retires; awards searched on SAM.gov
Are you ready to be found?
- SAM.gov registration is active; renewal date on the calendar two months early.
- Your UEI matches on every proposal, invoice and subcontract.
- CAGE code expiration checked within the last year.
- NAICS codes match what you sell; you know your SBA size status for each.
- You track opportunities and agency spend by PSC, not just keyword.
Ready for the next step?
Federal Sales 101 walks new federal salespeople through the market, the buyers and the sales cycle in six OnDemand sections. Or send us a question and we will point you in the right direction.
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