To sell to the government, companies need to register with a variety of databases.
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): For years, the unique identifier for a business was the DUNS number assigned by Dun and Bradstreet and was required before the business could register in SAM.gov, which is a requirement for federal contracting.
SAM.gov now directly assigns a Unique Entity Identifier, or UEI, and a DUNS number will no longer be required in advance of a SAM Registration.
With the transition, businesses will go to a single website,
SAM.gov, to register the entity and make any updates to the legal business name and address.
All entities registered in SAM, whether active or expired, have already been assigned a UEI, which can be found when logging onto the site. To find yours, log in to your SAM.gov. account, or
contact NH APEX for assistance.
System for Award Management (SAM): Companies seeking to do business with any department of the federal government must first register in SAM.
NH APEX assists with SAM questions and issues.
SAM registrations must be renewed annually. This registration provides government contractors with a company profile and required banking information to ensure electronic payments. There is also a mandatory compilation of standard contract certifications and terms and conditions, which are required in most federal contracts. Upon completion of this registration, small businesses are also provided a link to register on Dynamic Small Business Search.
Dynamic Small Business Search: This SBA-operated, self-certifying database is used by contracting officers and others to find information on small businesses.
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS Codes) are numerical codes creating uniform descriptions of small business types. Size standards, to determine if a business qualifies as small, are keyed to NAICS codes, which are available online.
Small Business Size Standards are matched to the NAICS Codes.
Product Service Codes (PSC) and Federal Supply Codes (FSC) are alpha-numerical codes designed by the government to create descriptions for products and services. They are not specific to small businesses and do not describe business-size. A-Z are for services and 10-99 are for products; check
here for PSC and FSC Codes.
For more information, contact APEX via
email.