April 2023: Changes to SAM…Oh, Yeah!
Systems for Award Management (SAM) has been making changes to the entity validation process. These are good changes to keep your information protected. Below are changes related to entity validation and registration.
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)
The familiar DUNS identifier was removed from federal contracting. It was replaced with the UEI, a 12-digit alpha-numeric identifier. The US government now owns the UEI, and a longer identifier was needed due to the increase of entities applying for registrations in SAM.
Entity Registration Extended
Last April (2022), General Service Administration (GSA) extended the expiration of entity registration expirations between April 29, 2022, and April 28, 2023, by one month. For example, if your entity registration was originally expiring on April 23, 2024, it has been moved one month, and your new expiration date would be May 22, 2024. 
Entity Validation
The GSA needed to build a new database of entities and organizations in SAM. To build this database, documents are required to verify or prove an entity or organization is ‘real.’ Plus, the amount of fraud can be reduced with this verification step.
Entity validation is a step that started in mid-2022. The entity administrator uploads specific documents to verify their organization. They must provide proof of correct legal name, physical address (based on USPS format), year, and state of incorporation.
Learn more about acceptable documents.
Active Entity Registration
If an entity does not have an entity registration or active entity registration (meaning not expired), that entity cannot submit a bid proposal. To reactivate an entity registration, the process can take from three (3) days to four (4) weeks. A new entity registration takes an average of four (4) weeks to be active. Plan accordingly.
Entity Administrator Confirmation
On March 3, 2023, entity administrator roles can ONLY be held by employees, officers, or board members of the organization. If your organization uses an outside service to manage your entity registration, that company may need to make changes to the registration to include an employee or officer of the company to the SAM account with a role. During the entity validation process, a new question has been added to verify if the entity administration is or is not an employee or officer of the company. What is an entity administrator? Learn more.
Bank Account Information
In your entity registration, you must provide banking information, routing, and account number. If you need to update your banking information, you must have both the current (old) and new routing and account numbers. Don’t have the current (old) banking information? Ask the past entity administrator or check with others in your organization. Still can’t find it, connect with the ND APEX team for assistance.
Keep updated with SAM changes, it is worth it. Not sure if you should care about the changes? Read ‘SAM.gov Is Changing – Make Sure You’re Keeping Up’ by Morrison & Foerster LLP – Government Contracts Insights.
If you are unsure where to start or how to get organized, connect with the North Dakota APEX Accelerator (formerly Procurement Technical Assistance Center – ND PTAC). Our services are offered at no cost to businesses based in North Dakota. Register to schedule an appointment. Additionally, take advantage of the many other training opportunities and events listed on the ND APEX website.
Not from North Dakota? Find your closest APEX on the APTAC website, then click on your state.