System for Award Management (SAM)

Learn more about why you should register early on SAM.gov and other helpful tips!

Whether you are new to federal grants or a past recipient, you will need to update your registration or register your department with SAM, System for Award Management. Below you will find helpful information and links to provide you with all the steps you need to update your registration or register with SAM.

1. What is SAM?

The federal government has consolidated the government-wide acquisition and grant award support systems into one new system—the System for Award Management (SAM). SAM is streamlining processes, eliminating the need to enter the same data multiple times, and consolidating online websites to make the process of doing business with the government more efficient.

2. How much does it cost to register with SAM?

It’s free; there is no fee to register with SAM.

3. Why do I need to register with SAM?

In order to be eligible to apply for federal grants or financial assistance, you must be registered in SAM.
SAM is used to tie grant awards to your agency’s bank account
If you were registered with CCR, FedReg, ORCA, or EPLS, you MUST register with SAM and update your agency account through the migration process.

4. What is a CAGE code?

The Commercial And Government Entity (CAGE) Code is a five-character ID number and provides a standardized method of identifying a given facility at a specific location.
You do not need to have a CAGE code prior to registration, as one will be automatically assigned to you as a part of your entity's registration in SAM.

5. How do I register?

Create an Individual Account: A representative from the department must create an individual user account.
Select Register/Update Entity:
- Migrate your existing legacy CCR, ORCA or FedReg account to SAM ( see instructions )
- Register as a New Entity

Information Needed to Register/Update Entity
Departments need to provide contact information and respond to various questions during the process. Important information they’ll need to provide includes:

DUNS number
EIN/Tax ID
Bank Info – routing #, account #, bank name, account type, ACH information
AOR

Please note that this can take 7-10 business days to process and a department’s registration must be re-certified annually

Individual User Accounts:

It is preferred that you use a work email for this registration.
You must validate your email address (click link in confirmation email) to activate your individual SAM account.
SAM requires on-federal users to update their password every 190 days.

Once you’re Entity has been created/migrated , you may invite others and assign them specific roles to perform actions on your department’s behalf. These roles may: