Federal contracts for a small business: where do I start?
Where a small business starts with federal contracts: an identifier, a registration, and free counseling, with size and set-asides referred.
Updated
Start with the identifier and the registration, not with a program picked for you. A business that will receive a federal contract as the prime needs a SAM.gov registration for awards, and the UEI is the public identifier on that record. Size status, set-asides, and affiliation are explained and referred, never decided on this page.
Where do I start?
Start by knowing whether the business will receive a federal contract itself, as the prime, or only an identifier so someone else who already receives federal funds can pay you. The guide on your UEI is that split, including Unique Entity ID Only. This page does not choose which one you need.
If the business will bid or be paid as the prime, the registration purpose that covers contracts is All Awards. You state that purpose yourself. There is no click path on this page.
What are the UEI and the CAGE code at the start?
A UEI, or Unique Entity ID, is the twelve-character code SAM.gov issues to identify the entity. It replaced the DUNS number in April 2022. It is public. There is no fee for a UEI. Registration in SAM.gov is free at sam.gov.
A CAGE code is a five-character code that identifies a supplier location to the Department of Defense and to other agencies. For a business inside the United States that registers for All Awards, the code is assigned as part of the registration, and there is nothing to pay for it. The guide on CAGE codes is the longer explanation.
What are size status, set-asides, and affiliation?
Size status is how a business is counted as small or not for a given kind of work. A set-aside is an opportunity limited to businesses that meet a rule the agency states. Affiliation is whether another business has to be counted with yours when that size is worked out.
Those are the words. This page does not say that you are small, does not pick a set-aside for you, and does not say whether a related business counts. A free counselor or an attorney is who reads your facts. The card just below this guide is where to ask.
Who helps before I pay anyone?
Free counseling already exists. APEX Accelerators, Small Business Development Centers, SCORE, and the Federal Service Desk are named in the guide on the free help that already exists. They charge nothing for that counseling, or for questions about the system itself.
Firmenza reads the public part of a SAM.gov record and says what it says. You can start that reading on Firmenza's free health check, with a legal name or a UEI. The check does not register you, does not bid for you, and does not pick a set-aside.
Read next
- The free help that already exists
- Your UEI: what it is, where to find it, and why nobody needs to sell you one
- CAGE codes, explained
- SBA's small business programs: 8(a), HUBZone, women-owned and veteran-owned
- Purchase cards and micro-purchases: how agencies make small buys
- Getting paid on a federal contract: your registration, your bank details and the invoice systems
Check your own record
The free health check reads the public SAM.gov record and tells you what it says — status, expiration date, and what is worth a second look.