The new GovCon founder's setup checklist: registrations & certifications

Everything a new venture needs before it can win federal work — SAM.gov and your UEI, CAGE code, D-U-N-S, and your SBA/SBIR identifiers — in the right order, with zero paid middlemen.

1 · SAM.gov registration (and your UEI)

SAM.gov is the government's master vendor list. Registering issues your Unique Entity ID (UEI) — the 12-character identifier that replaced the DUNS number for federal awards in April 2022 — and makes you eligible to bid and get paid.

1. 1Gather your info — exact legal business name and physical address (must match your incorporation docs), EIN from the IRS, bank account + routing for EFT, and your NAICS codes
2. 2Create a Login.gov account login.gov
3. 3Start the entity registration at SAM.gov — choose "Register Entity" (full registration — not "Unique Entity ID only" — if you want to bid on contracts) sam.gov entity registration
4. 4Complete Core Data, Assertions, Reps & Certs, and POCs — the Reps & Certs section is where you make your small-business and Section 889 representations
5. 5Validate and wait — entity validation + IRS/CAGE checks typically take days to a few weeks. Renew annually — set a reminder

2 · CAGE code

The Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code is assigned automatically to U.S. companies during SAM registration — there is no separate application. You'll find it in your SAM entity record once registration is active.

1. 1Complete SAM registration first — CAGE assignment happens during SAM processing (DLA runs the CAGE program)
2. 2Look it up or request changes at the DLA CAGE portal cage.dla.mil

3 · D-U-N-S number

The federal government no longer uses DUNS — the UEI replaced it. You only need a D-U-N-S number for commercial credit, some state/local governments, some primes' supplier systems, and international work.

1. 1If a customer or prime asks for one, get it free from Dun & Bradstreet dnb.com/duns
2. 2Skip it otherwise — for federal proposals your UEI + CAGE are what matter

4 · SBA profile and your SBC Control ID (for SBIR/STTR)

1. 1Confirm your small-business status flows to SBA — your SAM registration feeds the Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) profile — complete it; contracting officers actually search it dsbs.sba.gov
2. 2Create an SBA.gov account for certifications — 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB, and VetCert applications run through SBA's certification portals certifications.sba.gov
3. 3Register your company at SBIR.gov — this issues your SBC Control ID (format SBC_123456789) — required on every SBIR/STTR proposal, including DoW DSIP and NASA submissions sbir.gov
4. 4Record everything in CaptureAgent — Company Profile → UEI, CAGE, certifications, size status — the AI uses these for eligibility checks on every opportunity

Suggested order (about 2–4 weeks total)