A SAM registration is the first step when attempting to do business with the federal government. It’s a business registration that inputs all of your necessary company and industry data into the government’s system so that they can identify your company, award contracts or grants.

When a SAM registration is successfully validated by the government, you are then issued a CAGE (Commercial And Government Entity) code. This is a 5-digit, alpha-numerical code that the government uses to identify your business and is also tied to your business bank account to be paid on awarded contracts and grants.

SAM registrations cover your business NAICS codes (industry codes), product points of production, compliance with government purchasing laws (FAR regulations), as well as industry-specific regulations and compliance with government purchasing. For these reasons, a SAM registration must be done correctly, as it lays the framework for your federal contracting to follow.