Every time a large-scale disaster occurs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) contracts with civilian companies to help support recovery efforts. These disasters include pandemics, fires, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, or any other large-scale disaster. If you want to work for FEMA, there are hundreds of profitable contracting jobs available every year. To become a FEMA contractor, the first step is to register for the System for Award Management (SAM).
What Types Of Services Does FEMA Need?
If your business provides any type of restoration services, mold abatement, repairs, roofing, etc., it probably seems obvious that you might be a good fit to work with FEMA, but FEMA needs many other types of contracting services.
Other obvious matches might include janitorial services, janitorial supplies, portable toilets, emergency cots, travel trailer rentals, and other companies that might provide items needed during a disaster relief effort.
But, there are also goods and services needed that aren’t so obvious. For instance, we did a quick search at Beta.SAM.gov, and we found contracts to supply copy paper, computer power adapters, audiovisual maintenance services, armed guards, and even bread and bakery goods.
Who Can Work For FEMA?
Any company that has a current registration with the System for Award Management can bid on FEMA contracts. The System for Award Management (SAM) is a government database that includes every government contractor.
To apply, you will need to fill out the online SAM application, which we can complete for you. This application takes many hours to complete, sometimes more than 10 or even 15 hours. It contains a myriad of sections, often shrouded in confusing government-speak, which many people find frustrating.
While the federal government does not charge companies or individuals a fee to register with SAM, many companies find that’s it’s not worth the time or hassle to complete the application and simply hire a third-party service, such as ourselves. Basically, it’s just like hiring an accountant to do your taxes. You could do your taxes yourself for free, but the tax code is complicated so it just makes sense to let a tax professional complete the work.
Once we complete your SAM registration, it will take a week or two for the government to look over your application and approve it. Once you are approved, you will be issued what is known as a CAGE code. This code is the unique identifier that agencies will use to find you in the SAM database.
But What About ORCA and CCR?
If you are just getting started with contracting and trying to work for FEMA or other agencies, you might have heard people talk about ORCA and CCR. ORCA stands for Online Representations and Certifications, and this was an earlier government database that predated SAM.
CCR, which stands for Central Contractor Registration is another outdated database that has been replaced by SAM. In the past, there were multiple databases concerned with government contracting, but the government has worked hard to centralize everything into SAM to make it a sort of one-stop-shop for government contracting. So while you might still hear or see CCR and ORCA, these no longer exist and you don’t need to worry about them.
How Do I Find FEMA Contracts?
One of the easiest ways to find FEMA contracts would be to head to Beta.SAM.gov and search for contracts. There used to be a website called FedBizOpps.gov that listed all government contracting opportunities, but that website recently was incorporated into SAM.
To get started, you will see a link fairly high up on the Beta.SAM.gov homepage that says “Search Contract Opportunities.” Click on that link and you can search for various contracting jobs. You can search by date or scroll down the page and search using other parameters.
If you simply want to work for FEMA, you can click on the “Advanced” button and enter the Department (Homeland Security). A “Sub-Tier” box will pop up then and you can type in Federal Emergency Management Agency. The system then will produce all of the contract opportunities from FEMA, and there are several pages to scroll through.
An easier way to find something that is suitable for your specific company would be to add your North American Industry Classification System codes into the search parameters. These codes, known as NAICS codes, designate the specific goods and services that you sell.
As an example, if you are a supplier of toner cartridges for copiers, your NAICS code would be 325910. You can search using this specific code to see if FEMA has any need for your services. If FEMA does not, just do a general search using your NAICS codes. Chances are there are several other agencies that do need what you sell, and these contracts can be just as profitable as FEMA contracts.
If you don’t know your NAICS codes, don’t worry. During the SAM registration process, we can determine your NAICS codes and your Product Service Codes (PSCs), which are similar to NAICS codes.
Once you’ve found a contracting opportunity from FEMA or another agency, you will want to read all of the documentation carefully to determine if you can meet the needs of that agency and that you understand what information you need to provide in order to bid on that contract.
If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed, it’s not surprising. Government contracting can be complicated and there’s definitely a learning curve. We recommend that small businesses sign up with their local Procurement Technical Assistance Center and take advantage of the many resources they offer for contracting.
If you’ve been wondering how to work for FEMA, we hope we’ve answered a few of your questions. If you need help with SAM registration, give us a call at (800) 985-7658 or click on the New Registration tab on our homepage. We will gather up your information and complete your SAM registration as quickly as possible so you can get started bidding on government contracts.
If I were to become a contractor, I would make sure to enroll in a program first so my license will be obtained. Well, I also agree with you that as a contractor I must be able to offer other types of services. Thank you for sharing here as well the importance of applying for a SAM application.