If you want to work with any federal agency, from FEMA to the Department of Defense, you must have a CAGE code. If you’ve been wondering how to get a CAGE code, the team at Federal Contractor Registry can help you with the entire process.
What Is A CAGE Code?
CAGE stands for Commercial and Government Entity, and it is the unique identifier that you are assigned after you complete your registration in the System for Award Management (SAM). This is the central database that contains information about all federal government contractors. You cannot work with any federal agency without complete SAM registration and receiving a CAGE code.
Step One: Get Your Unique Entity Identifier
SAM registration is actually not the first step you need to take. The first step is to have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) assigned to your company. In the past, the government would ask for your DUNS number in place of the UEI, which is a new type of identifier generated by the Federal Service Desk, the federal agency that is responsible for the SAM database.
Step Two: Complete Your SAM Registration
Once you have your UEI, you can begin the SAM registration process at SAM.gov. You will need to collect some important information before getting started, such as your company’s tax identification number, your company’s physical address, contact information and your bank account information and more.
You also will need to provide your Product Service Codes and your North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. These codes describe the exact goods and services that your business can provide to a federal agency. Additionally, if you are a small business that qualifies for any SBA set-aside programs, you will need to link your SBA account to the SAM account.
Step Three: Send In Your Notarized Letter
The SAM notarized letter requirement was added several years ago, and anyone registering a business in SAM must send the Federal Service Desk a notarized letter designating the company’s Entity Administrator. This is the person in your company that is authorized to make changes to your SAM account.
Should You Hire A Third-Party Registration Service?
The government does not charge a fee either to receive the UEI or to complete SAM registration. However, they also don’t make it particularly easy to complete these processes. It can take 10 or more hours to complete SAM registration, and unless you are very familiar with government terminology, it can be frustrating and confusing to deal with the application.
Because it’s frustrating and time-consuming, many people simply hire a third-party registration service to complete their registration. This speeds up the process and ensures that every part of the application is completed correctly. While it’s an extra cost, it’s just like hiring an accountant to handle your taxes. You could fill out tax forms on your own, but the tax code is often confusing, and mistakes are costly, which is why many people hire a pro.
At Federal Contractor Registry, we handle hundreds of SAM registrations every year for small and mid-size companies as well as for large corporations, including Fortune 500 companies. We can complete the process quickly and accurately, saving you time and ensuring that your registration is approved as soon as possible so that you can begin bidding on government contracting jobs.
Our SAM registration fee includes several value-added benefits that other third-party registration services do not offer, including:
- 100% Accurate (and Fast) SAM Registration
- Help With The Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)
- Help With The Notarized Letter Requirement
- Help Signing Up For SBA Programs
Additionally, if you are a small business taking part in the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program, we can introduce you to prime contractors in our FCR network. Subcontracting (working under a prime contractor) can be a great way for a small business to get started with government contracting, and we can help.
Keep Your CAGE Code “Active”
Did you know that SAM registration expires every year? In order to continue bidding on government contracts, you must have an active listing in the System for Award Management. This means that you need to complete your SAM renewal every year.
SAM renewals tend to be less complicated than your initial SAM registration, especially if you are making no changes to your listing. If you do need to make changes, it can be smart to hire a third-party service to handle the process, and Federal Contractor Registry handles both SAM registration and renewals.
Whether you select our service for SAM renewal or complete the process on your own, we do strongly recommend that you complete your renewal at least six weeks before your registration is set to expire, especially if you complete the process on your own.
There are several reasons to complete SAM renewals early. For instance, if a federal agency notices that your registration is due to expire in just a few weeks, they are less likely to select your company for a contract. This is because once your listing expires, that agency no longer can work with you and this could leave them in a lurch.
Additionally, it can take several weeks for the Federal Service Desk to approve your renewal, and if any mistakes or inconsistencies are discovered, this will delay the renewal process. Using a third-party registration service can be smart because we won’t make any mistakes and you are more likely to gain approval quickly. In some cases, the Federal Service Desk approves a renewal in just a few days, but if there is a backlog, it can take several weeks, so never wait until the last minute to renew.
Get Started Now!
We hope this helps you understand how to get a CAGE code, and once you’ve been assigned a code you can bid on FEMA disaster jobs, DOD contracts and contracts with any federal agency. If you would like us to help you with SAM registration, just click on the green new registration tab on our homepage and fill out our quick contact form. A member of the FCR team will be in touch quickly to gather information and get started on your registration.