If you’ve previously registered with the System for Award Management (SAM), you may or may not know that your SAM registration expires every year. However, many people don’t know how to renew SAM registration, but Federal Contractor Registry can help. Here’s what you need to know.
Why Should You Renew SAM Registration?
Without an active SAM account, you cannot bid on government contracting jobs. Even if you are in the middle of a federal contracting job and your SAM registration expires, and several issues can arise from this situation, including:
- Payments from the government may be suspended until SAM registration is renewed. The contracting officer cannot pay an entity without an active SAM record.
- Modifications to the existing contract cannot be made until SAM is renewed. This includes changes in payment terms, scope of work, etc.
- Renewals or extensions of the current contract may be impacted. Most agencies cannot exercise an option on a contract if SAM is expired.
- Bidding on new government contracts is prohibited. SAM registration is required for federal contractors to bid on new opportunities.
Staying on top of SAM renewal is crucial for federal contractors to avoid disruptions. But if a lapse occurs, taking proactive steps can get a contractor back into compliance. If this situation should occur, the contractor will need to take the following steps:
- Renew SAM registration as soon as possible. This requires re-verifying entity information and making any necessary updates.
- Communicate with the contracting officer. Explain the lapse and projected timeline for renewal. The CO may be able to process payments after validating entity data.
- Request modifications be held, or alternate payment plans until SAM is active. This avoids modification issues.
SAM Renewals: DIY or Hire a Pro?
As with SAM registration, many people opt to hire a third-party registration rather than handle this task on their own. SAM renewals are not as cumbersome as the initial SAM registration, but the renewal process still can be time-consuming and confusing.
Additionally, if you make any mistakes during the renewal process, this will delay your approval, which can be costly, particularly if you are in the middle of working on a federal contract or in the middle of the bidding process.
Using a third-party registration service, such as Federal Contractor Registry, ensures that your SAM renewal is handled 100% accurately and as quickly as possible. While we do charge a fee, this can be the easiest way to ensure that your SAM account is up-to-date and ready for approval by the Federal Service Desk.
The good news is that when you renew SAM, a few of the initial registration steps are not needed. For instance, you do not need to send in a new notarized letter, unless your Entity Administrator has changed.
If you have a current SAM registration (active or inactive), you also don’t need to worry about attaining your new Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). This is a number designated specifically for your business and this number replaced the DUNS number requirement that was part of SAM registration for many years. At any rate, only new registrants must apply for a UEI. All those with existing SAM accounts had their number assigned automatically.
If your account already is linked with the Small Business Administration, this step also won’t need to be taken. However, if you have a small business, but your SAM account is not linked to SBA, we can help. As we handle your SAM renewal, we will make sure you are set up correctly with SBA and that these accounts are linked.
For small businesses, registering with the SBA is a must. The SBA has many programs to support small businesses, and many government contracts are set aside just for small businesses. We highly recommend that you take advantage of these SBA programs, and we can help!
When Should You Renew SAM Registration?
When your registration expires, you cannot bid on federal government contracts, however, many government procurement agents won’t select a business if their SAM listing is about to expire. After all, if you don’t renew and your account expires in the middle of a contracting job, this causes problems for the agency.
Additionally, it can take a while for the Federal Service Desk to approve your SAM renewal, so it’s wise to renew about two months in advance of your expiration date. In some cases, a SAM renewal is processed in just 2-3 business days, but if the Federal Service Desk is swamped with requests, this process can take a few weeks. Because you have no way of knowing how busy this agency might be at any given time, it is wise to just renew early.
Renew Your SAM Registration Today!
It can be tough to learn how to renew SAM registration, and if you would prefer to skip the headaches associated with this process, we can help. For SAM renewals, just click on the blue Renew Registration tab on our home page and fill out our quick contact form. If you aren’t quite sure when your SAM registration expires, click on the gold Status Check tab and we will check for your status as quickly as possible, usually within an hour of your request.