In the last few months, the System for Award Management registration process has changed somewhat, and, naturally, it’s all become a bit more complicated. You might have heard a bit about the role of a SAM administrator and the new notarized letter requirement for SAM registration. It’s all a bit confusing, but we’ll break it down for you.
What Is A SAM Administrator?
Technically, a SAM administrator is actually known as an Entity Administrator. This individual is the person who initially registers a non-federal government entity (i.e. a business) in the SAM database.
This SAM administrator is an individual that is allowed to perform a number of actions in the SAM database. For instance, the SAM administrator or entity administrator is allowed to view all areas of your SAM registration, including areas that others might not be able to view.
A SAM administrator is the person who is allowed to update and renew registration as well as any entities in the organization’s hierarchy. This person also can update Service Contract Reports and BioPreferred Reports, as well as being able to manage and assign which users have roles with an entity.
Adding SAM Administrators
Often, an entity will want to have more than one SAM administrator. After all, it might not be convenient for one single person to handle all of the tasks relating to your SAM registration. The original Entity Administrator can invite others to become an additional administrator or others can request to take on this role. Instructions for this process can be found at SAM.gov, and it’s one of the less difficult processes you’ll deal with at SAM.gov.
The Notarized Letter Debacle
Yes, we are calling a debacle. That may seem harsh, but it’s definitely become a huge headache for many business owners. Here’s a recap of the situation: About a year ago, the Federal Service Desk (FSD) noticed some weird and possibly fraudulent activity in the SAM database. To combat this, the powers at FSD decided that in order to register or renew with SAM, the entity administrator would be required to submit a notarized letter declaring that they were, in fact, the entity administrator.
Adding an extra step to the SAM registration process, particularly one that requires the use of a notary was in and of itself a hassle. The real problem is that the FSD stated that no SAM registrations would be approved until the notarized letter was approved. The FSD didn’t take into account the sheer volume of letters they would receive versus their manpower. So many people were going through the registration process and then being denied registration because their letters had not been approved.
This sounds horrible, but there is good news. The FSD decided a few months ago that SAM registration could be approved before the notarized letter was processed. While you do still need to complete the letter, it won’t affect the status of your SAM registration, and that’s definitely a step in the right direction.
At any rate, if you are ready to become a SAM administrator and want to complete SAM registration, we can help. We are a third-party SAM registration process. While we do charge a fee for our services, we can save you the headache of the SAM registration process, which can take 15 to 20 hours or more. If you’ve started the registration process and quickly become frustrated, you aren’t alone, but we can handle all the heavy lifting for you so give us a call today.