Beginning April 4, 2022, all entities electing to do business with the federal government must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), which is assigned to the business through the SAM.gov website. All Integrated Award Environment (IAE) systems (i.e., SAM.gov, FPDS, eSRS, FSRS, FAPIIS, and CPARS) will end the use of the DUNS Number for Federal award management.
If your entity was registered in SAM.gov prior to April 4, you had a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, which was a 9-character identifier assigned by Dun & Bradstreet. Your entity has been automatically assigned a UEI, so there is no work involved for you and your entity other than logging into SAM.gov to see what your new UEI is.
Business entities registering with SAM.gov from April 4 and beyond will no longer need to get a number from Dun & Bradstreet, as the third-party source. The UEI will be assigned during the registration process on the SAM.gov website.
Why the change from DUNS to UEI?
The DUNS Number is widely used by both commercial and federal entities and was adopted as the standard business identifier for federal electronic commerce in October 1994. According to a 2012 report issued by the US Government Accountability Office, Dun & Bradstreet had a sole source contract with the federal government valued at over $20 Million a year to provide DUNS numbers to federal contractors. Around 2012, the government realized it was saddled with a monopoly via its relationship with Dun & Bradstreet for its business numbering system. This monopoly resulted in higher costs, there was limited visibility into the validity and accuracy of the reported business information that Dun & Bradstreet maintained, the information was not subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and the government was limited in how it could use the numbering system due to its proprietary nature. The government started investigating alternatives and opted for a government-owned numbering system (the new UEI) rather than choosing another proprietary system.
To register with the federal government, to renew a previous registration, or to view your UEI if you are already registered with SAM.gov, visit https://sam.gov/content/home.