Guides

How to renew your SAM.gov registration, step by step

SAM registrations expire every 365 days, renewal is free, and the process is straightforward — if you start early and your records match. Here's the whole walkthrough, including the parts that trip people up.

Before you start: the 15-minute checklist

• • Your login.gov credentials (and access to your MFA method)
• • Confirmation you're an Entity Administrator for the registration — if the person who set it up left the company, resolve that first, it's the slowest thing to fix
• • Your taxpayer name and TIN exactly as the IRS has them (a DBA here is the #1 TIN-match failure)
• • Banking details for EFT (routing/account) in case anything changed
• • If your legal name or address changed: a formation document, bank statement, or utility bill showing the exact new name/address for entity validation

The renewal, section by section

1. Sign in and open your registration. sam.gov → Sign in (login.gov) → Workspace → Entity Registrations → Active Registrations → select your entity → Update Entity.
2. Core Data. Legal name, physical address, TIN, EFT/banking, executive compensation questions. If name or address changed, this is where entity validation triggers — documents must match character for character.
3. Assertions. NAICS codes, size metrics (receipts/employees), EDI and disaster-response flags. Worth a real look: adding NAICS codes you've grown into costs nothing and affects what you can bid.
4. Representations & Certifications. The long one. You re-certify the full FAR/DFARS question set (FAR 52.204-8 and friends) even if nothing changed. Read the ones that changed color — misrepresenting here is a False Claims Act problem, not a paperwork problem.
5. Points of Contact. Update anyone who left. Your Electronic Business POC is who primes and agencies actually email — a stale one means missed opportunities, silently.
6. Submit. You'll get a confirmation email. The status moves to Submitted — only now has the expiration clock stopped mattering. A renewal sitting in “Work in Progress” protects nothing.

What happens after you submit

Your submission goes through IRS TIN matching (1–3 business days), then CAGE code review by DLA (up to ~10 business days), plus entity validation if anything about your identity changed. Plan on 2–6 weeks end to end — here's the full stage-by-stage timeline. When it activates, your new expiration date is 365 days out. If you're already past your date, here's what an expired registration means and how reactivation differs.

Frequently asked questions

Is SAM.gov renewal free?

Yes, always. Registering and renewing on SAM.gov never costs anything. Third-party firms charge for doing the paperwork on your behalf, but no payment is ever required by the government — and emails demanding a fee to 'keep your registration active' are a well-known scam pattern.

When should I start my SAM renewal?

60–90 days before expiration. If you submit before the expiration date, your current registration stays Active while the renewal is validated. Starting early leaves room for a second attempt if entity validation rejects your documents.

Does renewing early waste time on my current registration?

Your new expiration date is set to 365 days from when the renewal activates — so renewing 60 days early means your next renewal comes 60 days sooner too. That's a fair trade for never operating without a safety margin.

Do I have to re-enter everything from scratch?

No. The renewal walks you through your existing answers section by section. You must review and re-confirm each one — including re-signing the full Representations and Certifications — but unchanged data carries forward.

How long does SAM renewal take to process?

Typically 2–6 weeks end to end: IRS TIN matching (1–3 business days), CAGE review (up to ~10 business days), and longer if entity validation asks for documentation. Clean renewals with no changes are usually at the fast end.

Will my UEI or CAGE code change when I renew?

No. Your Unique Entity ID and CAGE code are permanent. Renewal revalidates the same entity — nothing about your identity in federal systems changes.