The General Services Administration said all federal government contractors will transition to a new non-proprietary identification system designed to replace the DUNS number beginning on April 4.
All individuals, companies and organizations looking to do business with the federal government will use the new Unique Entity ID generated by the System for Award Management website, GSA said Wednesday.
Contractors registered with SAM.gov have already been assigned a new UEI that can be accessed through the website’s entity registration record. Sub-awardees with a DUNS number but are not registered in SAM.gov can visit the website to request a UEI.
GSA advises contractors to prepare ahead of the implementation date as SAM.gov and other agency systems will be inaccessible to make way for maintenance the weekend of April 1.
“We encourage everybody who will be impacted to become familiar with the changes by using all the resources available on SAM.gov,” said Meredith Whitehead, deputy assistant commissioner of GSA’s Integrated Award Environment, which manages the website.
Whitehead said the transition from the proprietary DUNS numbering system to a new entity validation service is part of a broader effort to support government-wide technology modernization programs.