The readiness file · 12 steps
Get ready before the right opportunity shows up
Nothing federal can be awarded to you without an active SAM.gov registration, and validation regularly takes 2–8 weeks. The paperwork is free and entirely doable — it just punishes people who start late or guess at the details. This checklist is the details.
Everything here happens on official government sites (Login.gov, SAM.gov, Grants.gov, SBA.gov) at no cost. GrantSet never asks for your credentials and never files anything for you.
Your progress
— of 12 steps
Saved on this device only. Check things off as you go — the same progress shows on every opportunity's apply page.
- Phase 1 · About a day
Get your accounts
Everything federal runs through two free accounts. Set them up once and they work for both contracts and grants.
- 15 minutes
Login.gov is the single sign-in for SAM.gov and most federal systems. You cannot register your organization without it.
- Sign up with an email address your organization controls (not a personal address you might lose).
- Set up at least two second factors — an authenticator app plus backup codes is the durable combination.
- Store the backup codes somewhere your organization can reach if you're out.
Costly mistake · Registering under one employee's personal email. If they leave, recovering access is slow. Use a role address you control.
- 10 minutes
Your SAM.gov profile (signed in via Login.gov) is where entity registration, roles, and renewals live.
- Go to SAM.gov and sign in with Login.gov — the accounts link automatically.
- Complete your individual profile before starting entity registration.
- Phase 2 · 2–8 weeks — start now
Register your organization in SAM.gov
This is the long pole. Registration is free, but entity validation regularly takes weeks, and nothing can be awarded to you until it's active. Most first-timers lose more time here than anywhere else.
- 1–2 hours
SAM.gov validates your legal business name and physical address against independent records. Mismatches are the #1 cause of multi-week delays.
- Pull your formation document (articles of incorporation/organization) and your IRS records (CP-575 or 147C letter).
- Confirm the name and address match, character for character, including punctuation and suffixes like LLC or Inc.
- Use a physical street address — validation rejects PO boxes and most virtual offices.
- If records disagree, fix them with the IRS or your state before you start.
Costly mistake · "Smith Consulting LLC" vs "Smith Consulting, L.L.C." is a validation failure. So is a UPS Store address.
- 1–2 hours of form work
The Unique Entity ID (UEI) is your federal identity number — it's issued by SAM.gov during registration (DUNS numbers are retired). Choose the full "All Awards" registration so you're eligible for both contracts and grants.
- In SAM.gov, choose Get Started under Register Your Entity, and pick the All Awards purpose.
- The UEI is assigned early in the flow; the CAGE code is assigned automatically near the end (no separate application).
- Have your bank routing details ready — federal payments require the EFT section.
- Registration is always free. SAM.gov never charges.
Costly mistake · Paying a third party. Companies buy ads against "SAM registration" and charge hundreds of dollars for a free process — and their data-entry errors become your validation failures.
- Days to several weeks
If SAM's validation service can't match your name and address automatically, you must submit documents through a ticket — and slow responses restart the queue.
- If asked for documents, upload ones that show the exact name and address you entered (formation doc, IRS letter, utility bill or lease for address).
- Check the ticket every business day; respond the day they ask for anything.
- After validation, the IRS TIN match and CAGE assignment usually take a few more business days each.
Costly mistake · Submitting a screenshot of your website as evidence. Validation wants legal or government documents, not marketing pages.
- 5 minutes now, saves weeks later
SAM registrations expire 365 days after activation. A lapsed registration means you cannot receive awards or payments — even on work already won.
- Put the renewal date on your organization's calendar with a 60-day advance reminder.
- Renewal is the same free process; starting early avoids a coverage gap.
- Phase 3 · 2–5 days after SAM is active
For grants: set up Grants.gov roles
Grants are submitted through Grants.gov, and only a person holding the AOR role can hit submit. The role chain runs through your SAM registration's EBiz POC.
- 10 minutesGrants track
The Electronic Business Point of Contact named in your SAM registration is the only person who can approve Grants.gov roles for your organization.
- Check the EBiz POC section of your SAM registration — make it someone available on short notice.
- Their email must be current; Grants.gov role requests route to it.
Costly mistake · Naming a founder who never checks that inbox. A pending AOR approval the week of a deadline is a self-inflicted emergency.
- 1–3 daysGrants track
The Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) is the only role that can submit applications. Writers can work in Workspace, but an AOR must sign and submit.
- Create a Grants.gov account and add your organization's UEI to your profile.
- Request the AOR role; your EBiz POC approves it in their portal.
- Have at least two AORs if you can — vacations and deadlines collide.
- 1 hourGrants track
Grants.gov Workspace is where the SF-424 form family gets filled and submitted. Doing a dry run before a real deadline removes the mechanical surprises.
- Open any posted opportunity, create a Workspace, and look through the forms it generates.
- Note which fields come from your SAM registration (UEI, addresses, contacts) — they must match it.
- Phase 4 · A few days, certifications longer
For contracts: representations and set-asides
Contract offers are prepared per the solicitation's instructions and submitted to the buying office — there is no central submit button. What you can do ahead of time: complete your representations and any set-aside certifications.
- 1–2 hoursContracts track
Solicitations incorporate your SAM reps & certs (size status, business types). Incomplete reps make you ineligible on paper.
- Finish the Representations and Certifications section of your SAM registration.
- Check the small-business size standard for your primary NAICS codes at SBA's size standards tool.
- Weeks to months (parallel track)Contracts track
Set-aside pools (8(a), HUBZone, WOSB/EDWOSB, SDVOSB) have far fewer competitors — but most require an SBA certification before you can compete in them.
- Veteran-owned: apply through SBA VetCert.
- Women-owned: certify via SBA (or an approved third party).
- HUBZone: confirm your address qualifies on the SBA map before applying.
- 8(a): a nine-year development program with an application process — worth it if you qualify.
- Phase 5 · Ongoing
Stay ready
Being findable and current is most of the game. The rest is reading carefully and starting early.
- Per opportunity
Deadlines, eligibility, and required forms live in the official notice — the pages here are a map, not the territory.
- Always click through to SAM.gov or Grants.gov and read the complete notice and attachments.
- Watch for amendments and Q&A deadlines — requirements change mid-stream.
- Deadlines are hard cutoffs. Federal systems reject late submissions automatically.
What's next
Once your registration is active, the waiting game is over: search the index for opportunities matched to your NAICS codes and set-asides, and every grant page here has an apply-requirements breakdown showing what the application package involves.