Government contractors will be interested to know the Federal Government’s online System of Award Management or “SAM” once again will be morphing its domain back to SAM.gov once it migrates to the temporary beta.SAM.gov and combines the legacy SAM.gov to create a new “SAM.gov.” On May 24, 2021, this integration will mark a return to a single site for tracking contract award throughout its lifecycle.
As the Government Contract community may recall, the first phase of SAM.gov modernization by U.S. General Services Administration (“GSA”) began in 2012 with the integration of the databases Central Contractor Registration (“CCR”) Online Representations and Certifications Application (“ORCA”) and the Excluded Parties List System (“EPLS”) into SAM.gov. Next, GSA created beta.SAM.gov as a space to move other procurement systems as part of GSA’s Electronic Government (“eGov”) initiative. This month, GSA will integrate the two systems, SAM.gov and beta.SAM.gov, to create a single award system of databases allowing for full contract award cradle-to-grave tracking.
On May 24, 2021, it will be just SAM.gov with all databases and functions now at one site. This means instead of going to beta.SAM.gov to view contract opportunities (formerly fbo.gov) or to download the latest regional U.S. Department of Labor Wage Determinations (formerly wdol.gov), contractors can now just go to SAM.gov to find all the requisite systems combined into one site. Next week, SAM.gov will host all beta.SAM.gov systems as well as exclusions and registrations systems formerly found only at the SAM.gov URL. These systems will be available from the homepage of the newly retooled SAM.gov site. What’s more, the contractor DUNS and newly assigned SAM Unique Entity Identified (“UEI”) will be displayed together in the Entity Workspace until the phasing out of the DUNS number in April 2022.
GSA’s goal is to streamline the online award process by providing users with a one-stop site hosting the requisite procurement systems. This consolidation will allow for ease of data input and statistical research and extraction of the data. Ease of use is the goal with this integration of legacy platforms for accessibility across multiple mobile devices from laptops to mobile phones. Certain systems will require second-level login such as public entity registrations and Disaster Response Registry sites.
What remains unchanged: Contract Opportunities (e.g., Solicitations, Notices), DOL WDs, Assistance Listings, Federal hierarchy, and Contract Data Reports. Federal users still need to enter the same information for registration or renewals. All user accounts and roles will migrate to SAM.gov. As part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, entry registrations in SAM.gov with expiration dates ranging from April 1, 2021, to September 30, 2021, will be extended by 180 days past the current registration date. No action is required by contractors to take advantage of this extension.
Finally, some Federal roles will have changes. For instance, in the new SAM.gov, there will be a “FOUO Entity Management Data Viewer” role created for federal users needing access to an entity’s FOUO data on its registration. The federal user will need to request this role. Also, federal users in the role of “Data Extracts User” will now need to get a system account and must have this designated role assigned by the agency administrator. And, the former role of “Agency Hierarchy Maintainer” will be eliminated in SAM.gov as a separate role. Most federal administrative and management roles, however, remain unchanged. Roles can be requested through the new SAM.gov website.
We provide a full range of legal services for government contractors currently performing government contracts or considering bidding on published solicitations. Call or visit our website to schedule your complimentary consultation with our legal team today.