Acronyms are the death of us; especially in government contracting! DUNS (Data Universal Numbering System) has been around over 50 years and the federal government has utilized this number for over 30 years as a start in all federal contracting. Contractors needed to submit company information and then were given a unique number in order to do business with the federal government and be registered in System for Award Management (SAM).
As of April 4, 2022 the transition and replacement of DUNS will begin. On this date the DUNS will be officially replaced with the Unique Entity ID (UEI). What should your company do? Nothing out of your norm. The federal government has been automatically awarding companies with the UEI for a while and you may not even realize you have been given one. At the time of your SAM renewal; the new number was assigned. Write it down because rather than giving the DUNS after April 4, 2022, you will now give your UEI. There is a plan for a 60 day renewal transition and this will help those who need to renew between March 18, 2022 and April 18, 2022. What does that extension do for you? It is applicable to companies that have a renewal date during that time – you will be given an additional 60 day extension, automatically. Example: if your SAM is due to renew on March 19, 2022, you will receive an automatic extension to May 19, 2022 for renewal before your record becomes inactive.
As with any transition, this will most likely not be smooth right away but having been in this market segment for over 25 years, I have been a part of many changes and at some point – the issues go way and we are solid in the new approach. SAM is stating they expect intermittent down times and I would not be surprised if we have a bumpy road for, at least, 90 days. I hope I am wrong.
New to federal contracting? I have good news for you! As of April 4, 2022 rather than completing 2 separate steps in order to get an active registration in SAM; you will now complete one registration for your company and receive what is needed. No more calling Dun & Bradstreet first!
Does this mean you will never need the DUNS again? Not necessarily but it will not be used for federal contracting. According to the DUNS fact sheet……is a unique global business identification system that identifies, validates, and links to more than 300 million businesses worldwide. This number may very well be required by another entity involving your business activities.
Until April 3, 2022 if changes are needed to the company name or physical address you will need to contact DUNS to initiate those changes. We know that reaching them can be difficult so this link might provide a more efficient method of initiating changes and supply needed documentation.
Looking for more information, visit the blogs at the GSA Interact Community for the most up to date releases. Want to know what your UEI number is? Log into your SAM record to view the most current active registration for your entity.