The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) recently published a set of questions fielded from users, along with answers, about upcoming changes to the unique entity identifier used to do business with the government.
Beginning in December 2020, the D-U-N-S® number will be replaced by a “new, non-proprietary identifier” requested in, and assigned by, the System for Award Management. This new identifier is being called the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), or the Entity ID.
Q&A Resource
Below are some examples from the new GSA Q&A resource:
Q: Will the GSA automatically assign the new UEI or does the vendor have to take action to register?
A: Existing registrants will be automatically assigned a new UEI. New registrants will be assigned a UEI as part of their SAM registration.
Q: For entities that receive a subgrant from a recipient of a federal award, will they be required to obtain a unique identifier from SAM.gov?
A: Yes. Sub-awardees will need to obtain a UEI to adhere to regulations. Instead of going to D&B for a DUNS number like they do today, the sub-awardee would go to SAM.gov to request a UEI. They will not be required to complete the full entity registration process.
Q: What is the impact on the submission of grant applications?
A: Entities required to register in SAM, including those registering for Federal Assistance only, will be assigned a UEI. After December 2020, new entities registration will not have a DUNS number associated with their record.
Q: Just to confirm for non U.S. entities, the NCAGE will still be required, correct?
A: Correct. Entities not located in the U.S. and its outlying areas will continue to first obtain an NCAGE before registering in SAM to do business with the federal government.
Q: So until the forms are updated, do we continue to use the DUNS or UEI, regardless of the language on the form?
A: Follow instructions on the form being used and any guidance provided by the agency.
Click here to view or download the complete list of questions and answers from GSA’s Unique Entity Identifier Update page.
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