Grants.gov Registration: SAM.gov and UEI Step by Step

Grants.gov registration for an organization happens in a fixed order: register the organization in SAM.gov, which issues your Unique Entity Identifier (UEI); then your organization's E-Business Point of Contact (EBiz POC) creates a Grants.gov account, adds an organization applicant profile using the UEI, and assigns the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) role to the people who will submit. Grants.gov relies on SAM.gov to establish who has authority to act for your organization, so nothing on Grants.gov works until SAM.gov is active. Grants.gov advises allowing up to 10 business days for that, and much longer if anything fails verification.

If you are applying as an individual rather than for an organization, the path is shorter: create a Grants.gov account, sign in with Login.gov, and add an individual applicant profile. No SAM.gov registration is needed for that profile. Most federal grants, however, only accept organizations.

What you need before you start

Gather these first. Missing items are what turn a two-week process into a two-month one.

• A Login.gov account for each person who will work in SAM.gov or Grants.gov. Both sites use it to sign in.
• Your organization's legal name and physical address exactly as they appear on your formation documents and IRS records. SAM.gov validates them, and mismatches are the most common holdup.
• Your EIN. SAM.gov checks your taxpayer identification number with the IRS.
• Bank account details for electronic payment.
• Names and emails for your points of contact, including the person who will be the EBiz POC. That person's email in SAM.gov must be the one they use for Grants.gov.

Step 1: Register your entity in SAM.gov

Registration at SAM.gov is free. Any website that charges you to "get" a UEI or register in SAM.gov is a third-party service, not the government.

Entity validation and your UEI. You start by entering your legal name and physical address, which SAM.gov validates against authoritative records. Once validated, SAM.gov issues your UEI, a 12-character identifier that replaced the DUNS number in April 2022. If validation fails, you will be asked for documentation, and this is where registrations stall.

SAM.gov also offers a "UEI only" option for organizations that need an identifier but will only receive funds as a subrecipient. It does not let you apply for federal grants directly. If you will submit applications, complete the full registration.

The full registration then collects:

• Core data: legal name, address, EIN, banking information, and business types.
• Assertions, such as NAICS codes.
• Representations and certifications. For financial assistance, this is where you certify the standard assurances that the old SF-424B assurances form used to collect with every application. Many agencies now rely on this SAM.gov certification instead of the form.
• Points of contact, including the E-Business Point of Contact, who controls Grants.gov access for your organization.

Submit, then watch for emails. The registration is not usable until its status is Active. Note the expiration date the day it activates.

Step 2: Set up the Grants.gov organization profile

With SAM.gov active, the EBiz POC:

1. Creates a Grants.gov account using the same email address listed for them in SAM.gov, confirms it, and signs in with Login.gov.
2. Adds an organization applicant profile using your UEI. Grants.gov matches it to the SAM.gov record and recognizes them as the EBiz POC.

This step is quick if the email addresses match. If they do not, Grants.gov will not recognize the EBiz POC, and you will need to fix the contact in SAM.gov first.

Step 3: Add people and assign roles

Everyone else who will work on applications creates their own Grants.gov account, signs in with Login.gov, and adds a profile under your organization's UEI. The EBiz POC then assigns roles:

• Authorized Organization Representative (AOR): can submit applications on the organization's behalf. Submission applies their electronic signature to the SF-424 application form and certifications.
• Workspace Manager: can create and manage application Workspaces.
• Custom roles, if your organization defines them.

People can check their roles under Manage Profiles on the My Account page. In a small organization one person can be both the EBiz POC and an AOR, but the role still has to be assigned. The most common last-minute failure is a finished application that nobody with the AOR role is available to submit.

The AOR role is a system permission. It does not by itself give someone authority to commit your organization. Make sure the person also has signing authority under your bylaws or a board resolution.

Timing: what to expect

Start before you find the opportunity you want. Registration only gives you the right to apply, and the deadline will not move while you wait for validation.

Keep it active

SAM.gov registration must be renewed every year. An expired registration blocks new applications and can hold up payments on awards you already have. Renewal goes through validation again, so start it well before the expiration date, a month or two ahead is sensible, and put the date on your grant deadline calendar.

Update SAM.gov promptly when your legal name, address, banking details or points of contact change. If the EBiz POC leaves your organization, name a new one in SAM.gov before you need to assign roles. Your UEI stays the same; it is the registration that expires.

A note on Simpler.Grants.gov

Grants.gov is being rebuilt as Simpler.Grants.gov. Its new search became the default in early 2026, a small number of agencies are testing a new application workflow, and the official roadmap targets 2027 for the new experience to become standard. The registration foundations described here, an active SAM.gov record, a UEI and assigned roles, still apply.

Once you are registered, the next steps are finding an opportunity, reading its funding notice closely, and following the full sequence in our guide to applying for federal grants.