Overview
This section establishes the requirement for contractors to register in the System for Award Management (SAM) to ensure a centralized and transparent database of vendor information.
Key Rules
- Mandatory Registration: Establishes the regulatory basis for requiring contractors to be registered in the SAM database.
- Source Visibility: Aims to improve the government's ability to locate specific supplies and services and identify the geographical locations of potential vendors.
- Data Centralization: Creates a "common source" of vendor data to be used across all government agencies, preventing fragmented information.
Practical Implications
- Registration in SAM is a prerequisite for receiving most federal contract awards.
- Contractors benefit from a "single sign-on" approach where their core business data is accessible to all federal agencies, reducing the administrative burden of providing basic entity information for every individual solicitation.