Overview
FAR 4.1803 establishes the mandatory requirement for Contracting Officers to validate an offeror’s Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code before awarding a contract to ensure accurate entity identification.
Key Rules
- Mandatory Verification: Contracting officers are required to verify the validity of CAGE codes for all offerors prior to contract award.
- SAM as Primary Source: For entities registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), an active registration status constitutes sufficient verification of the associated CAGE code.
- Alternative Verification: For entities exempt from SAM registration, the contracting officer must manually validate the CAGE code using the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) CAGE search tool at https://cage.dla.mil.
Practical Implications
- This regulation serves as a critical internal control to prevent administrative errors in procurement systems and ensures that payment and reporting data are linked to the correct legal entity.
- Contracting Officers must include CAGE code verification as a standard step in their pre-award checklist or business clearance process.