The official US federal government portal for contract opportunities, grants, and entity registration. Every federal agency is required to post contracts over $25,000 here — making SAM.gov the single most important procurement portal in North America.
Go to sam.gov and click "Sign In" — create a Login.gov account if you don't have one already
Start an Entity Registration and enter your legal business name, address, and EIN (Employer Identification Number)
Enter your NAICS codes — register every code that accurately reflects your capabilities, not just your primary one
Complete the Representations and Certifications section — this determines your set-aside eligibility (small business, 8(a), HUBZone, etc.)
Submit and wait for activation — registration typically takes 7–10 business days and must be renewed annually
Set up email notifications in SAM.gov for your NAICS codes and PSC codes — the portal notifies you of new opportunities but only if you've configured alerts
Respond to Sources Sought and RFI notices — these pre-solicitation notices shape the final RFP and responding positions you as a known vendor before competition begins
Monitor the "Award Notices" section to identify which agencies are actively awarding in your category and which contractors are winning — this is competitive intelligence hiding in plain sight
Use the Contract Opportunities search to find IDIQs and GWACs in your space — a single IDIQ award can generate years of task order revenue without re-competing
Register your certifications (8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB) in SAM.gov — certified firms are eligible for set-aside solicitations that full-and-open competitors can't see
The SAM.gov API is free and underpublicized — you can pull opportunity data programmatically, which most competitors don't do. BidEdgeHQ uses this to score opportunities before they appear in most inboxes.
Filter by "Set-Aside Type" in the Opportunities search to find solicitations exclusive to your certification. An 8(a) set-aside with one qualified bidder is effectively a sole-source award.
Check the "Award Data" section monthly for your target agencies. Knowing the incumbent contractor, award date, and contract end date lets you start relationship-building 12–18 months before re-competition.
SAM.gov's "Excluded Parties" list flags debarred contractors — running competitors through it before teaming discussions protects you from association with bad actors.
SAM.gov is where all federal small business set-aside preferences are enforced. The federal government targets 23% of eligible contract dollars to small businesses, with sub-goals for 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, and WOSB firms. Setting up your certifications and NAICS codes correctly in SAM.gov is prerequisite to being considered for any set-aside award.
The official US federal government portal for contract opportunities, grants, and entity registration. Every federal agency is required to post contracts over $25,000 here — making SAM.gov the single most important procurement portal in North America. With 15,000+ tenders published per month and an average contract value of $2.4M, SAM.gov is one of the most important federal procurement sources in North America.
SAM.gov is free to access with no registration required to view opportunities.
BidEdgeHQ monitors SAM.gov automatically — ingesting every new tender, scoring it 0–100 against your ICP profile, and sending a WhatsApp alert within minutes of publication for high-match opportunities.
Yes. Active SAM.gov registration is mandatory to receive any federal contract award. Without it, agencies cannot legally pay you. Registration is free and takes 7–10 business days — renew it annually or your registration will lapse.
Navigate to "Contract Opportunities" and filter by NAICS code, PSC code, agency, set-aside type, and award type. Set up saved searches and email notifications so new matching opportunities come to you automatically.
Federal agencies must post solicitations over $25,000 on SAM.gov. Contracts between $10,000 and $25,000 should generally be reserved for small businesses but may not appear on SAM.gov. Contracts under $10,000 (micro-purchases) can be awarded without competition.
SAM.gov registrations expire after exactly 12 months. Set a calendar reminder 60 days before expiration — a lapsed registration can cause payment delays on active contracts and disqualify you from new awards.