SAM.gov (System for Award Management)

Official site: https://sam.gov

What This Site Is

SAM.gov is the central U.S. government website for federal contracting data. For the public, it shows federal contract opportunities, awards, and subcontracting reports — who the government is buying from, what is being purchased, and which agency is involved. For businesses, it is where companies register to do business with the federal government and manage their official entity records. This site is not just a contracts search tool — it also acts as the official vendor registry used by federal agencies.

What You Can Do Here

  • Find active federal contract opportunities (open solicitations)
  • See contracts that have already been awarded
  • Look up subcontracting reports tied to major contracts
  • Search registered companies and entities doing business with the government
  • View detailed contract records (agency, contract type, set-aside status, place of performance, attachments)

Start Here (Pick What You're Looking For)

If you want to...

  • Find new federal contract opportunities → Click Contracting → Contract Opportunities (shows active solicitations you can bid on, filterable by keyword, agency, location, set-aside type)
  • See contracts that have already been awarded → Click Contracting → Contract Awards (shows who won, award amount, date, and awarding agency)
  • See subcontracting reports → Click Contracting → Subcontract Reports (shows how large contractors report subcontracting activity)
  • Look up a company or vendor → Use Entity Information (shows registered business name, UEI, registration status, address)

How This Page Works

  1. Start at SAM.gov
  2. Click Contracting in the top menu
  3. Choose what you want to view: Contract Opportunities (open bids), Contract Awards (completed contracts), or Subcontract Reports
  4. Enter a keyword or select filters
  5. Open a record to see agency, contract classification, description, scope, and attachments
  6. Sign in only if you need advanced features (saving searches, full award data, or entity management)

Common Things to Search For

  • Open federal contract opportunities by trade or service
  • Recently awarded contracts by agency
  • Large or unusual federal awards
  • Contracts tied to defense, infrastructure, or healthcare
  • Companies doing business with a specific agency
  • UEI or entity registration status

Good to Know

  • SAM.gov replaced several older systems and consolidates federal contracting data
  • Not all features require an account, but sign-in unlocks more detail
  • Contract amounts may change over time due to modifications
  • Opportunities and awards are not real-time to the minute
  • Business registrations must be renewed annually
  • SAM.gov does not evaluate bids — it only publishes and records them
Open SAM.gov (System for Award Management) →